Beijing’s Lama Temple is curiously small for what effectively is the main Buddhist site of worship in China’s capital.

It was originally built as an aristocratic residence and only converted to its current function in the 18th century, and again in 1976 after Mao Zedong's death. It’s always full of people praying to the various Buddhas housed in several pavilions, burning incense sticks that are then placed in metal boxes outside the pavilions.

The entrance opens onto a narrow street always teeming with buses, cars, and bicycles, which for the most part hasn't changed at all since my first visit in November 1998, apart from the KFC at the street corner. There is one other significant change: the temple's main gate used to be swarming with vendors selling incense sticks; now, this is prohibited, and the sticks are included free with the entrance fee.

I once came across a guy with a loudspeaker, a few meters from the gate, haranguing the crowds who completely ignored him. He railed against religious superstition, Mao-style, and warned tourists that they're wasting their money by asking favors from statues made of precious metals. Yup, that’s what Chinese Communism comes down to, these days.