Main attractions
The Imperial Vault of Heaven
1. The main hall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven
The courtyard of the Imperial Vault of Heaven is located in the north of the outer wall of the Circular Mound Altar. On the side, it faces south from the north, with a circular wall and three glazed doors on the south. The main buildings include the Imperial Vault and the East and West Side Halls, which are the places where the Circular Mound Altar is used to worship the gods.
2. The West Side Hall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven
The West Side Hall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven is a place where the gods of night (moon), clouds, rain, wind and thunder are enshrined.
3. Interior view of the Imperial Vault
The Imperial Vault is supported by sixteen circular pillars, eight eaves pillars on the outer layer, eight gold pillars in the middle, and two pillars with The unique gold-plated brackets support the ceiling and caisson above the arch. The hall is full of colorful paintings of dragons, phoenixes and seals. The ceiling pattern is of two gilded dragons playing with beads, and the caisson is a golden dragon caisson. The span of the dougong and caisson in the Imperial Vault Hall is unique among ancient Chinese buildings.
4. The east side hall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven
The side hall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven, on the top of the Xieshan Hall, has a blue glazed tile roof, with six steps on the front, decorated with scroll paintings, and has an exquisite shape. The east hall is dedicated to the God of Ming Dynasty (sun), the Big Dipper, the five stars of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, and the stars in the sky. The west hall is the place where the gods of night (moon), clouds, rain, wind and thunder are enshrined.
Altar of Prayer for Grain
1. Interior view of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
The Hall of Prayer for Harvest is supported by 28 large nanmu pillars, which are arranged in a circle, with 4 Longjing pillars in the middle. It is 19.2 meters high and 1.2 meters in diameter, supporting the upper eaves; 12 gold pillars in the middle support the second eaves; 12 outer eaves pillars support the third eaves; a corresponding three-story ceiling is set, with a dragon and phoenix caisson in the middle; the beams in the hall are decorated with dragons and phoenixes Hexi color painting.
2. Historical and cultural exhibition of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (East Side Hall)
The East Side Hall is the historical and cultural exhibition of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. We will look at the history, art, meaning, major events, etc. of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It will show you the unique charm of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and make you truly feel that your trip is worthwhile.
3. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests
The altar of the Prayer for Good Harvest Altar is a circular building that combines the altar and hall. It was built based on the ancient saying of "worshiping the emperor under the house". The altar has three floors, 5.6 meters high, the lower floor has a diameter of 91 meters, the middle floor has a diameter of 80 meters, and the upper floor has a diameter of 68 meters; the hall is circular, 38 meters high and 32.7 meters in diameter, with triple blue glazed tiles, round eaves, a pointed roof, and a gilded top. gold.
4. The praying altar and the slaughtering pavilion
The slaughtering pavilion is a place where sacrifices are prepared for sacrifices. Because in the old days, sacrifices were not allowed to be slaughtered with a knife. It can only be killed with wooden weapons. Therefore, the slaughtering pavilion is also called the slaughtering pavilion.
The slaughtering pavilion is located to the east of the prayer altar. Located at the end of the corridor. It is a double eaves Xieshan hall. The outer ring is made of bricks. There are gates facing east and south. There is a well in the courtyard. The well is covered with a pavilion. The floor of the courtyard is made of seawall bricks.
Zai Sheng Pavilion Chongji. Chess stand. Color painting by Shi Xuanzi. It is five rooms wide. Go deep into three rooms. There are partition doors to the south in the bright and secondary rooms. Build sill windows between the tips. There are bright windows on the east and west gables. There is a platform in front of the hall. Extremely broad. There is a hall on the right side of the platform, which is the end of the corridor. It is a hanging shed-style building. Connected to the promenade. There is a stone well in front of the platform. It is a place where water is drawn during sacrifices. It is overlaid with a hexagonal well pavilion. There is a brick door on the east wall of the slaughtering pavilion. There are whitebark pine, Albizia julibrissin and other trees planted outside the door, as well as a large lawn. There used to be an ancient well on the site. It is said that this was the place where sacrifices were made for washing, and there were still remains of stones in the mid-1980s. It is now unrecognizable.
The Sacrifice Pavilion underwent extensive renovations in September 1977. The roof was renovated. Part of the wooden frame was replaced. I redid my back. Row the ridge. Re-official. Catching knots and ridges. Replaced the Rhinoceros. Running beast. After reconstruction. It was once turned into a dance hall. Later, it was converted into a management building. In 1990, it was opened as Qingshanju Jewelry Store. In 1997, Qingshanju Jewelry Store moved out. The slaughtering pavilion was then used to hold flower exhibitions such as roses and chrysanthemums.
