Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th century, is a complex of religious buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods located in Beijing. Its overall layout and buildings symbolize the relationship between earth and heaven – the human world and God’s world – which stands at the heart of Chinese beliefs about how the universe began and the special role played by the emperors within that relationship.
The Temple of Heaven forms an axis arrangement of a Circular Mound Altar to the south, open to the sky. The cone-roofed Imperial Vault of Heaven is immediate to its north. A raised sacred way links this to the circular, three-tiered roof Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.