Trip to most holy of Beijing's imperial temples (TEMPLE OF HEAVEN)

Beijing is a city known with profound history and it has been Chinese capital since Yuan dynasty. As a result, there is a huge amount of cultural inheritance such as the Great Wall, the Palace Museum and the Temple of Heaven. As my winter vacation start, it's time to visit famous places at Beijing while enjoying my life at here. So, I decided to visit Temple of Heaven which located at southern part of central Beijing.  Here, I will share where Temple of Heaven located and how to reach this place by using subway, historical background of Temple of Heaven, recommended routes for travelers and ticket prices.

Temple of Heaven

Firstly, where Temple of Heaven located and how to reach this place by using subway?

The Temple of Heaven is located in the central area of Beijing City which is also one of the tourist attraction place in Beijing. The famous Forbidden City (Palace Museum) and Tiananmen Square are conveniently situated at the northwest of Temple of Heave within short walking distance.

• 6 km from Forbidden City
• 5 km from Tiananmen Square
• 21 km from Summer Palace
• 75 km from Badaling Great Wall
• 6.5 km from Jingshan Park

As you all know, when you plan to travel in Beijing, by using public transport such as subway, DiDi and etc. are more convenient and saving a lot of money than hired a personal tourist guide. Here, I showed how to reach Temple of Heaven from Qinghuadongluxikou by using subway? First of all,  you guys need to download the app called Metro Men to ease your journey at China. The closest subway to Temple of Heaven is  Tiantandongmen which means Temple of Heaven east door which will be your stop. Here, I also provide a link for subway map, this map can be your guidance, if you guys gone astray around Beijing. As word of advice, try to find any closest subway station for you to get back on your track. As shown below, how I take the subway from Qinghuadongluxikou line 15 and take interchange at Datunlu East line 5 before reach Tiantandongmen.

Metro Men Application

Secondly, historical background of Temple of Heaven

During Ming dynasty, emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, and also constructed the Temple of Heaven and Earth on the southeast of Forbidden City as place for paying homage and praying to the Heaven in 1420. Emperor Yongle followed the tradition of sacrificing to the heaven and earth together in a same site. The tradition had lasted more than 160 years until the Jiajing emperor (嘉靖皇帝) broke it. He built four sites separately as Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth, Temple of Sun, and Temple of Moon in the 16th century.

In 1644, Qing Dynasty was founded. Qing also followed the tradition of sacrifice of Ming Dynasty, and set the Temple of Heaven as the place for sacrifice. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong (乾隆, 1736~1795), a large-scale restoration and expansion was made. The old palaces, pavilions, stages, towers, path were renovated. Many new buildings launched, including the famous Echo Wall. Qianlong also ordered to plant thousands of trees around the temples.

Temple of Heaven Park

The Temple of Heaven once suffered great damages from wars.  In August of 1900, the armies of Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, and occupied the Temple of Heaven. Many relics were destructed. The following civil wars also damaged the Temple of Heaven. Fortunately, several large renovations were launched to preserve the Temple of Heaven after the establishment of PRC in 1949. 

Thirdly, recommended routes for travelers

Covering an area of 2,700,000 square meters (3,529,412 square yards), Temple of Heaven is larger than the Forbidden City. Temple of Heaven is divided by two encircling walls into an inner part and outer part. The main buildings lie at the south and north ends of the middle axis of the inner part. The most magnificent buildings are the Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiutan), the Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. Here is the link of the map for whole area covered by Temple of Heaven Park.

There are four gates for entering and exiting the Temple of Heaven. For a smooth and pleasant visiting, travelers are suggested to start the exploration from the South Gate. Entering the gate, you will first visit the Huanqiu Altar and its surrounding, such as the Echo Wall, Kitchen for Sacrifice, etc. Then walk through the solemn path of Danbi Bridge, and get to the Qinian Hall. Explore the surrounding sites, and then continue your trip to the west of Qigu Altar to see the Flower Garden where the emperor stayed during sacrificial ceremonies. On the south of the garden is the Palace of Abstinence. After the sightseeing, leave the site from the West Gate.

South Gate 

Road to other temple

Lastly, ticket prices

For me, I just paid for 28 RMB which is combo ticket including the entrance fee and ticket to visit hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Circular Mound Altar & Echo Wall. This ticket didn't include for Divine Music Administration (10 RMB), Imperial Vault of Heaven (need passport or ID to get in) and Fast Palace (10 RMB). You guys need to pay more in order to get access to these places and the ticket counter are in front of every door of these places. It either smart or complicated or both, because they split the ticket counter and we need to pay more in order to visit more places inside Temple of Heaven Park. Below are the prices for the ticket:

Ticket Fee

For a nutshells, this visit to Temple of Heaven shows me the strength of buildings build from 1420, can stand firmly until now. This actually one of the greatest achievement of humankind, and need to be preserved from generation to generation. Although it's pretty exhausted to walk from one temple to another, but I enjoy the beautiful sight of the imperial garden. As word of advice, make sure to bring passport during your visit because if you guys want to see the sacred relic, in order to get in the vault, you guys need to show your passport. Here I shared some of my memories at Temple of Heaven.