Built in the eighteenth year of Ming Chengzu Yongle (1420 AD), the Temple of Heaven was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped the heaven. It, located southeast of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, is the largest surviving ancient sacrificial complex in China. Formerly known as the "Temple of Heaven and Earth", it is the place where the emperors sacrificed the gods of heaven and earth, and in the ninth year of Ming Jiajing (1530 AD), another temple dedicated to the gods of the earth was built in the northern suburbs of Beijing, then the original temple was specially designed for the worship of heaven and the place of praying for a good harvest. Afterwards, the "Temple of Heaven and Earth" was renamed "Temple of Heaven".

The main building of the Temple of Heaven is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where every year emperors held a ceremony to pray for good weather and good harvests. The hall is circular in shape, with a diameter of 32 meters and a height of 38 meters, it is a three-fold pavilion-style round hall with a gilded roof and a blue glazed tile roof; the Nine Dragon Sunk Panel in the hall is extremely exquisite, magnificent and dazzling. The structure of the main hall is unique, without girders and long purlins; the eaves are loaded with columns and fangjue (tie beams).

The four columns in the center are 19.2 meters high, representing the four seasons of the year, and there are 12 pillars in the outer two rows, representing 12 months and 12 two-hour periods, respectively. The main hall is built on a three-story white marble platform with a height of 6 meters, which makes the hall produce a solemn momentum towering clouds.

Inside the Xitianmen( West Heavenly Gate), the Fasting Palace is the place where the emperor bathed and fasted before the heavenly sacrifice. There are two "royal ditches" on the outskirts of the palace, surrounded by 163 winding cloisters. On the platform of the main hall there is the Pavilion of the Fasting Bronze Man and the Pavilion of the Hour Tablets. The bronze man holds a fasting tablet, which is said to have been cast in the image of Wei Zheng, a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty.

The bell tower in the northeast corner hangs a Taihe Bell made during the reign of Yongle Emperor. When the emperor worshiped the heavens, he starts from the Fasting Palace and started to ring the bell, until the emperor ascends the Huanqiu Altar(Circular Mound Altar), and the bell stoped. At the end of the ceremony, the clock sounded again for the ancestor worship ceremony.

Address: No. 1, Tiantan Dongli Jia, Dongcheng District, Beijing