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| Temple of Heaven tips and photos posted by real travelers and Beijing locals. • 325 Photos
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 | Beijing Temple of Heaven Reviews | 1 - 10 of 206 |  |
It is surely one of the great cultural sites in the world, here where China considered was the centre of the entire universe. Built along a north-south, celestial, axis lie the buildings where the Ming and Qing emperors came four times a year to offer sacrifices to the Gods and to pray. Tens of thousands of courtiers, soldiers and officials proceeded in great ceremony through Tianan'men, south to Qian'men and down to the Temple of Heaven, beyond the southern gates of the city. Today, the visitor will swing in through the entrance in a glossy air-conditioned coach, almost as isoated from China as the emperors before them. Consider travelling from Tian'anmen along the route the emperor would have taken, passing the crowded, huddled houses and shops lining Qianmen Dajie. When the emperor passed by, in an almost endless procession of music and noise, the shops and houses were shuttered up: commoners were not allowed to set eyes upon the Son of Heaven. Your chances of seeing Qianmen Dajie shuttered up and deserted are nil: this is a street that, upon hearing of an all-out nuclear attack, would have stocks of gas-masks and bodybags out for sale within the three-minute warning.
The great complex of the Temple of Heaven is in 273 hectares of stunning forest, and this alone makes it an unusual place: line upon line of Chinese cypress, Chinese juniper and scholar trees. Some of the cypresses are more than 600 years old. Dr Henry Kissinger, when he visited the Temple, stated that while the USA could recreate the Temple of Heaven if it desired, it could not create the trees. It is the trees that give the Temple of Heaven its character. Other Chiese parks and temple complexes are usually open, with plenty of grass, but here the eye is caught only by the blue sheen of the juniper and the cypress. Despite the massive crowds that visit the Temple, the surrounding forest somehow soaks them up and acts as a buffer. Leave a Comment Address: Tiantan DongluDirections: East entrance is most used by visitors
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Unlike the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, ironically, feels human and humane. The buildings do not overwhelm the individual, and even the height and grandeur of the stunning Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (the leitmotif of the Temple of Heaven) does not feel massive and repressive. It genuinely is beautiful: its lines and proportions match those of any building in the world.
The numerous associated buildings have been converted to extremely interesting themed displays on various aspects of the emperor's worship: the order of procession, the timetable of activities, the beautiful musical instruments and the costumes.
I will add other 'Must Visit' reviews on specific parts of the Temple of Heaven, but recommend this as a real highlight of Beijing. It is well cared for, there is great respect from Chinese visitors, minimal commercialisation, but perhaps not enough cafes or restaurants (and I never thought I would say that of a temple in China!). They are working on wheelchair access, and many of the steps now have ramps, although the smaler buildings will remain inaccessible. I suspect it is a matter of time before even these are made wheelchair-friendly. Leave a Comment Address: Tiantan Donglu
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The Temple of Heaven Park surprised me the most, as a place i wanted to go back and visit straight away. It feels like a different world, and its unbelievable to think that a park of its magnitude could be found near the centre of a city the size of Beijing.
Aside from the obvious attractions such as the Temple of Heaven itself, the Echo Wall, and the Imperial Vault of Heaven amongst others, the park itself is a large part of the city's heartbeat.
I loved just strolling through its endless forested paths, with the distant sounds of locals who relax and practice music, the regular sites of people working out, whilst others just chillout to a book, a conversation, or flying their kites with friends. I found it a fantastic place to escape to, collect my thoughts and chill.
The Park is open 6am to 9pm, and the sights 8am-6pm daily. In high season it is Y15-35 to get in. Leave a Comment Address: Tiantan GongyuanDirections: - West Entrance (Yongdingmennai Dajie) - North Entance (Tiantan Lu) A 10minute bike ride directly south of the Front Gate, and you arrive at the north-west corner of the Park. With the junction of the two above roads on your left.