5. The Divine Chef of the Praying for Grain Altar
The Divine Kitchen Courtyard is located to the east of the Praying for Grain Altar, with a long corridor to the north. It was the place where the short-term bean ceremony was held in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are the God's Storehouse Hall, the God's Kitchen Hall and the Sweet Spring Well.
The Shenchu ??Courtyard is a three-heyuan courtyard, with the Shenku Hall in the north and the Shenchu ??Hall in the east and west. The courtyard gate is in the south and is connected to the seventy-two connected rooms. There are brick walls surrounding the halls, but they are not high, but the walls are painted red and covered with green tiles. They are dignified and elegant, and can be seen in the shade of green cypresses.
Shenku Hall is the main hall of the Divine Kitchen Courtyard. In the old days, a caged bean case was set up in the hall. The day before the ceremony, the emperor would come personally or send officials to the hall to hold a canopy bean ceremony. The hall faces south and faces Chongji. It has mountain green glazed tiles, five-flowered gables and five bays, with a width of 30.9 meters and a depth of three rooms, 12.3 meters. In the bright room, there is a floor-to-ceiling rhombus partition fan facing south, and there is a hanging belt in front. There are double-crossed square partition windows between the secondary ends. The back eaves are painted with white walls, and the lower shoulders are made of blue bricks. The east and west halls of the Ming God's Kitchen Courtyard on the white stone platform are the God's Kitchen Hall. They were used as places for making offerings during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the early Ming Dynasty, there was only the east hall when the Temple of Heaven and Earth was built. During the Jiajing Dynasty, when the Daxiang Hall was built, additional buildings were added. Entering the west hall, both halls have lofty foundations, green glazed roofs and five-flowered gables. The east hall of the Divine Kitchen is slightly wider than the main hall, and the west hall is slightly narrower than the main hall. Both halls have bright windows on the rear eaves, and the rest of the systems are the same as the main hall. There is an ancient well in front of the east hall of the Divine Kitchen, covered with a pavilion with green glazed tiles, a hexagonal top, a porcelain white stone pavilion at the mouth of the well, and a derrick. The well is more than 10 meters deep. In the old days, the water in the well was so sweet that people called it the Sweet Spring Well and used it to make soup during sacrifices.
Wang Shiqi of the Qing Dynasty wrote a poem about the sweet spring well in the Temple of Heaven in his "Zhu Xiao Ci": "There are few sweet springs in the capital's earth veins, and it is useless to fry the spring buds. Only the stone in the Temple of Heaven is good, and a spoonful of clear waves sells for a thousand dollars." Planted in the Divine Kitchen Courtyard There are many lush green pines and cypresses, and the shade of the trees fills the courtyard. The remaining space in the courtyard is all embanked with city bricks, which is very regular. The Divine Kitchen Courtyard has been vacant since the Republic of China. On the eve of the founding of New China, it was once occupied by the Kuomintang garrison. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was first used as a library of the Capital Library. A reading room was opened in the east side hall, and the trees in the courtyard were planted at that time. In the mid-1950s, the library was moved out, and the various halls of the Divine Kitchen Courtyard were turned into exhibition halls. Management rooms were added to the courtyard, and the Beijing Excavation Cultural Relics Exhibition and the Agricultural Achievements Exhibition were held successively. During the "Cultural Revolution", it was turned into a civil air defense warehouse. In October 1972, it was renamed the Chongwen District Youth Home. The Children's Home renovated the halls of the God's Kitchen Hall. The God's Store Hall was transformed into an auditorium and a stage was built. The floors of the east and west halls and side halls were also renovated, and a suspended ceiling was installed in the west hall. In 1985, after the Temple of Heaven partially repaired the West Hall of the Divine Chef and the Hall of the Divine Treasury, the West Hall was decommissioned. In January 1990, the Chongwen District Children's Home moved out of the Divine Kitchen Courtyard. In 1993, the Temple of Heaven began a comprehensive renovation of all the halls of the Divine Kitchen Courtyard. Various miscellaneous buildings in the courtyard were demolished, and the sweet spring wells were revealed, and all the halls were restored to their former glory. landscape. In 1995, the Temple of Heaven opened the east hall of the Divine Chef as an exhibition room and the west hall as a reception room. It successively held exhibitions such as the Dream of Red Mansions Figures Exhibition, the Qinling Terracotta Warriors and Horses Figures Exhibition, the Emperor Qianlong and the Temple of Heaven Exhibition, and the Guangxi Strange Stone Exhibition.
