The Imperial Ancestral Temple (太庙) is located at the eastern part of Tiananmen Square. It served as a temple to offer sacrifices to the Heaven and Earth in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Today it serves as the Working People’s Cultural Palace.

Built in 1420, it covers an area of 197,000 square meters, and is circled by three red walls. The three halls inside the Halberd Gate, which are the central structures, are imposing and solemn, with roofs covered with yellow glazed tiles. The front hall, called Sacrificial Hall, was for holding grand sacrificial ceremonies. It stands on a tri-tiered sumeru base made of white marble. Inside the hall, the sixty-eight columns and wooden components are all made of expensive gold phoebe; the floor is paved with golden bricks, and the ceiling is adorned with colored gilded paintings.

The central part of the park consists of three magnificent halls, each with its own auxiliary halls. The front hall, the largest of the three, has a double-eaved roof and tests on a three-layer stone base. Before it to the south is a spacious courtyard with long corridors enclosing it on each side. At the southern end of the courtyard is a compound with a pavilion and several exquisite stone bridges spanning the Golden River (金水河). A forest of ancient cypress trees surrounds these buildings, which, with their strong yet simple style, from a single integrated whole with the Imperial Palace.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, on occasions such as an emperor’s ascending the throne, a triumphant return from battle or the presentation of prisoners of war, the emperor would first come here to offer sacrifices to his ancestors.

At other times, the huge temple stood empty except for the few bailiffs who guarded the doors and a great flock of gray cranes. The temple remained in this state for the netter part of more than 500 years until International Labor Day in 1951, when it became the Beijing Working People’s Cultural Palace.