The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven (Tiāntán) is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism. When I visited this place, I can imagine how the Empress Dowager Cixi prays here (from the book Empress Orchid & Last Empress Dowager by author Anchee Min).
In 1918, The Temple of Heaven was turn into a park，it attracted masses of visitors from home and abroad by the grand scales...
Seven-Star stones, during the Ming emperor Jiajing's reign, seven gigantic pacifying stones were placed to the southeast of the Great Hall of Sacrifice. These are stones with motifs of mountains engraved on them and not the meteors as the hearsay went, symbolizing the seven peaks of the Mountain Tai. After the Manchurian came to the throne in central China, in order to show the Manchurian is part of the Chinese nations, Emperor Qianlong issued an edict for another stone to be placed in the direction of the northeast, meaning the Chinese nations are a big family and the country is unified.
The spacious Temple of Heaven is well-afforested. When going into the Temple, a feeling of solemnity, respectfulness, holiness and quietness will well up in the mind. When looking at the beautiful sacrificial altar, one will feel the his soul is purified and his thoughts sublimed.
We are both amazed on the activities that locals does here...
Read more about the Tian Tan here
xoxo
