Hall
of prayer for Good Harvests, also called Qiniandian, is a circular wooden
structure in a unique architectural style. It is the place where emperors
came to pray for good harvests on the 15th day of the first lunar month
every year.
History:
When the Hall was first constructed in 1420, it took a rectangular shape
with the name of great Sacrifice after its counterpart in the Hall of
Heaven and Earth in Nanjing. In 1530 the original structure in Beijing
was demolished and rebuilt into a circular hall, which adopted the name
of Great Enjoyment praying for bumper crops to suffice the populace.
Architecture:
The triple eaves are covered with dark blue glazed tiles, which symbolize
the blue sky. The hall itself is 32 meters in height and 30 meters in
diameter. It was built on a three-tiered marble terrace, which is a
six meters high and occupies more than 5900 square meters in area. This
majestic hall looks as if it was a colossus that might prop up the sky
from the ground.
The timber-structured
hall looks both august and splendid. But the interior framework is by far the more distinctive. No beams, no crossbeams, no nails,
the vault is solely supported by 28 massive wooden pillars and a number
of bars, lathes, joints and rafters, which are integrated into a reinforced
frame to keep up the bulk of the hall. All the 28 pillars are emblematic
of the 28 constellations. The four pillars in the center, called the
"Dragon Well Pillars", are 18.5 meters high and 1.2 meters
in diameter.
Annexe halls:
On each side of the hall there stand one row of s where gods of secondary
significance were consecrated. They are the gods of the Sun, the Moon
and the Stars along with those of Rain, Thunder, and Lightning. Currently
these halls have been changed into exhibition rooms for displaying ritual
musical instruments of the past empire.
Outside the eastern gate of this courtyard stands the Long Gallery,
generally known as the "seventy-two connected houses", through
which articles of ritual sacrifice were delivered from the imperial
kitchen to the altar where delivered from the imperial kitchen to the
altar where ceremonies took place.
Beijing Tour Routes covers Temple of Heaven:
Temple of Heaven Photo
     
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