Temple of Heaven in Beijing

The Temple of Heaven is a very attractive visiting place in Beijing. The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings which was visited by emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for good harvests.



This Temple of Heaven is situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2,700,000 square meters. As Chinese emperors called themselves 'The Son of Heaven’, they dared not to build their own dwelling, 'Forbidden City' bigger than a dwelling for Heaven.

The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth. The northern part is higher than the southern part. This design shows that the heaven is high and the earth is low and the design reflected an ancient Chinese thought of 'The heaven is round and the earth is square'.

The Temple is divided by two enclosed walls into inner part and outer part. The main buildings of the Temple lie at the south and north ends of the middle axis line of the inner part. The most magnificent buildings are The Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. Also, there are some additional buildings like Three Echo Stones and Echo Wall.Almost all of the buildings are connected by a wide bridge called Vermilion Steps Bridge (Danbiqiao) or called Sacred Way.



An interesting and famous place for you to visit is called Echo Wall owning special feature. The wall encloses the Imperial Vault of Heaven. Its perimeter is 193 meters.

If you and your friend stand at the east and the west roots of the wall respectively and you whisper a word, then your friend will hear clearly what you say.

Admission Fee: CNY 30 (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31)
CNY 35 (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31)
Opening Hours: 06:00 to 20:00
Recommended Time for a Visit: One and a half hour
Bus Route: 2, 6, 17, 34, 35, 110, 120, 122, 610, 707, 721, 739

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Visit Bangkok- Wat Phra Kaeo the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Are you planning to visit Bangkok, Thailand? Than visit the most sacred place - Wat Phra Kaeo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.



In Thailand temples are usually known as "Wats". About 400 Wats are there in Thailand. These Wats are revered by Thai people. Among them the Wat Phra Kaeo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand. This temple is a true reflection of the rich art, culture and architecture of Thailand.

When you will visit Bangkok the first attraction is that of Wat Phra Kaeo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the adjacent Grand Palace together form perhaps the greatest spectacle for the visitor.

The construction of the temple started when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok in 1785 as a part of the Grand Palace Complex. This temple consists of over 100 brightly colored buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics.

Phra Kaew is the only temple in Thailand that does not have any living quarters for the monks, and it is only contains the highly decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas.Wat Phra Kaew houses the tiny (between 60 and 75 cm) Emerald Buddha (made of green jade rather than emerald). The Emerald Buddha itself is simply the jasper statue, but it is adorned with garments made of gold. There are three different sets of gold clothing, which are changed by the King of Thailand in a ceremony at the changing of the seasons-



In the hot season- A diamond encrusted gold robe
In the cool season- a solid gold robe and
In the rainy season- a gilded monk's robe

Some precaution-

1. Photography is forbidden inside the temple
2. While visiting a mosque or Wat, be particular about removing your shoes and wearing clothes that cover you well.

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Shopping in Beijing Three Stone Kite Shop

Can you say – what is the symbol of the Chinese culture?
From various things, the Chinese kite can be seen as one of the symbol of the Chinese culture. Three Stone Kite shop in Beijing is one of the most famous kite shops in China.



If you will visit China, Beijing, don’t miss to visit the Three Stone Kite shop.

This Three Stone Kite shop is running by a reputed family and this family has been dedicated to kite art for over 100 years.
Now the youngest fourth generation carries their tradition. China government has been awarded the title of “Familial art museum” to this Three Stone Kite shop.

For over 2,000 years Kite art is a tradition in china. It is said that the earliest aircraft in human history is Chinese kite. The family constantly develops the best techniques for making kites. Three Stone Kite shop have been making top-quality kites for the people of Beijing. The founder of the shop used to build kites for Qing dynasty Emperor Puyi.



In this Three Stone Kite shop you will see the heaven of kite. On the walls, floor, shelves, here there every where are the kites.

All the kites are made of thin silk and bamboo and patterns are hand-drawn. Colors are bright and the shapes are as diverse as interesting to observe ranging from long-tailed fish to dragonflies, birds and butterflies.

Wish you will be in Beijing, China.

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