The Wufang Pavilion situates to the west of Foxiang Pavilion, opposed to the Depository of Buddhist Scriptures. And the bronze Baoyun Pavilion stands in its middle. Lamas were required to recite scriptures here on every first and 15th days of the lunar month, praying for auspices and longevity.

The Baoyun Pavilion was noted for its unique material---bronze. The green bronze pavilion on the white marble pedestal was quite exquisite works of art. Builit in 1755, the 207-ton pavilion is 7.5 meters in height, using 207,000 kg of bronze. Composed of thousands of bronze parts, the pavilion has the same structure with ordinary wooden one: pillars, beams, brackets, tiles, steles, etc.

The exquisite lines on the brnze parts were cast in traditional Chinese technique. At frist, the craftsman made the model with wax, covered with earth. Several opentings should be made on the wax model. When the melting bronze was poured in through the openings, the wax immediately liquefied and flowed out. After cooling off, the earth crust would be broken. Then, the designed pattern and lines were completed. The technique sounds simple but is in fact composed of various procedures, for example, moulding, firing, casting, etc. Those bronze dragons, phoenixes, cranes and deer were all made in the same way.

Suffering the twice destructions of invaders, the pavilion lost all the doors, windows and ornaments. The Japan-ese invaders attempted to steal the bronze credence so as to melt the bronze for bullet making. They failed to move it out of Tianjin when Japan declared to surrender unconditionally. Then, the precious cultural relics returned to the Chinese people.

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