Temple Heaven

The Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors came to worship the God of Heaven and prayed for a good harvest .It is the largest group of temple buildings in China, and is different from any other imperial structure ,its surrounding walls are 6 meters high with a semicircular wall to the north and square shaped wall to the south . The main buildings in the Temple of Heaven are circular shaped but each building has a round and a square wall around it ,this layout shows the ancient people’s belief that heaven was round while the earth was square.

The main buildings of the Temple lie at the middle axis line from north to south. The most magnificent buildings are Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) , Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and The Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan)

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

It is one of Beijing’s symbolic structures and also the most famous temple structures in the world . .It is a cone shaped wooden structure with triple eaves and a gilded ball on the top,which symbolizes of the supreme power of the emperor.The roof of building is covered with dark blue glazed tiles,which symbolize the color of the sky. This unique circular wooden structure is completely made of wood without any use of steel,cement or even the use of a single nail. In the Ming and Qing dynasties ,the emperors came on the 15th day of the first lunar month of every year to pray for a good harvest

The Red Stairway Bridge

the Red Stairway Bridge connects the two parts of the main buildings :the Hall of Prayer for God Harvests to the Imperial Vault of Heaven ,360 meters long , 29.4 meters wide,and the northern end is two meters higher than the southern end.This arrangement and design shows the perfect layout and unique ingenuity of the Temple of Heaven

The Circular Mound Alter

Known as the Heaven Worshipping Altar .It is 5.7 meters high with a three-tiered white marble terrace and is enclosed by double walls ,The inner wall is round shaped while the outer wall is square .This symbolizes that Heaven is round and the Earth is square .Because Heaven is vast and open ,the Altar is open without any superstructural building on it .Every year at the time of the Winter Solstice , the emperor would come here in person to offer a solemn sacrifice on the Altar to worship Heaven.