6. Praying for Grain Altar
The construction time of the Praying for Grain Altar and the Circular Mound Altar is more than 100 years apart, and the types of plants around the altar are also different. The surrounding area of ??the praying for grain altar is mainly arborvitae, while the circle mound altar is surrounded by juniper.
7. The Heaven Sacrifice Etiquette Hall (West Side Hall)
The Heaven Sacrifice Etiquette Hall is located in the west side hall of the Prayer for Good Harvest Hall. The museum focuses on the evolution of the Chinese Heaven Sacrifice Etiquette, focusing on It shows the etiquette of the Qing Dynasty's heaven-sacrifice ceremony, including the heaven-sacrifice ritual utensils, heaven-sacrifice procedures, etc. Among them, the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong's 13th year of the Qianlong period shows the style of the highest ceremonial guard of the Chinese royal family for the first time, which is particularly exciting.
8. Huangqian Hall
Huangqian Hall is the main hall where the main altar and the matching tablets are usually enshrined. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). Located on the north side of the inner wall of the Altar of Prayer for Grain, it is connected to the altar by three glazed doors, with blue glazed tiles on the roof of the verandah, and a Chongji stone railing. There is a platform in front of the hall, with eight levels in front of the platform and on the left and right. There is an ancient rare gate on the west side of the courtyard. The plaque "Huang Qian Hall" hanging under the eaves is a personal letter from Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty.
The Divine Music Department
The Divine Music Department is one of the buildings in the Temple of Heaven. It is located in the west outer altar of the Temple of Heaven. It was a place for practicing rituals and music during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was known as the most important place in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The highest institution of etiquette and music. The Divine Music Department first appeared in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). It was originally called Shentan Taoist Temple. It has many temples, beautiful environment, tea shops and medicine shops, and is also known as the Temple of Heaven Taoist Temple. In the eighth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1743), the name of the temple was changed to Kagurasuo. In the 19th year of Qianlong's reign (1754), it was named Shenle Department.
1. Xianyou Hall
Xianyou Hall is located on the west side of Ningxi Hall. It was originally a place dedicated to Emperor Xuanwu of Taoism. During the Ming Dynasty, the Xielu Lang and Yue Wusheng of Zhonghe Shao Le were mainly managed by Taoist priests. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Taoist priests were expelled and the Shenyou Hall was renamed the Kagura Department. It is now opened as a memorial hall for ancient Chinese music figures to promote the glorious achievements of our ancestors in the history of music.
2. Ningxi Hall
The main hall of the Temple of Heaven’s Divine Music Department was originally a temple where rituals and music were practiced during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is an ancient building with a single eaves on the top of the mountain, facing west. In the east, there are six couplets and five bays, with entrance doors running from east to west. The area of ??the hall reaches 600 square meters. Now it has been opened as the "Zhonghe Shao Music" exhibition area, which holds ancient sacrificial music and dance performances. It is also the main exhibition hall for Zhonghe Shao music instruments, bells and chimes.
Zhai Palace
1. Bell Tower
The bell tower is located in the northeast corner of the outer layer of Zhai Palace. It has a green glazed tile roof with double eaves and a mountain style, and a Ming Dynasty Yongle hanging inside. A big bell with plain noodles. Before the ceremony, the emperor drove out of the Zhai Palace and began to ring the bells. The bells stopped ringing when he reached the altar.
2. Zhai Palace
The Zhai Palace was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). It was a place where the emperor fasted before holding a ceremony to worship heaven. It is located southwest of the inner altar of the Praying for Grain Altar. corner. There are buildings dedicated to ceremonial, residential, service, and guard functions such as the Beamless Hall, the Dormitory Hall, the Bell Tower, the Watch Room, and the Patrol Corridor. They are all made of green glazed tiles and surrounded by two layers of palace walls and two imperial ditches. The fasting palace has a rigorous layout and an elegant environment. It is a representative work of my country's fasting sacrificial buildings.
3. Wuliang Hall
Wuliang Hall is the main hall of the Zhai Palace. It was built in the 18th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1420). It has a green glazed tile roof and a brick vault inside the hall. , the platform in front of the hall has a stone balustrade with three protrusions, thirteen levels on the main level, and fifteen levels on the left and right. On the north side of the platform is the Bronze Figure of Fasting Pavilion, on the south side is the Chen Pavilion, and in the middle of the front steps is a cloud-pattern relief Danbi.
4. Tongren Pavilion
The Tongren Pavilion is located on the north side of the platform of the Beamless Hall of the Zhai Palace. It is made of four stone pillars, with brick arches on all sides, a square spire of green glazed tiles, and a top. There is a four-sided spine-swallowing orb on it. It is 5.5 meters high and 2 meters square, with exquisite structure. It is the place where fasting bronze figures are placed during fasting. .
