Tiantan

Temple of Heaven
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the largest building in the Temple of Heaven
Location	Beijing, China
Coordinates	39°52′56.07″N 116°24′23.29″E / 39.8822417°N 116.4064694°E / 39.8822417; 116.4064694 (Temple of Heaven)Coordinates: 39°52′56.07″N 116°24′23.29″E / 39.8822417°N 116.4064694°E / 39.8822417; 116.4064694 (Temple of Heaven)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name: Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii
Designated	1998 (22nd session)
Reference no.	881
Region	Asia-Pacific

Temple of Heaven
"Temple of Heaven" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	天壇
Simplified Chinese	天坛
Literal meaning	"Altar of Heaven"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tiāntán IPA [tʰjɛ́ntʰǎn] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tīn-tàahn Jyutping Tin1-taan4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Thinn-tuânn

The Temple of Heaven (Chinese: 天壇; pinyin: Tiāntán; Manchu: Abkai mukdehun) is an imperial complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It has been regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, predates 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. The complex was extended and renamed Temple of Heaven during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the 16th century. Jiajing also built three other prominent temples in Beijing, the Temple of Sun (日壇) in the east, the Temple of Earth (地壇) in the north, and the Temple of Moon (月壇) in the west. The Temple of Heaven was renovated in the 18th century under the Qianlong Emperor. By then, the state budget was insufficient, so this was the last large-scale renovation of the temple complex in imperial times.

The temple was occupied by the Anglo-French Alliance during the Second Opium War. In 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight Nation Alliance occupied the temple complex and turned it into the force's temporary command in Beijing, which lasted for one year. The occupation desecrated the temple and resulted in serious damage to the building complex and the garden. Robberies of temple artifacts by the Alliance were also reported. With the downfall of the Qing, the temple complex was left un-managed. The neglect of the temple complex led to the collapse of several halls in the following years.[2]