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Temple of Heaven
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- Name
- Temple of Heaven
- Continent
- ASIA
- Alt Name:
- -
- Country:
- China
- Period:
- Imperial China
- Sub-Region:
- -
- Date:
- 1400AD - 1499AD
- City/Town:
- Beijing
- Figure:
- Ming Dynasty
- Resorts:
- Beijing,
Haidian,
- Related:
- Great Wall of China, The Forbidden City - Beijing,
Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square,
about Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven in Tiantan Park in Beijing was originally built by Ming Dynasty Emperor Yongle in 1420 as a place of worship for Chinese emperors. However, it was only during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor that the site was named The Temple of Heaven as well as being extended and renovated.
Constructed in accordance with Chinese religious principles, The Temple of Heaven is characterised by square buildings with round roofs, the square aspects representing the earth and the circular ones representing heaven. Amongst these buildings are The Imperial Vault of Heaven, The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where emperors would perform sacrifices to ensure a good harvest year, and The Circular Mound Altar, which was enlarged in 1749 by Emperor Quanlong.
The Temple of Heaven represents is the oldest holy temple in Beijing and the only surviving Ming Tang building as well as being a truly authentic Ming and Qing architectural structure. Make sure to go to the museum in the northern building. Audio guides are available for a rental fee.
Just as empires rise and fall so do entry fees and opening hours! While we work as hard as we can to ensure the information provided here about Temple of Heaven is as accurate as possible, the changing nature of certain elements mean we can't absolutely guarantee that these details won't become a thing of the past. If you know of any information on this page that needs updating you can add a comment above or now.
contact details
Address: Temple of Heaven, Tiantan Park, Chaoyang, Beijing, China
Phone: Contact local tourist office
useful information
Directions:
The Temple of Heaven is located in Tiantan Park in southern Beijing. The nearest stations to Tiantan Park are Chongwenmen, Qianmen, or Tiantandongmen on the purple and blue lines (lines 2 and 5).
Ticket Information:
The Temple of Heaven is open daily, 8am-5:30pm (Mar - Jun), 8am-6pm (Jul - Oct) and 8am-5pm (Nov - Feb).
Entry costs Y10, but half price discounts are available. A further rental fee of Y40 applies for audio guides plus a Y100 deposit.
Links:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/881/
http://en.tiantanpark.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/ProgramShow_ztgs.html?ProgramShow_ProgramID=c373e91b8ce9d0958f6e3910731b0ef9
Historvius is not responsible for the content of external sites.
USER COMMENTS
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17 Apr, 2012
Thanks for the feedback - we've now added a gallery which will hopefully help. We're constantly working hard to expand our coverage of historic sites and to ensure that we can provide quality information and good photos alongside it.
14 Apr, 2012
this is great and gives me good info but it would be nice if i could see a picture thats not from a satalite and from a camera on EARTH of a monument or something