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Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of the city in
Chongwen district. As famous as the Forbidden City and the Summer
Palace, it is a "must" for every visitor.
In ancient China, the emperor was
regarded as the "Son of Heaven", who administered matters on
the earth on behalf of the heavenly authority. To show respect to the
heaven, ceremonies for sacrifices to heaven were extremely important to
the emperor. The temple was built for the worship of heaven and prayers
for good harvests. A double wall encloses the temple.
The upper northern half is
circular, representing Heaven and the southern half is square,
representing the Earth, coincident with the Chinese saying of
"Round Heaven and Square Earth". The main buildings on the
north-south axis are The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest with the
Pavilion of Double Ring Longevity on the left clustered at the northern
end are the Imperial Vaulted Heaven and the Circular Altar at the
southern. A 2.5-meter-high, 360-meter-long causeway connects the two
parts and is known as the Vermilion Steps Bridge or the Sacred Way. Four
Heavenly gates were built on the cardinal points.
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
This triple-eaved wooden structure
with glazed-tiles and coloured decorative patterns is the most
attractive in the temple and is the symbol of Beijing. It stands 38
meters high and 30 meters in diameter on a triple-tiered circular
terrace called Altar for Grain Prayer. The terrace is edged with marble
balustrades carved with dragons, phoenixes and clouds. Without nails,
cement or steel rods, the whole structure was fixed by wooden mortise
and wooden brackets with the support of 12 pillars.
Astronomic and calendric episteme
are usually employed in the Chinese traditional architecture. There are
a total of 28 pillars, which represent 28 constellations. Four thick in
the centre symbolize the four seasons of a year, while the inner 12
enclosed represent the 12 months and the outer 12 for two-hour intervals
in a day. And the 24 altogether represent the 24 solar terms, of
approximately 15 days each, into which the lunar year is divided. The
system of the 24 lunar terms is quite important to farmers since it
indicates weather changing at the time when it comes round.
The coffered ceiling of the hall
is unique, carved in a design of dragons and phoenixes. This may remind
visitors of a dome in western churches or Arabic mosques, but different
in style and design.
The marble slab floor in the hall
was engraved with dragon and phoenix. In the centre, there used to be a
long table with screens behind on which the tablets of the Emperor's
ancestors were placed. With predominance of Confucianism, ancestor
worship had also become an important feature. Therefore, tablets were
enshrined in the Ancestral Temple as well as in the Temple of Heaven. On
the left is a chair for the emperor to have rest
Beihai Park
About one bus
stop, or half a kilometer to the west of the north gate of the Forbidden
City is the famous Beihai Park. It is used to be the former palace of
the emperors in successive dynasties, called the Winter Palace by
Westerners.
Early in the
10th century, the Liao dynasty a secondary imperial palace and an island
( Jade Islet) were built here. It was expanded by digging a lake, adding
more palace halls when Jin empire took over; during the Yuan dynasty was
rebuilt three times. The Ming and the Qing saw more construction and
renovation: The Five Dragon Pavilions and the Nine-dragon Screen and
pavilions were added. A White Dagoba, an onion-shaped shrine pagoda in
Tibetan style, was erected in honor of the fifth Dalai Lama's visit to
Beijing in 1651.
Now it is a
popular park with a total area of over 68 hectares, half of which is a
lake. It boasts one of the best of China's classical gardens with
artificial hills, pavilions, halls, temples and covered corridors.
Most visitors
enter the park through its south gate, touring the island and then walk
along the eastern bank to the north gate. Have a rest at the gate and a
further stoke along the western bank will feast your eyes on halls,
temples and pavilions. Another choice is to enter from the south gate
crossing the Beihai Bridge touring the western bank first and then ferry
by boat across the lake to the Islet.
Besides the
lake, the main things to see are the Round City, which contains a jade
vase from the time of Kublai Khan; the Temple of Eternal Peace; the Nine
Dragon Screen, which is actually a 5-metre-high, 27-metre-long wall
covered with glazed tiles carved into nine intertwining dragons; and the
White Dagoba on Jade Isle in the center of the lake.
Round City
A round building
surrounded by a 5-meter-high wall, the Round City stands at the south
gate of Beihai Park, and has a distinctive courtyard studded with halls,
pavilions and ancient trees.
The Hall of
Receiving Light (Chengguangdian) houses a statue of Buddha, 1.5 meters
high, carved from a block of lustrous jade, a present from Burma to
Empress Dowager Cixi. In the Jade Urn Pavilion at the center of the
Round City is a jade urn, 0.66 meter in height and 1.5 meters in
diameter, which was believed to be a wine vessel by Kublai Khan. Fancy
decorative patterns of clouds, dragons and animals on the surface reveal
the exquisite craft of consummate craftsman.
Jade Islet
The Jade Islet,
the center of the park, features luxuriant trees and a host of temple
halls. Atop the isle is the 35.9-meter-high White Dagoba. The dagoba
together with a painting depicting Emperor Shunzhi (the first emperor of
the Qing) meeting with the Fifth Dalai is the witness of the Central
Government-Tibet alliance at that time. The top is a gold-gilded copper
lid decorated with dozens of bells with jingle far in the wind. In front
of the Dagoba stand the Temple of Enternal Peace (Yong'an si) and Hall
of Universal Peace. At the back of the island is Hall of Rippling Water.
West Bank
Opposite the
Jade Isle across the lake on the west bank are unique buildings. The
Five-Dragon Pavilions - a zigzag line of five glaze-tiled pavilions over
the water were built in 1602 and renovated several times under the Qing.
The Qing emperors used to go fishing there.
The Iron Shadow
Screen ( Tieyingbi), 3.56 meters long and 1.9 meters high, was built in
the Yuan. The iron-colored screen was carved out of neutral igneous
rock.
Nine-Dragon
Screen
Just like the
one in the Forbidden City, the screen is built with colored
glazed-tiles, It was used to protect a temple (no long there now) from
invading evil spirits, and is considered an art treasure and one of the
best of its kind.
In summer,
Beihai is an ideal place to escape from heat.
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