Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Beijing (Beijing)

Member Name: Paris217

Product:	Beijing
Date:	27/11/08 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A beautiful temple and park complex with plenty of history and atmosphere.

Disadvantages: Too crowded to test the Echo Wall!

On part of my trip to Beijing I visited the Temple of Heaven or Tian Tan. The temple is located in South Beijing and as one of the main sights, pretty easy to get to.

Tian Tan was built at the same time as the Forbidden City, and completed in 1420 by Emperor Yongle. The temple was built for the Emperor to pray and make sacrifices to Heaven at the winter solstice.

The first section I saw was the Temple of Heaven (or Qinian Dian), it is a beautiful building. The building is round, and built of wood - apparently without any nails! The building is round to symbolise Heaven, and the actual park around it is square to represent the Earth. The building is set on marble, which has ots of carvings, including dragons.

As I climbed the marble steps, I felt quite in awe of the temple, the building walls are red, and these are built of 4 main wooden columns which symbolise Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and the roof is coloured blue to represent Heaven.

Although you cannot go inside, try to look through the door and sneak a peak inside, it is beautifully decorated and you will also be able to see the 4 wooden columns which supports the building.

Next, I made my way through the park, as there are several other sights to see. The park itself is lovely, and you will see locals playing cards, singing, or practising martials arts, this is nice to watch and there is usually a little crowd gathered round to watch!

Another main sight in the complex is the Imperial vault of Heaven, this is smaller than Qinian Dian, but just as beautifully decorated with dragons and phoenixes. This building is surrounded by the Echo Wall, the wall is also round, and if you stand at one end and whisper, someone at the other end should be able to hear you clearly! It was too noisy to say if this is true though, as lots of people were shouting to be heard!!

The other main sight is the Round Altar, the altar is round and paved with grey marble slabs, this is where the Emperor would speak, and perform the sacrifice. I'm not sure why, but in the middle of the altar there is a circle marble slab, and everyone jumped on it twice!

When I visited in October, the weather was beautiful and the sky was a perfect blue, I could easily have spent an entire day! I would say if you were visiting to spend at least half a day to soak up a little of the park atmosphere.

Summary: A beauiful temple and park, one of the top sights in Beijing.