Temple Of Heaven

Unclaimed

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of imperial religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. This was used by the Emperors of both Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. It is a World Heritage Site which truly is a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design, there are some very grand gardens and many ancient trees as you walk your way to the temple. The oldest tree we saw on the grounds was about 650 years old. The whole structure has been maintained immaculately by the Chinese government. It is one of the many must see sites Beijing has to offer.

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of imperial religious Confucian buildings. It’s an architectural masterpiece. The complex has three main groups of constructions: * The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests - is a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, The building is completely wooden, with no nails. * The Imperial Vault of Heaven- a single-gabled circular building, surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, that can transmit sounds over large distances. * The Circular Mound Altar; is the altar proper, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform. All the buildings within temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth. Take enough time in hand so that you can visit and know the history. It must have to be a guided tour.

It was warm, stuffy, but there weren't that many people and we went after lunch. The building is beautiful, there are two open doors through which you can look inside. We had bought tickets in advance. I recommend seeing it.

You expected great things when visiting a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is truly a great site and will be very busy. It is much larger than i expected and it would be easy to relax and enjoy an entire day. There is so much to see and many different areas. I needed more time and didnt even see 1/2. I need to return.

No need to pre book tickets as you can usually buy ticket at the door. There’s a huge crowd here even on a regular weekend. Tickets are not too expensive and super worth seeing. General admission is ¥15 and if you want to see the temple of heaven it’s an additional ¥15. It was so crowded inside that there was no cell reception in certain areas and no controlled access so stay close and don’t get separated!