Ever wondered what a temple of heaven would look like? Well now is your chance to see and feel it in Beijing with the China Travel Depot. Widely regarded as the pinnacle of Ming design, the temple of heaven really does accentuate the beauty within Beijing. A small entrance fee equivalent to around £3.50 represents extremely good value for money especially considering how accessible the temple is compared to other attractions such as the Forbidden City. The temple can be described as a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southern eastern part of central Beijing, giving as close of a representation of heaven as namely possible.
The whole temple complex is surrounded by two cordons of walls; the outer wall has a taller, semi-circular northern end, representing Heaven, and a shorter, rectangular southern end, representing the Earth. Not only is the temple surrounded by breathtaking architecture, but arguably one of the most serene parks in the whole of Beijing is sat just beside it; Tianten Park. Here it is easy to find seclusion away from the beautiful temple buildings
A Little Background.
Okay, so now you know a little about the scenery of the temples, but after you see them all will you be able to believe it was built in 1420 A.D? The temple was offered as a sacrifice to Heaven, by the Ming dynasty. However, as Chinese emperors called themselves ‘The Son of Heaven’, they dared not to build their own dwelling, ‘Forbidden City’ bigger than a dwelling for Heaven. After reading this and seeing the temple, one gets a real insight into the vast and amazing culture which China takes account for.
Chinese Whispers.
Be sure to bring along someone to your visit to the Temple of heaven, not only to share the extraordinary experience but to visit the Echo Wall. Apart from holding a perimeter of 193 meters the wall utilizes the theory of sound wave. If one of you stands at the east roots of the wall and the other at the west roots of the wall and you whisper a word, then your companion will clearly be able to hear what you are saying. Who said anything about Chinese whispers accumulating errors?
It Doesn’t Stop There.
Not only does the Temple of Heaven surround all these amazing places but there is a variety of others. Be sure to check out the Nine-Dragon Cypress. (You’re probably at this moment asking yourself what could this possibly be? Well, the Nine-Dragon Cypress got its name from the branches of the tree looking like nine dragons intertwined with each other). The tree was planted a whopping 500 years ago, that’s right, 500 years ago. The Beijing Museum of Natural History is also a must see for all you Historians, young and old wanting to know that little bit more about Beijing’s history.
A 500 year old dragon-like tree, a temple of heaven and a theory proving wall; Beijing yet again fails to disappoint. Be sure to check out all these and many other amazing attractions with the China Travel Depot. Book early to avoid disappointment.
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