The Temple of Heaven, or Tiantan, is China's largest temple and altar complex.It is located in the Chongwen district in the south part of Beijing, about 6km away from the center of the city. Situated 2km southeast of the Forbidden City, the Temple, plus subsidiary buildings and surrounding gardens, covers an area five times the size of the Forbidden City. With exquisite architectural workmanship, it is the largest existing ancient architectural group for worshipping in China.

Built between 1606 and 1420, the complex of buildings that make up the Temple of Heaven cover 273 hectares and represent the pinnacle of Ming and Qing architecture. This was the place where the Ming and Qing emperors went to worship Heaven and pray for better Harvest.As Chinese emperors called themselves Tianzi, or the son of heaven, they had to cede supremacy to heaven in terms of abiding. Other than the Temple of Heaven, there are other temples of various kinds scattered in Beijing, including the Temple of Earth, the Temple of Sun and the Temple of the Moon. But the Temple of Heaven is the most important and the grandest of them all.

Today,in early morning when the air is filled with the fragrance of old cypresses, the temple grounds are full of people practicing a dozen or more forms of exercise, from qigong of martial arts, from opera singing to disco. It is one of the best places in Beijing to observe ordinary Chinese at play.

The main structures in the Temple of Heaven are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the imperial Vault of Heaven, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is a big palace with round roof and three layers of eaves.The entire structure was joint by wooden bars, laths and brackets, without using steel and concrete. The four large pillars in the center are known as the Dragon Well Pillars with each pillar representing one of the four seasons. The whole building is of high artistic value in structure, shape and application of colors.

The imperial Vault of Heaven is a single-eaved round building covered by dark-blue glazed tiles on the roof. The tablet of "the imperial God in Heaven " was kept here and moved to the Circular Mound Altar to be worshipped on the occasions of sacrificial ceremonies.

The well-known Echo Wall, 65.1 meters in diameter, surrounds the Vault. When two persons stand at the east and west ends respectively and whisper toward the wall, they can hear each other as distinctly as if they were talking over the telephone.

South of the Echo wall stands the Altar of Heaven, built entirely of white marble. The altar has four entrances and a flight of nine steps leading down in every direction. At the center of the upper terrace lies a round stone surrounded by nine concentric rings of stones.

Worship of the God of Heaven followed a fixed pattern. No common people or foreigners were allowed to watch the Emperor's procession to the temple. Even the trains were forced to stop in order not to disturb the solemnity of the ceremony.