Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven is about 2km southeast of the Forbidden City where dynastic rulers in China used to worship the heaven. The temple plus subsidiary buildings and a surrounding garden covers an area five times the size of the Forbidden City. The period of Qianlong’s reign is generally regarded as the most prosperous of the entire Qing Dynasty, and this prosperity was reflected in the lavish refurbishment of the hall. “After the restoration, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest glowed and shone with beautiful colors,” according to the Temple of Heaven Gongyuan Zhi (Records of the Temple of Heaven), compiled in 2002. As Chinese emperors called themselves Tianzi, or the son of heaven, they had to cede supremacy to the heaven in terms of abiding. These China Pictures come from Beijing.
