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Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven , the first of the five sacrificial temples in Beijing, is situated south of Beijing city. It was first built in 1420, along with the construction of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven covers an area of 273 hectares. It is the best preserved and largest sacrificial building cmplex in the world. Laid out precisely according to pattern the building structures of the Temple of Heaven are unique iin the art of architecture. The whole complesx, gorgeously painted and set off by thousands of pine and cypress trees, provides a harmonious atmosphere for sacrificial ceremony as if heaven and earth are integrated into one.

Function
Temple of Heaven was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (about seven hundreds years ago) came to perform worship to the God of Heaven and pray for good harvests.


Temple of Heaven was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (about seven hundreds years ago) came to perform worship to the God of Heaven and pray for good harvests. They came to the temple twice a year, on the 15th day of the first lunar month and on winter solstice respectively. If there happened to be a drought, they would come on summer solstice to pray for rainfall.

Chinese emperors usually paid strong veneration to Heaven, the Supreme Being that governed the universe. They considered themselves the "sons of heaven" and showed great concern over the rituals of heaven worship. In early Ming Dynasty, both heaven and earth were worshipped here. After the Temple of Earth was built in 1530, Heaven alone was bowed down here.

• The worship of heaven first took place in the western Zhou Dynasty (11th centuryBC-770BC), and became a routine during the Han period (206BC-220AD).
• One of the latest events of heaven worship was held in 1915 by the Yuan Shikai. In 1918, however, the Temple of Heaven was turned into park and opened to the public

The World Heritage Committee inscribed the Temple of Heaven on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria:

• The temple of Heaven is a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world's great civilizations.
• The symbolic layout and design of the Temple of Heaven had a profound influence on architecture and planning in the Far East over many centuries.

As famous as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, it is a "must" for every visitor.

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