Must-see attractions in Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

  • Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in Temple of Heaven Park, Chongwen.

    Temple of Heaven Park

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…

  • Southeast Corner Watchtower, with purple flowers in foreground.

    Southeast Corner Watchtower

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…

  • Ming Ruins Park.

    Ming City Wall Ruins Park

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    This wistful stretch of brick and stone is all that remains (besides a couple of other denuded nubs) of Beijing's once formidable city walls, girding the…

  • The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing.

    Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    The crowning glory of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, its triple-eaved roof canopy of glazed blue tiles reflecting its…

  • Round altar, Temple of Heaven, Beijing

    Round Altar

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    The present build dating to around 1540, this is the business end of the Temple of Heaven. Here on this open-air, raised platform (a circle within a…

  • City diorama inside Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall (Beijing Shi Guihua Zhanlanguan)..

    Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Presenting a top-down perspective on the world's most micromanaged megacity, dry exhibits detail the government's grand schemes for Beijing, with scant…

  • Inside the Imperial Vault of Heaven at the Temple of Heaven Park.

    Imperial Vault of Heaven

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Inside the Echo Wall, this ornate building was merely a storeroom, used to keep the spirit tablets of the gods and other materials used for the ceremonies…

  • Divine Music Administration

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Music, song and dance were integral components of the arcane rituals performed by the Emperor at the Temple of Heaven, and here is where the ranks of…

  • Beijing Red Star

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Fans of Communist ephemera or esoteric booze brands might get a kick out this place set up by Red Star, a popular brand of Beijing báijiǔ, China's famous…

  • China Railway Museum – Zhengyang Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    In the old Qianmen Railway Station, which served Beijing from 1906 to 1959 (although only the clock tower is original), this museum offers a fairly…

  • Qianmen Avenue

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Running due south from Beijing's 'front gate', the mighty Qianmen, this street was once the main commercial thoroughfare through what was known as the …

  • Beijing Natural History Museum

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    New York and London needn't fret: Beijing's Natural History Museum isn't going to rival their august institutions any time soon. Not with exhibits that…

  • Fasting Palace

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    This palace complex close to the West Heavenly Gate was used by the emperor for three days prior to conducting the winter solstice ceremony at the Round…

  • Animal Killing Pavilion

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    With its double-tiered roof of green glazed tiles, the Animal Killing Pavilion was where the slaughter of oxen, sheep, deer and other animals took place,…

  • Long Corridor

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    A covered promenade connecting the Animal Killing Pavilion with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Long Corridor these days is a veritable mini…

  • Yongding Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    The former front gate of Beijing's Outer City Wall, the original Yongding Gate was demolished in the 1950s. Rebuilt in 2005, it stands, rather forlornly,…

  • Taiyuan Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    With nine considered an auspicious number, this gate was one of the nine altar gates within the Temple of Heaven Park complex. Note that you cannot enter…

  • Echo Wall

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Thanks to its unique acoustic properties, a quiet spoken word or two against this circular wall can be heard at the opposite point, some 65m away …

  • Temple of Heaven South Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    Also known as the Zhaoheng Gate (昭亨门; Zhāohēng Mén) the emperor and entourage would enter the temple complex through here. It's now one of the four main…

  • Red Stairway Bridge

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    This grand walkway leads north from the Imperial Vault of Heaven to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

  • Gate of Prayer for Good Harvests

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    A gateway on the Red Stairway Bridge that opens on to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

  • East Heavenly Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    You'll pass through this ornamental portal if you are accessing the Temple of Heaven Park from the main east entrance.

  • North Heavenly Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    An ornamental gate at the northern edge of the park, some distance inside the main Temple of Heaven North Gate.

  • West Heavenly Gate

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    This ornamental gateway will take you towards the main sights if you enter the park at the main west gate.

  • Rose Garden

    Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South

    One of the most pleasant spots in the Temple of Heaven Park, especially when the roses are in bloom.

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