Temple of Earth
In balance to the Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth was built in 1530 in the Ming Dynasty, it was subsequently renovated in compliance with an imperial decree of Emperor Qianlong in 1749 in the period of Qing Dynasty, after the Cultural Revolution, in 1981 it was restored.
Different from the Temple of Heaven, the altar of Earth is shape of square, followed the Chinese idea of “Heaven is round, earth is square”. The Emperor would visit here on the day of summer solstice, during the ritual, sacrifices were offered on the altar to appease the gods of earth, which we believe they will help mankind in return.
This altar in the center is called 方泽坛 or Fangzetan, which can be literally translated as “Square Shaped Moated Altar “, there was a mini moat surrounding the altar, but no more today…we are in shortage of water…
During the ceremony, 15 statues of mountain gods would be presented in the north side of the 2nd terrace (not the top one), 8 statues of ocean gods and river gods would be presented in east and west side respectively on the same terrace.
Today Temple of Earth is most frequented not by tourists but local residents, as large space provides an ideal place for playing Taichi and other excercises.
It is still busy around the year, there 3 times of book fairs, and during the Chinese New Year, a traditional temple fairs will be held here as well.
How to get here: Lama Temple Stop of Subway Line 2, go to the north east exit, there is just about 5 minutes walking.
Ticket: 5 Yuan, go to the altar may be charged at another 5 yuan.
Tips: Here is very close to the Lama Temple, the Confucius Temple and Guozijian (the old Imperial College), you can make it a package for a full day visit, and after that for conclusion of this busy day, it is good to go into the small alleys around Nanluoguxiang looking for a cup of beer.
View Tourist Attraction Spots in Beijing in a larger map
