Beijing Temple of Heaven is located on the east side of Yongdingmennei Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is a tourist check-in place in Beijing that is worth visiting, and it is also a world cultural heritage, unique and famous. The design here is exquisite, one step at a time, and the wisdom and discipline are displayed in every inch, which has been praised by people throughout the ages.
So, what's so wonderful about the Temple of Heaven? Visit the Temple of Heaven, how to play to have fun. We're here to share them one by one.
1. Why is the Temple of Heaven worth seeing?
(1) Unique use
The Temple of Heaven is the place of sacrifice of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and there are two main activities: sacrificing to the sky and praying for the valley. In ancient times, the emperor was considered to be the "proud son of heaven", inheriting the destiny of heaven and inheriting the unification, so thanking the emperor for the kindness of the earth, protecting the people of the world, and praying for good health and prosperity and a bumper harvest of grains is the top priority. The Temple of Heaven was built for this reason. Therefore, today, when the official custom of blessing the heavens and praying is gradually rare, people are full of curiosity about this mysterious ritual. The Temple of Heaven is a great place to find out.
(2) Pay attention to construction
Because it is used for sacrifices, the construction of the Temple of Heaven incorporates a lot of knowledge of mechanics, architecture, geometry, astronomy and so on. The details here are full of mysteries, and when you dig deeper, you will be stunning. In order to highlight the majesty of the royal style and full of meaning, the Temple of Heaven seeks the fit of different dimensions from the location and layout of each temple to the amount of materials used in the building masonry, beams and columns, so as to achieve the supreme realm of "the unity of heaven and man".
(3) Acoustically exquisite
Another great feature of the Temple of Heaven is that it combines architecture and acoustics exquisitely. In the construction of the echo wall, the three-tone stone, and the mound, acoustic science was used exquisitely, and it is recognized as the three acoustic miracles. The seemingly flat sound wall can transmit sound from ten meters away; Standing on the three-tone stone and speaking, you can hear different reverberations on different stone slabs; Standing on the center stone of the mound platform and speaking, you can hear echoes from all directions; Standing on a dialogue stone and speaking can produce an instant messaging effect just like making a phone call. These are still talked about by people today.
2. What are the interesting points in the Temple of Heaven?
(1) Must-see attractions
Huang Qiandian:
Located on the north side of the prayer hall, it was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and is a hall with five blue glazed tile roofs dedicated to the "Emperor God" and the Emperor Ancestors and Ancestors.
Hall of Prayer:
Located in the north of the Temple of Heaven, it was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). In front of the temple are two rows of tall trees, lush green. The whole prayer hall building is solemn and majestic, and the momentum is magnificent. The white stone carving structure on the steps is exquisite, the carving is delicate, rich and luxurious, and there are 28 pillars in the main hall, which respectively imply the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, the twelve months of the year and the twelve hours, and the stars of the week.
Danbi Bridge:
Located in front of the prayer hall, also known as Haiyuan Avenue, it was built in the eighteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420), and is the main passage connecting the prayer hall and the mound altar. There is a coupon hole under the flat and wide Danbi Bridge, which is the passage for livestock to go to the slaughtering pavilion during the sacrifice, and it is also called the Ghost Gate.
Huang Qiongyu:
Located in the north of the mound altar, it is mainly used to collect god cards. The whole hall is rigorous and exquisite, the steps outside the hall are carved with two dragons playing with pearls, the top of the temple is covered with blue tile gold roof, and there are delicate and beautiful caisson wells inside. In front of the main hall, there are also 5 side halls dedicated to the emperors of the Qing Dynasty and each with a sacred wooden plaque.
Three-tone stone:
Outside the gate of the Imperial Dome is the famous acoustic miracle three-tone stone. Standing on the first stone slab and speaking into the temple, an echo can be heard; Standing on the second stone slab and speaking to the temple, two echoes can be heard; Standing on the third stone slab and speaking to the temple, three echoes can be heard. You can try it when there are few people.
Sound Bar:
It is the wall of the Imperial Dome, with a height of 3.72 meters and a diameter of 61.5 meters, and has an echoing effect. Because the whole wall is built very finely, the arc of the wall is regular, the wall is hard, neat and smooth, and the absorption of sound is small, so that the sound wave attenuates very little in the propagation process, so under normal circumstances, people can't hear whispering 6m away, but it can be transmitted far away in the echo wall, which can be called an acoustic miracle.
Mound:
Also known as the Temple of Heaven, it was built in the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1530), and it is the place where the emperor holds the winter solstice sacrifice ceremony. On the red palace wall with blue-green glazed tiles is a sub-wall. There is a gate around the sub-wall, which is Chengzhen Gate, Taiyuan Gate, Guangli Gate, and Zhaoheng Gate.
When you climb to the top, you will find that whether you are clapping or shouting, the sound here will become very loud. It turns out that the roof of the mound altar is not completely horizontal, and the loud sound we hear is not the original sound, but the echo of the sound wave after a brief reflection of 0.07 seconds.
3. The best tour route of the Temple of Heaven
The layout of the attractions in the Temple of Heaven is relatively neat. Therefore, although there are 4 gates, no matter which gate you enter, you can go through it without looking back. And all four gates, all of which can be reached by subway or bus. Therefore, you can choose the most suitable route according to your own situation.
There are a variety of tour routes to choose from:
- Enter the park at the north gate
Huangqian Hall - Prayer Hall (you can visit the Divine Kitchen, Long Corridor, and Slaughtering Pavilion) - Danbi Bridge - Nine Dragon Cypress - Imperial Dome - Echo Wall - Circle Hill - Kagura Department - Zhai Palace - Bell Tower - Yueji Garden - Hundred Gardens - West Gate (out of the garden).
- Enter the park at the east gate
Slaughtering Pavilion - Divine Kitchen - Imperial Dry Hall - Prayer Hall - Danbi Bridge - Imperial Dome - Echo Wall - Yuanqiu - Kagura Department - Saigong Palace - Hundred Gardens - Yueji Garden - West Gate (out of the garden).
- South Gate and West Gate enter the park
The south gate and the west gate can be visited in reverse order according to the above two routes. Of course, you can also adjust the arrangement according to your preferences~
3. Ticket purchase
Ticket Prices：
The peak season ticket of the Temple of Heaven Park is 35 yuan/person, and the ticket is 15 yuan/person;
The off-season ticket is 30 yuan/person, and the ticket is 10 yuan/person.
Tips：
Most of the famous attractions are not included in the big ticket, so you need to buy a separate ticket, and if you want to see them all, it is best to buy a combined ticket.
Epilogue
Okay~ About the gameplay of the Temple of Heaven, I will introduce so much for the time being. The wonder and mystery in this need to be visited on the spot to be more truly felt. So, take a moment and let's go~