Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is really a complex of temples and parks that’s smack dab in the middle of Beijing.

Dun look that impressive, does it? Looks kinda old from a distance…
Well, not really the middle of Beijing. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are in the middle. The Temple of Heaven is more like 4 o’clock from there. I’ve never really made it a point to visit parks during my previous visits to Beijing because I would be visiting in late November. I got asked “why are you coming out here in late November?” on each of my previous Beijing visits. Being from northern California and a weather wimp, bone chilling cold weather dun usually agree with me. One visit, I caught a head cold in Tiananmen Square. Weather wimp. Anyhoo…

Up close, it looks much more impressive. The obligatory postcard shot.
The weather this trip was nice so I went for a visit. When you first get there, you have to pay admission. There are two prices. Pay the more expensive of the two and you get a combo ticket that gets you in to see the various temples that make up the Temple of Heaven complex. A good deal. And very impressive because it was recently restored and reopened last year.

There’s the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿), the building that everyone associates with the Temple of Heaven. No nails used in its construction.

Inside the Hall for Prayer for Good Harvests

There’s the House of Heavenly Lord (皇穹宇), where the altars were stored when they were not being used. It’s stubby!
Then there’s the Earthly Mount (圜丘坛), which is a flat empty platform that the middle of was supposed to be the exact center of China, which used to think of itself as the center of the world. Not as impressive of a photo so none here.

A closeup of the sign on the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests
Glad I made the visit. So check the Temple of Heaven off my list. There’s still a lot in BJ I’ve not seen yet. That’ll have to wait until October…