The Temple of Heaven

 

 

The Temple of Heaven is the best place in Beijing to explore the traditionalroyal sacrificial culture of ancient China, also a pleasant place for leisure stayof walking or sightseeing, as well as for exploration of local culture. It was firstbuilt in Ming Dynasty Yongle 18 Year (1420). The Emperor Zhu Di used 14years to finish the construction along with the construction of Forbidden City.It was named Temple of Heaven and Earth at that time. In Ming DynastyEmperor Jiajing 9 Year (1530), it was renamed as the "Temple of Heaven".Covering an area of 2,700,000 square meters, the Temple of Heaven Beijing islarger than the Forbidden City. The public area now serves as an entertainingand morning exercise place for locals. It is open from early morning to laternight. If you go to the Temple of Heaven in the early morning, you could seethe people living near to take exercise or take part in folk activities in thepark, such as running, cycling and playing Tai Chi etc. You can practice withthem if you are so inclined as this is a very good activity for the jetlagged. Orjust experience the peaceful atmosphere. The visiting of Temple of Heavenusually takes about 1~2 hours, so it is usually recommended to tour withother sites in Beijing city.