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It was built in 1420, the 18th year
of the reign of Ming Emperor Yongle and was where emperors went to
worship heaven for good harvests.
There are two parts to the
temple-the inner altar and outer altar. The main buildings are in
the inner altar, on the north-south axis. At the southern end are
the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. On the
northern end are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and Huangqian
Hall. The structures at both ends are connected by a 360-meter-long
walk. There is also the Hall of Abstinence inside the West Heavenly
Gate which was where the emperor fasted for three days and bathed
before prayer.
The temple's main building is the
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where the emperor prayed for good
harvests. The round hall, 38 meters high and 30 meters in diameter,
has triple eaves and a cone-shaped deep blue tile roof crowned with
a gilded knob. Surrounding the hall is a six-meter-high spacious
circular stone terrace on three levels, each edged by a balustrade
of carved white marble.
The Circular
Mound Altar is one of the more important buildings and is a
three-tier white song terrace enclosed by two walls. Geometrically
designed, the altar has a taiji rock at the center of the top
terrace. If you stand on the rock and speak in a normal voice,
your voice will sound louder and more resonant to yourself than to
others around you, because the sound waves reflected by the
balustrades and the round wall bounce back to the center.
To the north of the Circular
Mound Altar is the Imperial Vault of Heaven where the memorial
tablets to heaven were placed. It is smaller than the Hall of
Prayer for Good Harvests but is very similar in structure. The
vault, made of brick and timber, is 19 meters high and 15.6 meters
in diameter. It is surrounded by a circular wall of polished brick
with an opening to the south. This is known as Echo Wall and is
3.72 meters high, 61.5 meters in diameter and 193 meters in
circumference. If a person whispers close to the wall at any
point, his voice can be heard distinctly at any other point along
the wall.
Around the Hall of Abstinence
are two imperial ditches and they are circled by a 163 bay
walkway. The Abstinence Bronze Man Pavilion and Time and Memorial
Tablets Pavilion are at the Celestial Terrace of the main hall.
Bells in the two bell towers at the northeast end were struck when
the emperor prayed for good harvests adding to the solemnity of
the occasion.
Included in the UNESCO world
heritage list in 1998.
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