Temple of Heaven
Temple of Heaven XINHUA The Temple of Heaven is the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) worshipped heaven and prayed for good harvests. It is an axial arrangement of the Circular Mound Altar to the south with the conically roofed Imperial Vault of Heaven immediately to its north. This is linked by a raised sacred way to the circular, threetiered, conically roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests further to the north. To the west is the Hall of Abstinence where the emperors fasted after making sacrifice. The whole park is surrounded by a double-walled, pine-treed enclosure. Between the inner and outer walls to the west are the Divine Music Administration Hall and the building that was the Stables for Sacrificial Animals.
Within the complex there are a total of 92 ancient buildings with 600 rooms. It is the most complete existing imperial sacrificial building complex in China and the world’s largest existing building complex for offering sacrifices to heaven.
Located south of the Forbidden City, the original Altar of Heaven and Earth was completed together with the Forbidden City in 1420. In 1530, the decision was taken to offer separate sacrifices to heaven and earth, and so the Circular Mound Altar was built to the south of the main hall for sacrifices particularly to heaven. The Altar of Heaven and Earth was thereby renamed the Temple of Heaven.
The siting, planning, and architectural design of the Temple of Heaven as well as the sacrificial ceremony and associated music, were based on ancient tenets relating numbers and spatial organization to beliefs about heaven and its relationship to people on earth, mediated by the emperor as the “Son of Heaven.” Similar altars for the worship of heaven were also built in other dynasties, but the Temple of Heaven in Beijing is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese culture and is the most representative work of numerous sacrificial buildings in China.
TIPS
*It usually takes 3-4 hours to visit the whole park.
*An electronic tour guide is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean.
INFO
*Listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1998
*Location: Beijing
*Best Time to Visit: Any time
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian
Peking Man XINHUA Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian is a Pleistocene hominid site on the North China Plain. It lies about 42 km southwest of Beijing and is at the juncture of the North China Plain and the Yanshan Mountains. Adequate water supplies and natural limestone caves in this area provided an optimal survival environment for early humans.
Scientific work at the site is still under way. So far, ancient human fossils, cultural remains and animal fossils from 23 localities within the site dating from 5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago have been discovered by scientists. These include the remains of Homo erectus pekinensis, who lived in the Middle Pleistocene (700,000 to 200,000 years ago), archaic Homo sapiens of about 200,000-100,000 years ago and Homo sapiens sapiens dating back to 30,000 years ago. At the same time, fossils of hundreds of animal species, over 100,000 pieces of stone tools and evidence (including hearths, ash deposits and burnt bones) of Peking Man using fire have been discovered.
The discovery of hominid remains at Zhoukoudian and subsequent research in the 1920s and 1930s excited universal interest, overthrowing the chronology of human history that had been generally accepted up to that time. The excavations and scientific work at the Zhou koudian site are thus of significant value in the history of world archaeology, and have played an important role in the world history of science.
As the site of significant hominid remains discovered in the Asian continent demonstrating an evolutionary cultural sequence, Zhoukoudian is of major importance within the worldwide context. It is not only an exceptional reminder of the prehistoric human societies of the Asian continent, but also illustrates the process of human evolution, and is of significant value in the research and reconstruction of early human history.
INFO Listed as a World Cultural Heritage in 1987 Location: Fangshan District, Beijing Best Time to Visit: Spring and autumn
Tips It is a site of scientific value for those with a curious mind to visit. Don’t miss the museum at the site, where excavated fossils and relics are kept.