The Temple of Heaven was built in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, covering an area of about 2.73 million square meters, which is the place of worship of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is the largest existing sacrificial building complex in China. The Temple of Heaven is a national 5A-level scenic spot, a world cultural heritage and a national key cultural relics protection unit, and is also one of the Beijing attractions familiar to Chinese.

The Temple of Heaven is divided into a prayer altar for a good harvest in the north and a mound in the south to worship the heavens, and is connected by the Danbi Bridge in the middle.

The main buildings in the northern prayer valley altar area are the New Year's Prayer Gate, the New Year's Prayer Hall, the Emperor's Dry Hall and other side halls. The bottom altar is a circular step with a decreasing area of three layers, and the diameter of the lower, middle and upper three layers of the altar is 91 meters, 80 meters and 68 meters respectively. Walking up to the three-story round altar, you will come to the north, and even the most interesting New Year's Hall in the panoramic area. The prayer hall is a three-storey blue glazed tile circular building, 38 meters high, 32.7 meters in diameter, from a distance, in the relatively open Temple of Heaven scenic area, the view is very magnificent. You can't enter the inside of the prayer hall, and you can only stand at the door and watch the inside of the hall to learn about the ancient sacrifice scenes. In addition, the Huangqian Hall in the north of the Hall of Prayer is a temple dedicated to the "Emperor God" and the Emperor's ancestors and ancestors.

Coming out of the Hall of Prayer and walking across the Danbi Bridge, you will come to the Imperial Dome and the Echo Wall. The imperial dome is the place where the gods are worshipped, the pillars in the hall are on the bucket arch and the large span of the caisson is relatively rare in the traditional Chinese architecture, in addition, the hall is also painted with exquisite colorful paintings such as dragons and phoenixes and seals, two dragons playing with pearls. The wall of the imperial dome is the "echo wall" that many people are amazed by, because the wall is smooth and compact, the angle is special, two people can hear each other's voices when they stand in the east and west side halls and speak to the wall, but because there are many visitors to the Temple of Heaven, it is regrettable that the echo wall often cannot achieve the desired effect.

Next to the prayer hall is the mound used to worship the sky in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The mound is a three-tiered altar, but there is no large hall like the altar of prayer. The mound is 5.17 meters high, and it is worth noting that there is a "Tianxin Stone" in the center of the upper layer, and then the number of stones expands outward in multiples of 9. Under the altar, there is also a green glazed burnt wood stove, which is used to burn offerings during the winter solstice ceremony.

The Temple of Heaven has a high reputation in China and even in the world, but it has to be said that the attitude of the staff inside the Temple of Heaven is average, and the ticket seller at the door is not patient enough, which is somewhat inconsistent with the title of the national civilized scenic tourism demonstration site.

Fare:

Tickets: 15 yuan in peak season (April-October), 10 yuan in low season (November-March).

Combined ticket (including large ticket, Kagura Department, Sai Palace, New Year's Hall, Circle Hill, Echo Wall): 35 yuan in peak season, 30 yuan in low season.

Opening Hours:

High season 6:00-22:00

Low season 6:30-22:00