 | Beijing Temple of Heaven Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 193 |  |
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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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| | | | Temple of Heaven: The Temple of Heaven - Part 1 | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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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| | | | Temple of Heaven: Temple of Heaven Park | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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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| | | | Temple of Heaven: Temple of Heaven | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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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| | | | Temple of Heaven: Temple of Heaven | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The Temple of Heaven, or Tiantan as it is also known, is one of those places that kind of takes you by surprise. You don't expect it to be very much, but you really enjoy it when you go.
Each year the emperor came here at the time of the winter solstice in his capacity as the Son of Heaven to pray for a good harvest and to render homage to the heavens. This tradition was kept up until the fall of the dynasty in 1911
Today it is surrounded by a beautiful park, and is seen by thousands of westerners who just don't understand it. Still, for the average unclutured American tourist there is fun to be had. Take for example the resonating stone. At the entrance to the Temple, there is a platform you can stand on. In the middle of it is a stone that amplifies your voice. I don't know how it works, but it does. The same is true of the echo wall. There, you can face any point along the wall and speak, and someone on the other side can hear you. Freaky!
The Temple itself is the best part. Most people only get to see pictures of it on the wall of a Chinese Restaurant. But up close is so much better. My tour guide told me that no nails were used to build it, and it has been standing for centuries. How cool is that! Leave a Comment Directions: Take a tour there, it is hard to find if you don't know the city.
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| | | | Temple of Heaven: The Round Altar at the Temple of Heaven | Tip Rating: | | | | |
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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