Temple of Heaven 天坛

One of the four temples built during Ming dynasty. The four temples are Temple of Sun, Temple of Earth, Temple of Moon and finally Temple of Heaven.

The most significant will be the Temple of Heaven.

The layout shows that the area is made up of inner wall and out wall. The inner part housing the complexes. While the outer wall is made up of the music administration. 

The Temple grounds cover 2.73 km² (1.05 sq mi) of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:

• The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿)
• The Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇)
• The Circular Mound Altar (圜丘坛)

The most magnificent is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests built on 3 levels of marble stone base. Its the Hall where the Emperor will pray during the year for good harvests in the Ming and Qing dynasty. 

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and resembles it, but is smaller. The altar is surrounded by a low wall named echo wall where, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance.

The Circular mound altar is, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven (天心石) or the Supreme Yang (太阳石), where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather.

I spent the major part of the day in the temple so do set at least half a day to wander through the premises.