Temple of Heaven
Built in the 18th year of the Ming Yongle reign (1420), this imperial altar complex was where emperors of the Ming and Qing sacrificed to heaven and prayed for good harvests: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, with its triple-eaved conical roof and gilded finial, built entirely of mortise-and-tenon timber without a main beam, is an iconic symbol of ancient Chinese architecture
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:00-17:30 (park gate opens 06:30)
- Ticket
- Peak season CNY 15 / off-season CNY 10 (combo ticket peak season CNY 34 / off-season CNY 28)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Built in the 18th year of the Ming Yongle reign (1420), this imperial altar complex was where emperors of the Ming and Qing sacrificed to heaven and prayed for good harvests: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, with its triple-eaved conical roof and gilded finial, built entirely of mortise-and-tenon timber without a main beam, is an iconic symbol of ancient Chinese architecture; the Echo Wall is famed for its acoustic transmission, and the Circular Mound Altar, laid out layer by layer in multiples of nine, hosted the winter solstice sacrifice to heaven; the Imperial Vault of Heaven, Seven Star Stones, and more than 4,000 ancient cypresses surround the site. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998; in the early morning, locals doing morning exercises amid mist around the ancient cypresses form a distinctive scene of everyday life, and the combo ticket covers the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and other core sites.
Getting there: Metro Line 5, Tiantan Dongmen Station
Photos
More in Beijing
- Summer Palace
Kunming Lake, the Long Corridor and Marble Boat of the imperial resort.
- The Forbidden City
The world's largest palace complex, 9,999 rooms of Ming and Qing emperors.
- Mutianyu Great Wall
The restored, less-crowded Great Wall section with a toboggan descent.
- Temple of Heaven
Where emperors prayed for harvest; morning tai chi in the cypress park.
- Tiananmen Square
One of the world's largest city squares, about 880 m long north to south and able to hold a million people—the core space of Beijing's Central Axis: the founding ceremony of the PRC was held here on October 1, 1949; the Monument to the People's Heroes stands at the center, the Great Hall of the People on the west, and on the east the China...
- The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
Completed in the 18th year of Ming Yongle (1420), the imperial palace where 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties lived and ruled, formerly the Forbidden City: covering 720,000 sq m with over 8,700 rooms, the world's largest and best-preserved wooden palace complex