In 1987 December, The Temple of Heaven in Beijing was honored as "World Cultural and Natural Heritage" by the UN Organization of Science, Education and Culture.
Dozens of kilometers southeast to the Imperial Palace, there is a huge altar temple, the Temple of Heaven. The total acreage of the Temple of Heaven is 2700 thousand square meters, it is four times greater than the Imperial Palace. In China, the emperor is called the "Godson", that is why the size of the residence of son dares not to exceed that of God.
Today, the Working People Cultural Palace standing east to the Tian An Men is where the emperor made ancestor worship in the past, while the Zhongshan Garden to the west, is the place where the Harvest God is worshiped. In the Beijing urban area, we have the Temple of Earth in the north, the Temple of heaven in the south, the Temple of Sun in the east, and the Temple of Moon in the west, among which, the Temple of Heaven is the grandest and the most dazzling.
The Temple of Heaven is located on the axle wire, the most southern wall is in square shape, standing for the Earth, while most northern wall is in a semi-circle shape, standing for heaven; this design comes form the concept of "heaven round earth square". The three major constructions on the axle wire constitute the core of the Temple of Heaven. In the south, there is an altar called Huanqiu Altar, it is in a round shape, and 5 meters in height, its diameter is 23 meters. There is a round rock in the center of the altar, and in the outside area, there are 9 circles fan-shaped slates, in the core, the number of the slate is 9, and the number is increased by 9, thus, there are 81 slates in the 9th circle, in the past, the emperors stood at the center of the altar to make heaven worship.
The famous Qinian Palace is at the most northern part, this is the grandest, most brilliant and most dazzling architecture, and people used to believe that here, is nearest to heaven. The emperor went here slowly, he slaughtered the livestock and burned the incense, and held a "holy conversation" to pray for favorable weather. There are 3 layers of roofs inside Qinian Palace, all of which are covered with deep blue glazed tiles; they are the symbol of weather. The hall is supported by 28 big pillars made of nanmao, with the four thickest ones standing in the center, representing the four seasons; and the surrounding 24 pillars is divided into two circles, the 12 pillars in the inner circle stand for the 12 months, while the other 12 pillars in the outer circle stand for 12 hours; while the total of the 24 pillars symbolize the solar period in Chinese calendar. Standing in the hall, looking upward, you will feel you are under the power of heaven.
The Temple of Heaven is also famous for its marvelous echo. If you stand in the center of Huanqiu Altar and shout, you will hear a strong and clear echo from the deep part of the earth, or from the heaven, thus people give it a mysterious name, "Heaven Heart Rock". The wall around the Huang Qiongyu is 0.9-meter thick, even if you whisper to the wall, people can hear it clearly if they put their ears close to the wall, and there is stereo effect, this is "Echo Wall". This is a proof that Chinese people were able to apply acoustic theory as early as 500 years ago.
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