Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven Park is located in the Chongwen District, Beijing. Originally, this was the place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. It is the largest and most representative existing masterpiece among China’s ancient sacrificial buildings. Renowned temple complex from 1420 featuring distinctive circular buildings set in a popular park.

First built in 1420, the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, Temple of Heaven was enlarged and rebuilt during the reigns of the Ming emperor Jiajing and the Qing emperor Qianlong. In 1988, it was opened to the public as a park, showing ancient philosophy, history and religion. Its grand architectural style and profound cultural connotation give an insight into the practices of the ancient Eastern civilization.

Covering an area of 2,700,000 square meters Temple of Heaven is larger than the Forbidden City. As the ‘Sons of Heaven’, Chinese emperors were precluded from building a dwelling for themselves that was greater than the earthly residence dedicated to Heaven hence the difference in overall size of the two complexes.