1. By Grace Cohn and Elizabeth Zona
The Temple of Heaven
By Grace Cohn and Elizabeth Zona

2. History In the Forbidden City
Constructed in 1420 under the rule of Ming emperor Yongle
Called the Altar of Heaven and Earth
Symbolizes relationship between Earth and Heaven
Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would go here to worship and pray for a good harvest
In 1530, Emperor Jiajing decided decided to make separate the sacrifices to Earth and to Heaven, so he constructed the Circular Mound Altar for sacrifices specifically to Heaven
The Altar of Heaven and Earth then became called the Temple of Heaven
Was reconstructed in 1749 by Qing emperors Qianlong and Guangxu

3. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
Also known as the Altar of Prayer
Completely made of wood, doesn’t even have nails
Inside is covered with ornate hand paintings
Houses the “Dragon and Phoenix stone”, which legend says originally just had a phoenix pattern, and a dragon was on the ceiling. They fell in love and the dragon went down to visit the phoenix one day, when the emperor came in to pray and knelt on the stone while the dragon was visiting, pressing him in forever.
Triple gabled circular building

4. Imperial Vault of Heaven
Single gabled circular building
Holds the tablets of the Gods, which are traditional tablets used in the Ceremony of Worshipping Heaven
Three feats of Sound Architecture:
Echo wall, allows people to stand 633 feet away on either side and be able to hear the other’s whisper
Three Echo Stones, standing on the first facing the Vault of Heaven, you hear one echo, standing on the second and third you hear two and three echoes, respectively
Dialogue Stone: 18th stone from the Vault of Heaven, have a friend stand on the farthest corners in East/West direction and you can have a dialogue with them. Forms a perfect equilateral triangle with these points.

5. The Circular Mound Altar
Altar placed on top of three layers of circular marble
Significance of the number 9, number of columns is a multiple of 9, numbers of slates used are multiples of 9, diameter is a multiple of 9, etc.
Two walls: round inner wall to represent heaven, square outer wall to represent earth
Special shape allows an amplification of volume

6. Temple of Heaven Video