Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven
4.5
Historic SitesArchitectural BuildingsParksReligious SitesGovernment Buildings
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Built in 1420 with a total area of 270 acres, this is the largest building for religious worship in China, which was originally used by the Ming and Qing emperors to pay homage to Heaven and to pray for a year of rich harvest.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • KodoDrummer
    Buenos Aires, Argentina70,639 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The Emperor's Temple. Stunning, even on my 5th visit
    Beautiful artistry, especially without all the tools and engineering knowledge of today. It sits within a temple complex, which is located in a large park. Lots of signage to explain the history and past usage of the various structures.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled solo
    Written March 4, 2024
  • Alexey P
    Korolev, Russia151 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very large and interesting park
    A very large and interesting park, a lot of greenery, large areas. Anyone over 60 years old is admitted free of charge (even foreigners upon presentation of a passport). We prayed for good weather at the sanctuary, where the Chinese emperors did the same. 99.99% Chinese. We walked around the park, everyone played outdoor games and did exercises. Well done!
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written April 2, 2024
  • Nix B
    Bangkok, Thailand5,134 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A must-visit place when coming to Beijing.
    When visiting Beijing, you must come to this temple. Temple of Heaven. I went during the Chinese holiday, Ching Ming Day. Tickets purchased in advance through Klook are approximately 150 baht per person. You can scan and enter immediately. When you enter, there will be an outside. which will be like a museum display and inside which is the Temple of Heaven When I went there were a lot of people. Huge number of people So I didn't get in line. You can't take photos from outside. It's like there are trees everywhere. Next time, I will go on a weekday that is not a holiday.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written April 18, 2024
  • 4grlsmom
    Pewaukee, Wisconsin324 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    An enjoyable park full of history
    We opted for the Temple of Heaven over the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square after a friend in Beijing said he liked it, and we'd seen the other sites on prior visits. The Temple of Heaven is very large - it is a surprisingly big area, but it has a very relaxing vibe. I think Beijing overall has a more historic feel versus a city like Shanghai, and sometimes that feels a bit oppressive to me. But the Temple of Heaven has such a tranquil feel. You smell pine as you walk among the trees, and people are just chill, walking the park, some doing Tai Chi and taking in the history. The east gate is near the Tiantandongman metro stop (across from the Pearl Market), and there was no line to get tickets. Bring your passport, over age 60 is free, even for foreigners.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written June 5, 2024
  • Christian M
    Copenhagen, Denmark6,223 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A Small Taj Mahal Moment
    The name alone – Temple of Heaven – evokes associations with an ancient imperial era of grandeur. However, the poetry is somewhat diminished when you're trudging around the vast site in 35-degree heat among thousands of Chinese visitors, many in rented costumes to capture the perfect photos. But when we turned onto the square in front of the Hall of Prayers, we experienced something similar to when we first saw the Taj Mahal. A thrill of joy over a beauty that spans centuries and still touches the viewer today. The Temple of Heaven is a must-visit when you're in Beijing, but the daily life in the hutongs will likely leave a more profound human impression.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written June 10, 2024
  • Ltravel88
    United States121 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Temple of Heaven - Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
    We arrived late in the day and only saw the grand attraction at the Temple of Heaven, the magnificent Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The pictures I'd seen online didn't reflect just how elegant it was in person. Its engineering without nails is awe-inspiring and the perfect blue tiles representing the sky made it a sight to behold. Leaving the grounds of the temple we walked along a forest, with rows and rows of trees- it truly gave you a sense of how enormous it was.
    Visited July 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written July 29, 2024
  • Alberto C
    Vicenza, Italy199 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    One of the most beautiful palaces in Beijing
    Visit required. The palace is spectacular and the park around it is also worth a visit. In 1.5 - 2 hours you can see everything without difficulty. As with many other tourist attractions, you need to book on wechat in advance.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written August 24, 2024
  • Niña P
    77 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    From the sky full of eyes
    Absolutely beautiful! This site was where the emperor prayed for crops and harvests, and the level of detail of the building is spectacular. Everything is symbolic and beautiful. On the other hand it is a fairly busy site whatever the time of the visit.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written August 26, 2024
  • Alessio0575
    Monza, Italy195 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Major attraction in Beijing
    This is one of the major spot to be visited in Beijing. It is place at the centre of a magnificent and green park, probably an attraction itself which gives more scenery to the Temple. The main building is a circular structure at the centre of a terrace like square made of white marble. As usual very long queues to get in and it is strongly suggested to get a ticket in advance - -for foreigners, there are agencies purchasing ticket on your behalf and the passport eventually become the ticket. At the end of the visit to the temple and the surrounding buildings, i suggest to take a walk in the part, perfectly maintained...
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written September 3, 2024
  • Steven Ng
    Singapore, Singapore87 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Awesome experience at Temple of Heaven
    Landed at Da Xing Airport in Beijing at 7am, we still managed to squeeze an afternoon tour to Temple of Heaven (天坛). This tour was led by tour guide Lina, who explained the ceremony the emperor needs to do to ensure that China had enough rain for the year. Btw the Emperor also got a farm within the Forbidden City, so that he experienced farming as example to the rest of his kingdom. The heaven is always represented by circle and earth is represented by a square. That why ancient Chinese coin is circle with a square hole in the middle. In terms of colour, Heaven is represented by blue, Emperor is represented by yellow, the earth is represented by green. This explains the different colour of the roof in Temple of heaven, the Forbidden City & normal people houses. Do recommend to get a guide for the tour to Temple of Heaven & Forbidden City. There are really a lot of information, a good local guide can provide (unless you understand mandarin & got access to Little Red Book (China version of TikTok)).
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written September 9, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Phisthy Trinh
Thai Nguyen, Vietnam33 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Friends
My teacher and my classmates visited Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing on June 7, 2024. We attended a two-week summer camp in Beilan and had a very memorable holiday, visiting many places besides learning Chinese. It happened to rain heavily that day, and with showers and the ancient architectural landscape of Temple of Heaven Park, I felt like I was in an ancient costume drama. This experience made me feel the charm of China's unique history and culture. Temple of Heaven Park is not only a well-preserved Ming and Qing royal complex, magnificent and full of ancient rhymes, but also Impression of the wisdom of ancient Chinese living in harmony with nature. The altar of heaven in the rain was more charming, as if every drop of rain told the story of history. It was beautiful.
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Written October 14, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ronald L
Denver, CO3,147 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
Bus loads of people came into this attraction, Temple of Heaven. Large complex but not too many buildings. Much of the grounds covered in cedars and some pines. Each tree had a tag with it’s age. Supposedly trees over 300 years old could be found. Under the trees many groups of elderly people doing Tyche (they get in free). When our tour was over we boarded a private van to our next stop NW of the city. Followed a very pretty walled canal most of the way, lined with trees and flowers. Lots of flowers and roses all along the highways in this city.
Written January 8, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jamie H-D
Poole, UK2,285 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Couples
A nice place to walk around and view the beautiful buildings around, our guide gave us a brief history, nothing too in-depth as you can view the is in one of the buildings. Great photo opportunities although it gets very crowded, especially at the main building. It was nice to see the school groups being shown around.
Written December 19, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

