The Temple of Heaven in Beijing

1. Temple of Heaven
By Caton Lupica
- Overview
- Purpose
- Origin
- Description (Cont.)
- Methods of Protection (Cont.)
- Conclusion
Video
Bibliography

2. Brief Overview
The Temple of Heaven is a complex
of fine buildings and gardens
surrounded by historic pine woods.
The temple is located in Beijing
China, and was originally created in
1420 AD. The Temple of Heaven
was built together with the
Forbidden City, during the reign of
Ming Emperor Yongle. It is a result
of the highest level of ancient
Chinese cosmology.
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3. Purpose
The purpose of the temple is to symbolise the
relationship between heaven and earth, or the human
world and God’s world. Numerous Emperors have
used the Temple of Heaven to carry out official rituals
and ceremonies where sacrifices to heaven would be
offered, in prayer for good harvests on behalf of the
people of the land.
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4. Origin
The Temple of Heaven is a
masterpiece of ancient
Chinese culture. Its siting,
planning and architectural
design was based on ancient
Chinese ideology. The
ideology relates to numbers
and spatial organisation to
do with the relationship
between heaven and earth.
For example, the far top
corners of the temple are
rounded, however the
bottom corners are squared,
because the ancient Chinese
believed the shape of
Heaven is round and the
Earth is square.
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5. Detailed Description
The temple grounds
cover almost 3 km2 of
parkland in total. The
Temple of Heaven’s
central building is called
The Hall of Prayer for
Good Harvests. It stands
an impressive 38 metres
high, and has three
circular levels. The
tower is based on three
levels of marble rock,
and at the top of the
building is a conically
shaped roof.
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6. Description Cont.
Directly south of the Hall of Prayer lies the Imperial
Vault of Heaven, which resembles The Hall of Prayer,
only a smaller one-levelled version. Further south is
the Circular Mound Altar, an empty circular platform of
three levels of marble, each decorated lavishly with
carved dragons. Each of these building is connected
via a 360 metre long elevated brick path, known as The
Red Stairway Bridge.
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7. Methods of
Protection
To keep the temple genuine
and authentic, any
proposed projects that may
have an impact on the
heritage values of the
temple are prohibited. The
entire site is constantly
under rigorous
maintenance and
conservational
improvements. As an
additional measure for the
protection of the temple, all
staff conducting any work
on the Temple are specially
trained architects.
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8. Methods of Protection
Cont.
 The Temple of Heaven was
included by the State Council
of the People’s Republic of
China on the first group of
State Priority Protected sites in
1961. There are also certain
restrictions to areas where the
general public are allowed to
access. The master plan for the
protection and management of
the Temple of Heaven is
currently under review, and
will be presented to the World
Heritage Committee when it is Main Menu
complete.

9. Why the Temple of Heaven deserves to be
on UNESCO’s list of the world’s most
fascinating places.
The creation of the Temple of Heaven dates back to 420AD,
making it 1592 years old. It a miracle how well it is preserved,
and the fact that it is still used today by the same people who
built it is nothing short of extraordinary. Its architectural
design is of the finest in China, and is superior in comparison
to the other similar temples built around China.
The temple is a perfect example of thousands of years of
Chinese culture, all rolled into a multitude of beautiful
structures. The temple is a place of utter serenity and
peacefulness, and can almost take you back in time. It is by far
one of the most profoundly overwhelming World Heritage
sites you could ever see, and no doubt deserves to be viewed as
one of the most fascinating places as well.
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10. Video
This short video
further describes the
temple and it’s
features, and gives a
good visual
understanding of the
site.
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11. Bibliography Main Menu
 http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/881
 http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/pictures-of-
china/?level=picture&id=1540
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mo6_cskvhQ
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven
 http://www.flickriver.com/photos/30302159@N05/56161117
07/
 http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=10175617
 http://www.beijingxiantour.com/beijing-tours/forbidden-
city-temple-of-heaven-summer-palace-coach-tour/