Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoists buildings that were used for annual prayer ceremonies to the Heavens for good harvest. The temples were built between 1406 to 1420 but have been rebuilt several times due to war. All of the buildings are heavy in Chinese culture. Any president from another country is always brought here.

The three symbols in the blue square are "prayer," "year," and "pavilion."

The circles leading up to the pavilion have different animals made of stone that would have spouted out water.

One of the side temples flanking the Temple of Heaven.

The Hall of Echos.

Inside the Hall of Echos. Not sure why they have so many different things in here.

Entrance to the Circular Mound Alter.

The Circular Mound Alter was built in 1530 and later rebuilt in 1740. The entire alter is made of marble and was used by the Emperor to pray for rain. Animals would also be sacrificed here, usually a bull, and other offerings burned to promote good harvest. The entire architecture revolves around the number nine. It gets kinda complicated but it's based off of the concept of yin-yang.

The huge open area outside is where all the guards would stand.

We also went to a large park called Beihai Park. Beihai Park was an imperial garden just outside of the Forbidden Palace. It has a massive lake with weeping willows running all along it. It also has many different temples and palaces throughout. The white structure on the hill in the picture above is called Bai Ta. It is made of white stone and is the home to many Buddhist items.