5. Shichen Pavilion
Shichen Pavilion is a small palace-style stone niche with a narrow and high stone base underneath.
Before the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven begins, the officials of the Qin Tianjian will put the time tablet into the time pavilion. The emperor will calmly drive out of the palace according to the time played and salute at the altar.
Danbi Bridge
The Danai Bridge is 360 meters long and 29 meters wide. It runs north-south. Its southern end is slightly above the ground, and its northern end is more than 4.5 meters above the ground. It has a blue brick seawall. , edged with white dental stone, is a long brick-and-stone concrete platform. It is called Seawall Avenue in history books and is also called Danlu Bridge because there are two culverts under it. It is said that the Danqiang Bridge got its name because it only has a ramp on the west side and no steps on the east side. The layout of the slope looks like a single arm, so it is nicknamed the single-arm bridge. Later generations chose the homophonic name for it to be auspicious. For Danluqiao. The Danqiu Bridge connects the Chengzhen Gate of the Temple of Heaven to the south and the South Brick Gate of the Altar of Prayer for Good Harvests to the north. It integrates the Hill of Qiu with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and forms an architectural axis of the Temple of Heaven. Danlong Bridge is flat and wide. The bridge deck was originally a city brick seawall. In 1976, it was changed to flat cement square bricks. The center bank is made of white stone, and the stone surface is slightly raised and slightly curved. When the ceremony was held in the past, it was the path where the shrines walked, so it was called the Shinto. It was connected to the middle gate of the south brick gate of the praying for valley altar and the middle gate of Yuanqiu Chengzhen Gate. The left and right sides of the Shinto are the imperial roads, which are the paths that emperors passed when they offered sacrifices to heaven. They are connected to the left and right gates of the south brick gate of the Qigu Altar and the left and right gates of the Wanqiu Chengzhen Gate respectively.
1. Dressing Platform
There is a dressing platform on the east side of Danlong Bridge, where the emperor changed his sacrificial clothes before offering sacrifices. When the great sacrificial hall was constructed during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, there was Jufu Hall, in the 24th year of Jiajing's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1545), Emperor Jiajing withdrew the Great Sacrifice Hall.
When the Daxiang Hall was built, the Gufu Hall was removed and the Gufu Platform was rebuilt. The service platform is a square brick platform made of masonry, with a height of more than 4 meters, a square width of 18.6 meters, and an area of ??more than M0 square meters. It has vertical main structures on the three sides of Tainan, north and east. It is made of white marble railings and the water outlet, and a passage to the west is connected to the Danlu Bridge. The service table was originally made of fine tiles, but was changed to flat cement tiles in 1976. There is a protruding square brick platform in the middle of the service platform, and the surrounding area is inlaid with white dental stone. In the early stages of each sacrificial ceremony during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taichang Temple officials built a changing tent on the stage to prepare for the emperor's need to change sacrificial robes. It was a yellow tent with a gold-swept plate inside. It was shaped like a palace, so it was also It is known as the Little Golden Palace
2. Guimen Pass
The middle part of Danlu Bridge is adjacent to Jufu Terrace and is an east-west arched culvert, commonly known as "Guimen Pass", which connects the Qi Valley There are passages at the east and west corners of the altar. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a sacrificial hall was built in the Temple of Heaven specifically for raising sacrifices for sacrifices. It was located in the southwest corner of the outer altar of the Temple of Heaven. The animals are driven from the sacrifice place to the slaughtering pavilion for making sacrifices. On the way, they have to pass through the Danlong Bridge. According to ancient Chinese rituals, livestock cannot pass through the Shinto. Therefore, the ancients built culverts under the Danlu Bridge to allow the livestock to pass. , because livestock cannot survive after entering the culvert, so this culvert is nicknamed "Ghost Gate". It turns out that the exit on the west side of the culvert is a curved-foot-shaped opening with steps above it for people to climb to Danlong Bridge. The exit on the east side of the culvert is built on the brick wall of Danlong Bridge. In 1971, the management department built an additional step at the east exit of the culvert, and the east exit of the culvert was changed to a curved south exit. The walls on both sides of the culvert are all made of granite, and the ground is made of masonry. It is cold and humid, and the cool air is refreshing, which really makes people feel chilly.
