The Temple of Heaven (tiān tán天坛) was the place where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would worship Heaven and pray for bumper crops.
The northern part of the outer surrounding wall is semi-circular in shape while the southern part square, a pattern symbolic of the ancient belief that Heaven was round and the earth square. The double surrounding wall separates the temple into two parts—the inner and outer temples with the main structures in the inner one, covering a space of 273 hectares in all.
The inner temple is also partitioned by a wall into two groups of buildings. The north structure is the Altar of Praying for Bumper Crops with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests as the principal building used to pray in spring for a bumper harvest in the year. The south structure is the Circular Mound Altar used to worship Heaven at the winter solstice where the principal construction is a large round marble terrace named the Circular Mound.

The two altars, connected by a 360-metre-long raised walk called the Red Step Bridge, are arranged in a line forming a north-south axis 1,200 metres long, and flanked by century-old cypresses in a spacious area.

To the inner south of the West Celestial Gate is the Abstinence Hall where the feudal emperors observed abstention before the rituals. In the western part of the outer temple is located the Divine Music Office, which was in charge of the teaching and performance of the ritual music. In the Temple of Heaven are situated such main buildings as the Hall of Prayer for Good harvests, the Hall of Heavenly Emperor, the Circular Mound, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Abstinence Hall, the Beamless Hall, the Long Corridor, the Longevity Pavilion in a double ring shape as well as the Echo Wall, the Three Echo Stones, and the Seven Meteoric Stones.

Built first in 1420(the 18th year of Emperor Yongle’s reign of the Ming Dynasty), and then expanded and reconstructed during the Ming Emperor Jiajing’s reign and Qing Emperor Qianlong’s reign, the Temple o0f Heaven is a grand and magnificent masterpiece of architecture with a formal and solemn environment. Since the founding of New China, the government has allotted a great sum of money to protect and restore the cultural monuments there. The Temple of Heaven with its long history, deep cultural content and magnificent architectural style mirrors the ancient culture of the Orient.

A masterpiece of the Ming and Qing architectural art and a precious example of China’s ancient architecture, the Temple of Heaven is the largest architectural group for worshipping Heaven in the world. In 1961, it was listed by the State Council as “one of the key monuments under the state protection”. In 1998, it was recognized by the UNESCO as “one of the human heritages of the world”.

Contact
Address: Tiantan Street, Chongwen District
Post code: 100050
Tel: 67012402, 67013026
http://www.Tiantanpark.com

Map



Attractions nearby
Xiannongtan(Altar of God of Agriculture)
Hongqiao Pearl Market
Beijing Museum of Nature History
Qianmen Street

Opening time
March 1st-June 30th, 8:00-17:30 coupon tickets are sold until 16:00
July 1st-October 31st, 8:00-18:00, coupon tickets are sold until 18:00
November 1st-February 28th, 8:00-17:00, coupon tickets are sold until 17:00
the park opens from 6:00am to 21:00

Bus Line
No.17, 20, 35, 120, 203, 707, 729, 744, 803,814, 826
Subway Line 5, get of f at Tiantandongmen (East Gate of Tiantan) stop

Ticket Price
From November 1 through March 31, coupon ticket is RMB 30. Entrance ticket is RMB 10.
From April 1 through October 31, coupon ticket is RMB 35. Entrance ticket is RMB 15.

Tips

• Hongqiao Pearl Market in the east of Tiantan Park is famous for pearl.Many kinds of goods are traded, such as jewelry, aquatic products, silk clothes, bags and leather products, cyber products, watches, etc. Many salespersons can speak fluence English.
• The Temple of Heaven is a delightful and exquisite place to spend some time. Arrive in the early morning to watch the TaiChi experts, although the park is lively all day and into the evening with kite flyers, musicians, singers, dancers and games players (from badmingtoon to chinese chess).
• Many visitor like to take a photo in front of the House of Prayer for Good Harvest. It's the symbol of Beijing.
• The ceiling of the House of Prayer for Good Harvest is stunning.
• If you stand with your face to the Echo Wall which is the wall around the courtyard of the Imperial Vault of Heaven and speak to a partner who is also standing by the wall, your partner can understand every word at every point along the wall.Of course it is necessary to wait until as few people as possible are present, which, unfortunately, is very rarely the case.

• The Echo Stone are three stone slabs in front of the stairs to the Imperial Vault of Heaven, which produce another peculiar effect. If you stand on the first slab and clap your hands, you will hear a single echo, on the second, a double, and on the third, a triple.

天坛　　

天坛是明、清两代皇帝“祭天”“祈谷”的场所，位于正阳门外东侧。坛域北呈圆形，南为方形，寓意“天圆地方”。四周环筑坛墙两道，把全坛分为内坛、外坛两部分，总面积273公顷，主要建筑集中于内坛。内坛以墙分为南北两部。北为“祈谷坛”，用于春季祈祷丰年，中心建筑是祈年殿。南为“圜丘坛”，专门用于“冬至”日祭天，中心建筑是一巨大的圆形石台，名“圜丘“。两坛之间以一长360米，高出地面的甬道——丹陛桥相连，共同形成一条南北长1200米的天坛建筑轴线，两侧为大面积古柏林。

西天门内南侧建有“斋宫”，是祀前皇帝斋戒的居所。西部外坛设有“神乐署”，掌管祭祀乐舞的教习和演奏。坛内主要建筑有祈年殿、皇乾殿、圜丘、皇穹宇、斋宫、无梁殿、长廊、双环万寿亭等，还青回音壁、三音石、七星石等名胜古迹。


天坛始建于明永乐十八年(1420)，又经明嘉靖、清乾隆等朝增建、改建，建筑宏伟壮丽，环境庄严肃穆。新中国成立后，国家对天坛的文物古迹投入大量的资金，进行保护和维修。历尽沧桑的天坛以其深刻的文化内涵、宏伟的建筑风格，成为东方古老文明的写照。


天坛集明、清建筑技艺之大成，是中国古建珍品，是世界上最大的祭天建筑群。1961年，国务院公布天坛为“全国重点文物保护单位”。1998年被联合国教科文组织确认为“世界文化遗产”。