It has been a crazy past few days here for us. We have been trying to keep all of our obligations in order here. We obviously have our teaching duties but then there is our consulting and we also have students that we are mentoring. It has been very rewarding but hectic.We recently made a trip to the Tian Tan, or the Temple of Heaven. This site is an architectural wonder from the Ming Dynasty. The location is actually a park that is larger in size than the Forbidden City. At 675 acres the complex has nicely manicured lawns and flower beds.
After taking the subway to Tian Tan, we paid the entrance fee of 35 yuan ($5dollars)each. As we made our way through the gates, we noticed how enormous the park was. As far as the eye could were trees lined up guiding visitors the major attractions of the temple. Since it was a warm day, the shade from many of these trees proved very useful.
The first highlight of our self-guided tour was Qinian Dian, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It is said that the emperor used to come to this location each summer and winter solstice and on the 15th day of the lunar month to pray for a good harvest. This amazing structure was originally built in 1420. It has a magnificent three-tiered roof that is decorated with over 50,000 blue, gold and green glazed tiles (see photo). More impressive than this is the fact that this entire hall was constructed without single nails or piece of cement!
Next, was the Imperial Vault of Heaven. This octagonal shaped structure is where the emperor would go to consult spirit tablets of the gods just before climbing the steps to the Circular Mound Altar to offer sacrifice. Here there is also a zaojing, or a coffered ceiling beautifully carved with dragons and phoenixes. Brilliant colors of green, blue, and gold adorn this incredible art work.According to information we read, the Circular Mound Altar was considered the most sacred place in the entire temple complex. The vast three level terrace represents Man, Earth, and Heaven. At this spot the emperor would pray and offer sacrifice before consulting with the Heaven on how to best conduct state affairs. In suit with the emperor's most prized number--9, this site is arranged with nine concentric circles, each circle comprising nine stones or multiples of nine. Even the staircases are built with this scheme in mind!
On an interesting side note, we learned that in 1889 the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was struck by lightning and severely damaged. Immediately after it was rebuilt using the original structure design and methods. However, Oregon Firs was the timber chosen for reconstruct.This visit was very carefree and relaxed. We soaked up the atmosphere, and best of all it really was not that busy compared to other locations. Overall, it was a great place to visit based on price, cultural and historical ratings and had less congestion. We would definitely recommend this to others visiting this great city.
We saw this cute girl getting her photo taken and could not resist!
