Our third day started with a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a product of the Ming Dynasty. It was an imperial complex of religious buildings in the southeastern part of central Beijing. This complex was visited by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvests.

The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for construction of the Forbidden City. The complex has been extended, renamed, and renovated over the years. It has also suffered from fires over the years as is the case with most long-standing wooden buildings.

Today it is no longer a temple but rather a public park and tourist stop. It is 700 acres and very beautiful. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is really a spectacular building. It’s a triple-gabled circular building built on three levels of marble stone and is 118 feet in diameter and 125 feet tall. The emperors kneeled and prayed here to the heavens for good crop harvests, rain, and divine guidance. Our guide said it was the only time that the emperor knelt. At the Forbidden City, the emperor was god.

For me, the most interesting aspect of the Temple of Heaven was outside the temple walls. The outside area is used as a park, mostly by retirees from what I could see. They spend their days singing, dancing, playing checkers, cards, mahjong, knitting, painting, telling stories, playing badminton, and more. Americans could learn a few things from these folks. Just below was the ‘games’ area.

The woman below is evidently telling stories by painting them on the walkway. It’s just some colored water that then disappears as it dries. There were quite a few story-tellers like this woman.

I was quite impressed by all the dancers. Oddly enough to me, they were dancing to “American Big Band” music. Most people had big smiles as they danced.