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One of Beijings finest parks. In the morning, there are many people who congregate here, as well as in many other parks around the city to perform their regular routines of exercise. Dancing, tai chi, Paintings on concrete with water, and some sort of ping pong type sport can be observed here in early hours of the day. It is quite peaceful and entertaining to watch the people all around you, and a great way to start the day. Anyway, back to the structures here. The temple of Heaven is one of the largest temple complexes in China and a typical example of Chinese architectural balance and symbolism. Here, the emperor would make sacraficial offerings and send prayers for good harvest during the winter solstice. I was unable to see the main Hall during my visit here, due to undergoing renovations. Leave a Comment Address: Tian Tan Dong Lu (East Gate), ChongwenPhone: (010) 6702 2617
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I enjoy taking some walk in Tian Tan Park during a sunny afternoon in Summer.
The air is so fresh, the long wide marble road can make you think about how powerful the emperor was!
The tranquil park can almost let you forget you are in the heart of Beijing!
While walking along the corridor , you can find many old people performing Beijing opera just for entertaining themself , it's fun! Leave a Comment
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This supposed to be the most perfect example of Ming architecture, and the temple itself has become an emblem for Beijing. The temple itself is in quite a large park, which is split into several parts.
If you can look at the temples from the air, you would see that the temples are all round, and the bases of them are all square. This is due to the Chinese belief (well it was in the old days), that heaven was round, and the earth was square.
This picture shows the Tiantan, which is what is considered to be the actual temple, but the park itself has several interesting features. Leave a Comment
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The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the worldĄŻs great civilizations..."
My guide brought me to the Temple of Heaven which was renovated in the 18th century under the Qianlong Emperor. This complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Three other prominent temples were built in Beijing, the Temple of Sun in the east, the Temple of Earth in the north, and the Temple of Moon in the west.
Symbolisms abound in this temples according to the Wikipedia website:
Earth was represented by a square and Heaven by a circle; several features of the temple complex symbolize the connection of Heaven and Earth, of circle and square. The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the Earth. Both the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar are round, each standing on a square yard, again representing Heaven and Earth.
When you know about this symbols, I think gives you a better understanding of what you see when you are already there. China gives you a totally new perspective in looking at life... Leave a Comment
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Although it is hard to tell from the photo, this round altar is actually 5 metres high. If you enlarge the photo and count the stones, you will see that with the exception of the middle stone that I am standing on (looking every inch the sad tourist), every ring of stomes around it is in the multiple of nine. The first one has nine, the second 18. There are nine rings, so the last ring has 81 stones.
Why all of these nines? Well odd numbers were considered heavenly in ancient China, and as 9 is the largest single digit odd number, this apparently made it even more heavenly (there must be some logic in there somewhere!).
If you go around the outside, you can also count that the number of stairs and balustradesaround the altar are also in multiples of nines.
Oh, and by the way, if you stand on the middle stone and talk/sing/shout, you will find your voice is naturally amplified due to sound waves in your voice bouncing off all of the marble. Leave a Comment
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The grounds that the Temple of Heaven sits on is about 3 times the size of the Forbidden City, so be ready for some walking! Actually, the grounds are large, but most of it is just rows and rows of trees...
The main attraction here is the 'Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest', the main building in the complex and one of the most famous Beijing symbols you will find on all sorts of tourist-bought goods.
Access to the park is through one of the four gates, located one each on the north, south, east, and west sides of the park. Ticket costs 30 yuan, and can access most of the park. You need another ticket to get into the Fasting Palace, which can be bought inside the park for another 10 yuan. Leave a Comment Directions: Temple of Heaven is three blocks south of the Forbidden City.
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One of the best examples of architecture from the Ming epoch. The temple itself is round but it is standing on the square base. It reflects the old opinion that the heaven is round but the earth is square. Leave a Comment Address: Yongdingmen Street (entrance through southern gateDirections: Tiantan Park
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