Maria Asatryan and Narek Khachatryan reporting from Beijing

Imagine standing in the vast grounds of Beijing’s majestic Temple of Heaven, among ancient pines and manicured gardens. The complex is shrouded in secrets and legends that have been passed down from generation to generation over the course of centuries.

Founded in the first half of the 15th century, the Temple of Heaven is a majestic complex of beautiful religious buildings, set in gardens, and surrounded by ancient pines. In its general layout and individual structures, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven, the world of people, and the world of God—this idea is at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, as well as the special role that emperors played in these relationships.

The Temple of Heaven, located in the southeast of Beijing, is an imperial complex where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held annual ceremonies to worship heaven and pray for a bountiful harvest. By the way, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and is a masterpiece of Chinese architecture and cosmological ideas.

Upon entering the temple, you will immediately be impressed by its majestic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The three-story round wooden building with a roof is the place where the emperors prayed for a bountiful harvest.

Even in ancient times, an idea was formed in China according to which the supreme deity was Heaven, which embodied truth, law, and justice. And the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven and, accordingly, the bearer of these same divine qualities. And only he could ask Heaven for good for his country and people. Therefore, once a year, after a three-day strict fasting, at the winter solstice, the emperor offered prayers for the future harvest and the blessing of Heaven. It was for this ritual that a temple complex was built in the new capital, the area of which is about 280 hectares.

Everything here is subject to strict symmetry and is saturated with symbolism. The territory is surrounded by two rows of walls. The layout of the complex always uses the shapes of a rectangle—a square, a symbol of the Earth, and a circle, which the Chinese associate with Heaven.

By the way, only Chinese from privileged classes were allowed to participate in the ritual. Foreigners, including ambassadors and diplomats, were instructed to stay at home during this time.

The complex occupies a vast area surrounded by a beautiful park.

The main structures of the complex are the three sanctuaries: the Circular Mound Altar (huanqiu), the Imperial Vault of Heaven (huangqiongyu), and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (qiniandian)

The Temple of Heaven has long been home to "divine" tablets with the names of the rulers of China, who successively succeeded each other on the throne of the Celestial Empire. In the center of the hall is the tablet of the God of Heaven. In the two auxiliary halls of this temple were the tablets of the five elements (U-sin), 28 constellations, the God of the Stars (Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn), as well as the deities of the elements of nature: clouds, wind, rain, thunder, and moon. All of them were used during the harvest prayer ceremony.

Notably, both the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City were built between 1406 and 1420, during the period when the Yongle Emperor was restoring Beijing as the capital of China.

In 1530, the Archway Hall and the Round Altar were built by order of Jiajing Emperor. In 1889, the main hall was destroyed by lightning but rebuilt the following decade.

In 1900, during the suppression of the Hetuan Rebellion, the temple was used as a temporary command post by foreign allies. The buildings of the temple complex were destroyed, and the Temple of Heaven fell into decline.

But in 1918, the temple complex was transformed into a public park and opened to visitors.

And in 1998, the Temple of Heaven was put on the UNESCO World Heritage List.