paulynyyy
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2,165 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
While gold is the color for the Emperor (think Forbidden City), blue and green are the colors reserved for Heaven, which is why Temple of Heaven is of such color.

It spans bigger than the Forbidden City and the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest is the most iconic sight. It is circular and entirely made out of wood without any nails.

As we were there on a Sunday, there were lots of tourists, more local than international.

We visited the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Echo Wall, ending our trip with Circular Mound Altar.

Best to go with a guide.
Written December 23, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fanou H
34 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2025 • Solo
The temple is amazing to visit. The buildings are beautiful and the story behind it is very interesting. The architectural designs are truly remarkable.
However, I would advise not to go during the Chinese holidays as the crowd will literally crush you.
I would also advise not to take the audio guide on site, I paid 40ÂĄ and it was disconnecting all the time (and I could not rewind) so I missed a lot of the explanations. I did not detect well my location so sometimes I would not get any explanation at all. It made this experience a bit frustrating but at least the temple's beauty made up for it.
Written February 4, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maria N.
Moscow, Russia15,800 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Solo
It's better to buy a combination ticket for about 30 yuan for the three main attractions. This is the Temple of Heaven, the Wall of Echoes, something like an altar for sacrifices of that time. Plus a huge and very green park, good in itself, on its territory the entire Chinese crowd disappears somewhere, you can take a deep breath and walk around calmly. Which is very valuable.
Google
Written October 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

fire-tower
3,480 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
We visited the Temple of Heaven on a Saturday afternoon. We had bought tickets prior to our visit, and had to provide key passport details. We took a Didi to the Eastern Gate and start our visit there. Succinctly, the Temple of Heaven made up several imperial religious buildings and was visited by the Emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvests. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The more significant places includes the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, Echo Wall and Circular Mound Altar. We also took a lovely walk in the park. This place would interest those who like history and the architecture especially the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is beautiful. We had enjoyed our visit here.

Do note that most of the information boards on exhibits within the buildings are only in Chinese.
Written December 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ettorino05
Florence, Italy2,190 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Family
It was my first stop in Beijing and I advise everyone to do the same. In fact, the site is very beautiful, well-kept and with a park that invites meditation and calm. However, the other main attractions of the city (from the Temple of the Lamas to the Forbidden City) are of such beauty and magnificence as to obscure it. If it were visited after the others, it would not receive the proper appreciation.
Automatically translated
Written December 25, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mic_leow
Singapore, Singapore640 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Family
The snowfilled street leading up to the temple of Heaven make the place even more beautiful. Place was filled with tourists and even locals in rented costumes to take photos everywhere. The entrance to enter the Temple of Heaven was crowded and once inside be awe by the majestic view of the temple sitting right up the pavilion top. Lots of photo opportunity and so magical in winter especially the snow covered places!
Written December 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

richiel747
Richmond, Canada354 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2022
Beautiful and peaceful visit to the Temple of Heaven. It was busy on New Years Day and many come to pray at the beginning of the New Year. With Covid restrictions in place, we could not buy a ticket via WeChat however we were able to pay for the ticket in cash when we arrived on site. As a visitor, you do need your passport number to visit the site. The history is incredible and it provides great insight to the spiritual side of ancient times. The buildings are amazing and if you time you visit right when the light is low, the sun lights up the interiors so you can really appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship of these buildings. You can race around and see the buildings or spend a lot of time wandering around.
Written January 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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