Huanqiu Altar
1. Burning furnaces from the position
There are two iron burning furnaces outside the east and west lattice gates of the inner wall of the Circular Qiu Altar. During the incineration and sacrifice, the offerings are displayed "from the throne". The furnace on the north side outside the Dongling Star Gate is dedicated to the God of the Ming Dynasty (Sun), and the furnace on the south side is dedicated to the gods of the stars.
2. Wanglanterns
The Wanglanterns are located in the southwest of the inner circle outside the Circular Mound Altar. They are lamps used for lighting during sacrifices. There were three during the Qing Dynasty. Under each lantern, a stone lantern stand and a stone pole are fixed. The lantern pole is nine feet high (28.8 meters), with a wishful pole and a pulley on the top to control the lifting and lowering of the lantern. It is supported by three huge wooden poles, and the lantern is suspended from the infinite pole.
3. Coordination furnaces
Liao furnaces are iron furnaces used for incineration of offerings. The eight furnaces here are located in the northeast of the wood furnace, and they are used to incinerate the sacrifices respectively. Offerings placed in front of the thrones of emperors of the first eight generations of the Qing Dynasty.
4. Burnt wood stove
The burnt wood stove is located in the southeast of the outer circle of the Circular Mound Altar. It is located in the south and faces north. It is cylindrical and made of green glazed bricks. It has three sides: east, west and south. Nine steps out. The burnt wood stove is used to burn offerings to the emperor (God of Heaven) during the Winter Solstice Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony.
5. The Sacrifice Pavilion of the Circular Mound Altar
The Sacrifice Pavilion is a place where sacrifices are prepared before sacrifice. Because the sacrifices are killed with wooden tools, it is also called the Sacrifice Pavilion. The Sacrifice Pavilion Courtyard is located in the east of Sanku Courtyard and has a separate wall. Its north wall is aligned with Sanku Courtyard and Shenchu ??Courtyard, but its south wall is slightly set back than the south walls of the other courtyards. The gate system and walls are the same as those of other courtyards. The main building of the Sacrifice Pavilion is the Sacrifice Hall, which sits on the platform. The hall faces south, with double eaves on the top of the mountain and green glazed tiles. The hall is three rooms wide, 16 meters wide and 13.9 meters deep. There is a door in the front eaves of the Ming room, a sill wall in the secondary room, and lattice windows on the upper side. There are also windows on the two mountains. The back eaves wall connects to the kitchen fire room. The front desk is connected to the platform, and there is a hanging belt to the south.
6. Circular Qiu Altar Clothing Platform
There is also a ceremonial platform in the south of the Circular Qiu Altar, which was also the place where the emperor changed his sacrificial clothes before performing sacrifices! Different from the service platform on the Danbi Bridge, the service platform next to the Circle Qiu has no buildings, just a brick platform. It is located on the east side of the Yong Road outside the Circle Qiu, eighteen meters away from the Lingxing Gate. The platform is 0.7 meters high and 16 meters square. Every time there is a great sacrifice in Yuanqiu, the Ministry of Works will set up a dressing table on the clothing platform. The dressing room is a yellow satin room with an entrance facing west and is 2.8 meters wide.
7. The Divine Kitchen of the Circular Qiu Altar
The Divine Kitchen Courtyard is located in the northeastern Berlin of the Circular Qiu Temple. It was a place where sacrificial offerings were made during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The courtyard is surrounded by walls. Made of bricks, decorated with red clay and covered with green tiles. The gate of the God's Kitchen Courtyard faces south and is made of masonry. It has a green glazed tile roof, vermilion leaves and buckles. There are two levels of hanging belts and stamps in front of the door. In the courtyard there are the God's Kitchen Hall, the God's Storehouse Hall and the Well Pavilion. In front of the Divine Kitchen Courtyard, there is a south road leading to the hills. The road is also known as the Animal Walking Road, which runs through the city brick seawall and Berlin. Before the sacrifices in the old days, a shed called a walking shed was built on the road to protect it from the wind and snow. Today, the brick floor of the south road is still there, and there are still pole stones on both sides. They are round stones with holes in the middle, slightly exposed on the surface, and the spacing is less than 4 Rice, very neat.
8. The Circular Mound Altar
The Circular Mound Altar is the place where the Winter Solstice Heaven Ceremony is held. It was built in the ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1530). Its main buildings include the Circular Mound and the Imperial Vault. There are also ancillary halls, divine kitchens, three warehouses and a slaughtering pavilion. The ancillary buildings include service tables, viewing lanterns, etc. During the Ming Dynasty, the Circular Qiu was a three-story blue glazed round altar. In the 14th year of Qianlong's reign (1749), it was expanded and the blue glazed was replaced with mugwort bluestone table tops and white marble columns and railings.