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Welcome, international travelers! As you embark on your exciting Beijing tour, a visit to the majestic Temple of Heaven (天坛, Tiantan) is an absolute must. This
Welcome, international travelers! As you embark on your exciting Beijing tour, a visit to the majestic Temple of Heaven (天坛, Tiantan) is an absolute must. This guide serves as your essential companion in exploring one of Beijing's most revered cultural landmarks.
Contrary to its name, the Temple of Heaven isn't just a single temple; it's an expansive park encompassing a stunning temple complex. Nestled within this serene expanse, you'll find three primary structures: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Circular Mound Altar. These architectural marvels are beautifully aligned along a north-south axis, offering a visually harmonious experience.
Established in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Heaven, or 'Tiantan Park' as it's locally known, has been a pivotal site for Chinese emperors. It's here that rulers from the Ming and subsequent Qing Dynasty would engage in sacred rituals, praying to the heavens for bountiful harvests.
Navigating this historical gem can be overwhelming, but worry not! Our "Temple of Heaven Travel Guide" is tailored to help you explore efficiently. Whether you're curious about the best paths to take or seeking insights into the park's rich history, this guide will be your roadmap.
Your experiences and insights are invaluable to us. Should you have any questions or wish to share updates based on your visit, we encourage you to leave a message or feedback. Together, we can ensure this guide remains a reliable resource for all future travelers.
Embrace the history, marvel at the architecture, and enjoy the tranquility of Tiantan Park. Your adventure in Beijing starts here!
Though everyday the temple and historical buildings within the park are open to the public basically from 8:00 till 17:00 ( subject to change due to different seasons), the park itself opens a bit earlier at 6:00 and closes at 22:00 ( again subject to change due to the seasons). Many local people have annual passes for easy access to the park.
Getting there about 7:00 or 7:30am, especially on a Sunday morning, you will see local people, most of them are middle-aged or seniors doing various kinds of light physical activity you can imagine, like singing, dancing, playing instruments, playing chess, practising kung fu, tai chi… After 9:30 a.m. it will be slammed with group tourists.
Be prepared for a guidebook or hire a Beijing Tour Guide for your lifetime trip to the temple complex in the park. Three historical buildings are not missed from north to south, namelythe Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and Circular Mound Altar.
where the emperors sacrificed animals and burned incense sticks to pray for good weather for the crops.
A single gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.
Inside the compound, there is the circular wall, or popularly known as an echo wall which is a curve wall that creates amazing acoustics. For example, you can whisper something from one end and the voice will transmit to the other end.
Used to worship Heaven at the winter solstice where the principal construction is a large round marble terrace named the Circular Mound Altar.
Always keep in mind that here is a huge park, a huge garden. Old cypress trees are worth having a close look.
Some of the cypresses are more than 600 years old. Dr Henry Kissinger, when he visited the temple, stated that while the USA could recreate the Temple of Heaven if it desired, it could not create the trees!
Originally the Temple of Heaven had only one main gate, which faced west, but after it was made a public park in 1949, entrances were also opened on the northern, southern and eastern sides.
So now it mainly has four gates – East, South, West and North. Both East Gate and South Gate are highly recommended.
If you want to see the local people engaged in all kinds of morning activities, you are advised to enter the east gate since most of the morning activities are carried out around the east gate area.
The East Gate entrance is also close to the subway line 05. If you enter the east gate, then your walking itinerary would be east gate – long corridor – The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest – The Imperial Vault of Heaven – Circular Mound Altar – South Gate.
After your north – south tour of the temple travel route, you may turn back and go out of the east gate again and head to the Hongqiao Market across the road.
Start your tour by entering the south gate, then walk along the central way to visit Circular Mound Altar – the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Hall of Prayer for Harvest – Long Corridor – North Gate or East Gate (Hongqiao Market).
If you visit the Temple of Heaven through the east gate, you take subway line 5 to Tiantan Dongmen Station (East Gate of Temple of Heaven) and then take exit A, close to the East Gate entrance to Temple of Heaven. For the public buses to the east gate, you may try bus 6, 35, 36, 39, 41, 43…
If you use south gate, you also can take a taxi or take bus 36, 120, 122, 800, 803, 958
Address for Temple of Heaven: No. 7, Dongli, Tiantan Nei, Dongcheng District, Beijing Zip code: 100061 Telephone: 010-67012483 (daytime) 010-67013036 (night)
Peak season : ( April 01- October 31 each year) Off season : ( November 01 to March 31 of the following year )
The Park opening time Peak season opening hours: 6:00-21:00 Off-season opening hours: 6:30-21:00 Park clearance : at 22:00
Opening time for the historical buildings inside the park (mainly the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Circular Mound Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven) Peak season opening time: 8:00-17:30 Off-season opening time: 8:00-17:00 also including the North God cook, the North slaughtering house, the Fast House and Divine Music Administration （神乐署中和韶乐）inside the park.
The sights above are closed on Mondays (except public holidays).
Basically there are two kinds of entrance tickets – Entrance ticket for the park only and through tickets for entering the park as well the three main historical buildings within the park.
Entrance Ticket: An entrance ticket charges RMB 15 (April – November) and RMB 10 (December – March). With the ticket, you can get into the park, see local people do morning exercises and have an outside look at the historical buildings in the park as well.
Through Ticket: The ticket charges RMB 34 (April – November) and RMB 28 (December – March). With a through ticket, you can enter the park and go to visit the three paid historic sights in the park – Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, The Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar.
Notice:
Location: four gate areas;
Time: 8:00 -- 17:00;
Language: Chinese, Cantonese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, German and Spanish;
Rent fee: A) For Chinese, the deposit is 100 yuan, which will be returned to the tourist when the machine is replaced. The rent for the machine is 10 yuan. B) For other languages: 100 yuan deposit, return to the tourist when returning the machine; The rent for the machine is 40 yuan.
Location: South gate of the park;
Time: 8:00 -- 17:00;
Language: Chinese and English;
Fees: A)100 yuan for five Chinese speakers ( including few than five) ; 200 yuan for more than five people. B.) There will be an extra charge of 50 yuan for the English speakers.
Tips: The tour guide should be booked two days in advance; Contact number: 67028866 ( Tour Guide Team)
Though there are many trees in the park, all the trees are lined on the both sides of the north-south axis. So no single tree on your wide and spacious axis trip – Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound.
The park is so huge. You are advised to wear your most comfortable shoes. It’s a long walk!
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