The Temple of Heaven is situated in Beijing, 2,5 km southwest from the Forbidden City, set in a 267-hectare park surrounded by walls with four gates at compass points. It presents the climax of the Ming dynasty architecture and along with the Great Wall it became the symbol of China and can be seen on the books front cover as well as the cosmetical products around the world.

The Ming Dynasty Emperor Yong Le set the basic layout in 1420, after the Forbidden City complex was finished as per the order of the same emperor.
It was destroyed by fire quite a few times throughout the history and only in the late 70-s of this century it resembled today's shape. The complex served as the place where the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, used to came each year before the winter solstice to perform rites and prayers to Heavens on behalf of his people. He would be praying for good harvest and in the same time for clearance for himself and his people. It was the sacred ground by all means - destiny of the nation depended upon the annual ceremony performed there; it directly influenced agriculture which, on the other hand, influenced all the other aspects of life.

Once a year Emperor would leave the Forbidden City towards the Temple of Heaven accompanied by an army of servants, musicians and officials. Due to the fact that the ceremony from its very beginnings was crucial for the nation's future, every single detail was regarded as an omen and it was forbidden to the 'ordinary' people to observe it along the way.

Upon reaching the complex, emperor would feast for 3 days and 3 nights to clear himself symbolically and prepare for the prayers. Every part of the complex had a specific role in the ritual that had, basically, one single purpose - taming the forces of nature that influence agriculture.

Architectural structure
The Temple of Heaven is a feast for the eyes, ears and senses - sounds, colors and numbers are as important as the shapes. Central spots of the complex are three main buildings that stand along the straight line that goes north - south. The wall bounding the southern part is of square shape and symbolizes the Earth, whereas the northern one is circular and symbolizes the Heavens.

The ceremony would begin at the southern gate at the Round Altar. It is a 5-metre high construction consisting of 3 marble lawyers and surrounded by two inner walls - the square and the round one. The lawyers are consisted of 27 rings, and the number of stones is multiplies 9 - entire construction is a number game, 9 being the main one. Odd numbers were considered to be heavenly numbers, and nine, being the largest single-digit odd number would symbolize the Emperor.

The upper tier symbolizes the heavens, the middle one - the Earth, and the bottom one - the humankind. In the middle of the altar on a central stone stood the Emperor at the beginning of the ceremony and established the ' link with heaven'.

The next step was the Echo Wall to the north of the Round Altar. It is the round wall that bounds the Imperial Vault of Heaven, 65 m in its diameter. Unless the place is too crowded, every single sound from one side of the wall could be heard at the other one.

Imperial Vault of Heaven is the octagonal vault built in 1530, 20 m high and 15 in diameters. Its main purpose was to contain the tablets of Emperor's ancestors during the ceremony - tablets were brought for that purpose from the Forbidden City.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is the building that dominates the complex and is placed at the end of the southwest rout that the Emperor went along during the ceremony.

It was built in 1420 in the time of Emperor Yong Le, placed on the marble terrace consisted of 3 tiers. The entire surface of the building with the terrace is 6000 square meters.

The hall itself is 38 meters high, 30 in diameter and is supported by 28 wooden pillars without a single nail or cement - it is often mentioned that only Lego cubicles can match that accomplishment.

Four central pillars present four seasons. Two additional rings consisting of 12 pillars each present months of the year (the inner one) and the two- hour divisions of the day (the outer one). There are no walls to the building. Colors are very important -blue symbolizes heaven, yellow - the Earth and the green, the mortal world.

The wood was originally brought all the way from Yunnan, but the one used today, is only the faithful reproduction of the original building that was burned in 1889 and re-constructed in the following year.