The Temple of Heavenly Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to Beijing and welcome to China. First, I would like to introduce myself to all of you. I am the local guide of this group. My name is xx-x, you can call me Wang or MiWang for short. I’m very pleased to be your guide today. I do hope all of you could like my guiding and enjoy the travel on your pleasant day. This morning we are going to visit the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heavenly is located in the southern part of Beijing. So it will take us about 30 minutes to get there. Before we arrived at the Temple of Heaven, I would like to introduce you a brief introduction of it. The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420, during when the Forbidden City and some other important structures were constructed in Beijing of Ming dynasty. It covers an area of 273 hectares, which is 3 times larger than the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven is not only the largest group of temple building in China, but also the largest heaven-worshipping architecture in the world. It was listed as one of the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO in 1998. Originally, the temple was built according to the Temple of Heaven and Earth in Nanjing. At that time both heaven and earth were worshipped at this temple, so it was also called the Temple of Heaven and Earth. However, in 1530, another structure, the Temple of Earth was built on the northern part of Beijing, and therefore, the heaven and earth were worshipped separately, the Temple of Heaven was renamed as the present name. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperors went to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven and pray for an abundant harvest. The emperors went to the temple three times a year: on the 15th day of the first lunar month to pray for a good harvest; during the Summer Solstice to pray for rain; and during Winter Solstice to give thanks for a good harvest. As a site for worshipping heaven, the Temple of Heaven is different from any other imperial structure. Architecturally speaking, the Temple of Heaven has two themes: in the heaven and on the earth. The surrounding walls of the Temple of Heaven are 6 meters high with a semi-circular wall to the north and square shaped wall to the south. This represents an ancient belief that the heaven was round and the earth square. Now we’ve arrived at the Temple of Heaven. The gate we just passed through is the South Gate to the Temple of Heaven, and we are now in the southern part of the temple. The tour today will first take you to the Circular Mound Altar, then the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, finally to the East Gate where we will be picked up by our bus. So when you get lost or separated from the group, please meet at the East Gate, not here or the South Gate. Now, here we go! The Circular Mound Altar first! ( In front of the Circular Mound Altar) First, let’s have a look at the Circular Mound Altar. In the old days, every year at the time of the Winter Solstice, the emperor would come here in person to offer a solemn sacrifice on the Altar to worship Heaven. The emperor reported to the God of Heaven the
The Temple of Heavenly Ladies and Gentlemen: Welcome to Beijing and welcome to China. First, I would like to introduce myself to all of you. I am the local guide of this group. My name is xx-x, you can call me Wang or MiWang for short. I’m very pleased to be your guide today. I do hope all of you could like my guiding and enjoy the travel on your pleasant day. This morning we are going to visit the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heavenly is located in the southern part of Beijing. So it will take us about 30 minutes to get there. Before we arrived at the Temple of Heaven, I would like to introduce you a brief introduction of it. The Temple of Heaven was built in 1420, during when the Forbidden City and some other important structures were constructed in Beijing of Ming dynasty. It covers an area of 273 hectares, which is 3 times larger than the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven is not only the largest group of temple building in China, but also the largest heaven-worshipping architecture in the world. It was listed as one of the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO in 1998. Originally, the temple was built according to the Temple of Heaven and Earth in Nanjing. At that time both heaven and earth were worshipped at this temple, so it was also called the Temple of Heaven and Earth. However, in 1530, another structure, the Temple of Earth was built on the northern part of Beijing, and therefore, the heaven and earth were worshipped separately, the Temple of Heaven was renamed as the present name. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperors went to the Temple of Heaven to worship heaven and pray for an abundant harvest. The emperors went to the temple three times a year: on the 15th day of the first lunar month to pray for a good harvest; during the Summer Solstice to pray for rain; and during Winter Solstice to give thanks for a good harvest. As a site for worshipping heaven, the Temple of Heaven is different from any other imperial structure. Architecturally speaking, the Temple of Heaven has two themes: in the heaven and on the earth. The surrounding walls of the Temple of Heaven are 6 meters high with a semi-circular wall to the north and square shaped wall to the south. This represents an ancient belief that the heaven was round and the earth square. Now we’ve arrived at the Temple of Heaven. The gate we just passed through is the South Gate to the Temple of Heaven, and we are now in the southern part of the temple. The tour today will first take you to the Circular Mound Altar, then the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, finally to the East Gate where we will be picked up by our bus. So when you get lost or separated from the group, please meet at the East Gate, not here or the South Gate. Now, here we go! The Circular Mound Altar first! ( In front of the Circular Mound Altar) First, let’s have a look at the Circular Mound Altar. In the old days, every year at the time of the Winter Solstice, the emperor would come here in person to offer a solemn sacrifice on the Altar to worship Heaven. The emperor reported to the God of Heaven the