Starting from yesterday, Jan 26, those looking to experience a little of Beijing's imperial history, can head over to Tiantan and catch a reenactment of the Ming and Qing dynasty 祭天大典 (Jitian Dadian) or Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony. The rite has been taking place in Tiantan since the Ming dynasty and it's reported that a total of 22 emperors have performed this sacrificial ceremony 654 times. Two ceremonies will be held daily (11.00-11.40am and 2.40-3.15pm) until Jan 30. Yuan Shikai was the last "emperor" to perform the ceremony - see images below. You can also find a shaky video of the modern-day reenactment after the jump.

Tiantan Park

The Temple of Heaven, (Tiantan), is located in the Chongwen district in the south part of Beijing, about 6km away from the center of the city. It was built in 1420 during a time when many other important structures were constructed in Beijing. Tiantan served as a place of ceremony and ritual for the Ming and Qing emperors.

The Palace of Abstinence is located near the western entrance of the temple. Before each ceremony, emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held a three-day fast during summer and winter solstice. The emperors spent two days fasting in the Forbidden City and completed the three-day fast in the Palace of Abstinence. The beamless hall was one of the most famous buildings in Beijing.

South of the Echo wall stands the Altar of Heaven, built entirely of white marble. The altar has four entrances and a flight of nine steps leading down in every direction. At the center of the upper terrace lies a round stone surrounded by nine concentric rings of stones.

Even the numbers of the carved balustrades on these terraces are also multiples of nine. When you stand in the center of the upper terrace and speak in a low voice, your voice will echo back much louder to yourself than to others, as the sound waves are reflected back by the marble balustrades to the focal point at the center.

The main building in the compound is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The entire structure was joint by wooden bars, laths and brackets, without using steel and concrete. The four large pillars in the center are known as the Dragon Well Pillars with each pillar representing one of the four seasons.

The Temple is divided by two enclosed walls into inner part and outer part. The main buildings of the Temple lie at the south and north ends of the middle axis line of the inner part. The most magnificent buildings are The Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. Also, there are some additional buildings like Three Echo Stones and Echo Wall.Almost all of the buildings are connected by a wide bridge called Vermilion Steps Bridge (Danbiqiao) or called Sacred Way.

The Circular Altar has three layered terraces with white marble. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 A.D. - 1911 A.D.), the emperors would offer sacrifice to Heaven on the day of the Winter Solstice every year. This ceremony was to thank Heaven and hope everything would be good in the future. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is a big palace with round roof and three layers of eaves. Inside the Hall are 28 huge posts. The four posts along the inner circle represent four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter; the 12 posts along the middle circle represent the 12 months; and 12 posts along the outer circle represent 12 Shichen (Shichen is a means of counting time in ancient China. One Shichen in the past equaled two hours and a whole day was divided into 12 Shichens). The roof is covered with black, yellow and green colored glaze representing the heavens, the earth and everything on earth. The Hall has a base named Altar for Grain Prayers which is made of three layers of white marble and has a height of six meters. Another important building in Temple of Heaven is Imperial Vault of Heaven. If you look at it from far away, you will find that the Vault is like a blue umbrella with gold head. The structure of it is like that of Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, but smaller in size. The structure was made of bricks and timber. The Vault was used to place memorial tablets of Gods. White marble railings surround the vault.

The Vermilion Steps Bridge connects the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest and the Imperial Vault of Heaven. The south end of the Bridge is lower than its north end. The emperors in the past believed that they could go to heaven through this Bridge, which is why this bridge is also called Sacred Way. A Yu Route and a Wang Route are on two sides of the Sacred Way. The former one is only for the emperors to walk on and the later one is for the princes and the high officials to pass.

Three Echo Stones is outside of the gate of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. If you speak facing the Vault while standing on the first stone, you will hear one echo; standing on the second and then the third stone, you will hear two and three echoes respectively.

Another interesting and famous place for you to visit is called Echo Wall owning special feature. The wall encloses the Imperial Vault of Heaven. Its perimeter is 193 meters.

If you and your friend stand at the east and the west roots of the wall respectively and you whisper a word, then your friend will hear clearly what you say. Isn't it interesting? The phenomenon utilizes the theory of sound wave.

The Ceremony

The Emperor with the noble title, the Son of Heaven, represented a divine personage coming before the God of heaven. He was a priest-king making special sacrifices on behalf of the Chinese people, and by extension, for the whole world. To the Chinese, the fortunes of the entire earth and universe depended on the Son of Heaven's worship and prayers. This was the importance attached to the Chinese Emperor, the Temple of Heaven, and the need of a solemn ceremony before God.

The symbolism of these Chinese customs has a certain similarity to another completed historical event. The commandments of the Bible affirmed that there is only One God, and that no images or idols can be made to represent Him. Long predicted by the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament Bible, the real Son of Heaven came 2000 years ago according to the New Testament Bible. This real Son of Heaven was sent by God to be a Savior. Born of a virgin woman of the royal Jewish family, the child's name was Jesus. In His person, He was both the Son of God and the Son of Man. His purpose was to be a Priest in order to bring sinful humankind together with a holy God. Since He was also divine, He was able to live a sinless life, and so had perfect unbroken fellowship with God, His Father. During His earthly life, Jesus taught about God and did only good for other people. Yet, through jealousy, ignorance and willful disregard, humankind caused the Him to be killed on a cruel cross. How is this possible, and why would God allow such a thing to happen? It was possible because God Himself had become a man. In addition, it was necessary, and permitted by God so that He, as perfect substitute, could die for the sins of humanity. Jesus' death is the perfect fulfillment of the universal understanding that everyone is sinful, and requires an innocent sacrifice when coming before the holy God of heaven. As Creator and Lawgiver, God had declared that the penalty for sin is death. At the same time, God ordained that He would pay that ultimate penalty Himself. So, life in His presence becomes a gift to those that humbly receive the Son of God's death for their sake. As the Son of Man, Jesus also has perfect understanding and sympathy for the

Admission Fee: CNY 30 (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31) CNY 35 (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31)
Opening Hours: 06:00 to 20:00
Recommended Time for a Visit: One and a half hour
Bus Route: 2, 6, 17, 34, 35, 110, 120, 122, 610, 707, 721, 739...