Temple of Heaven: Sunrise
It’s spring in Beijing! So far, this means mild weather, flowers, a long stretch of clean air during important government meetings, and rampant construction around the city. There are still occasional cold days, but unpredictable weather is what gives spring its charm. In celebration of the good weather, a friend and I went to Temple of Heaven Park (Tiantan Gongyuan) at the crack of dawn this morning. I’d heard from guidebooks and the internet that sunrise is the best time to visit Tiantan, and while the park doesn’t open until 6:30 (sunrise was at 6:03), I decided to go anyway and bring the new (hand-me-down) camera my husband bought with me.
Sunrise glow on a hazy morning.
I got to the east gate of the park at 6:15, after a people-free subway ride that verged on eerie. To my surprise, there was a crowd of older locals clumped around the entrance waiting to get in. They were chatting with each other, stretching, and doing exercises on the asphalt.
The guy manning the gate seemed to know most of them, and must have given folks a signal I didn’t see, because everybody rushed the gate just as it slid open. The ticket booth was still closed, so my friend and I stood around awkwardly wondering if we should just walk in. Nobody else had tickets either, but our morals made us hesitate. Maybe there’s an early bird special? Watching the crowd stream through the gate, we ultimately decided to follow. The joke was on us, though—as soon as the guard saw us walking his way, he stopped us and pointed at the ticket booth. Meanwhile, more people waltzed in without tickets.
Yes, I did take note of the injustice. At least there wasn’t a line at the ticket booth (which didn't open for another few minutes) am I right? #lifeasaforeigner
Part of the crowd outside the east gate of Tiantan.
Stretching it out before the park opens.
The morning walking crowd.
About the park: Temple of Heaven Park was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and originally served as a place for the Emperor to go pray for a good harvest and atone for the sins of his people through elaborate rituals that included sacrifices. These visits only happened twice a year, around the solstices. Temple of Heaven Park marks Beijing’s southern point (or used to, anyway), and sits on the opposite side of the city from Temple of Earth Park (Ditan Gonguan). Unlike most of the other famous pieces of architecture in Beijing, the “halls” and altar at Tiantan are round, not square, housed inside square courtyards. The park boundary itself is round on its north side and square on its south side (kind of like the cross-section of a muffin). The main features of the park are laid on a north-south axis. Closest to the south gate is the Round Altar—a three-tiered marble platform where animals were sacrificed.
Standing on the second tier of the Round Altar. Significant: the stones are laid out in patterns of nine. Nine, as the biggest, odd, single digit number was considered the most heavenly number.
Standing on the top of the Round Altar.
Looking at the Round Altar.
Going north through a courtyard brings you to the Imperial Vault of Heaven, which is an octagonal building that used to house spirit tablets used in the winter solstice ceremony. From there, an enormous walkway called the Red Stairway Bridge leads to the main event, which is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven from behind.
The Red Stairway Bridge
At this point in my Beijing life, I’m hard-pressed to be enthusiastic about another amazing piece of architecture—there’s a certain amount of saturation that happens that I have no control over, I’m very sorry. That said, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests really took my breath away. It’s a round structure, 38 meters tall, with a dark blue tiled roof and triple eaves showing off the elaborate, painted wood dougong technique. The painted wood is highlighted with gold, which catches the sunlight. The whole thing is made without nails or concrete (shout out to my dad, a timber framer) and sits on three tiers of marble.
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
Paint job on the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
Looking up at the foot of the Hall. The intricate woodwork is called dougong, and fits together without the help of nails or adhesives...more in line with Lincoln Logs than your average structure.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests from behind...with a giant TV screen in the middle of the shot.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was originally built in 1420, but burned to the ground in 1889. Since then, the whole thing has been rebuilt, faithful to the original Ming architecture. You may remember seeing it during the torch-lighting ceremony at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Between the Round Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven, there’s a thing called the Echo Wall, which I walked through unknowingly. Apparently, the acoustics within this round wall are such that you can hear a whisper clearly from the opposite side of it. Even at 8am there were enough people and tour groups that this would have been a useless exercise if I’d tried it, but I’ll have to go back and check it out one day.
I think the Echo Wall is the courtyard through this arch, but I'm not sure...
Close up of roof guardian creatures surround the Round Altar.
Dragon drains pouts on the Round Altar. You may remember seeing these in my photos from the Forbidden City.
My friend and I wandered around these structures and climbed up the altar to take photos. After seeing these three major structures, we took a left and discovered the Fasting Palace, surrounded by a (now dry) moat. There's not much information available about this palace, but I think it's safe to assume, given the name, it's a place where the Emperor spent time purifying himself through fasting.
Outside the Fasting Palace.
The (closed) entrance to the Fasting Palace.
The early morning sun combined with the fuzz of mild pollution and a few flowering trees gave the atmosphere a bit of quiet magic, even though the park filled up fast.
The best part of the morning was the people. That big crowd of older folks at the entrance were on a mission—to get their exercise on! Everywhere we walked we saw older people working out—activities that ranged from energetic running to standing in place lifting one arm at a time. There were many groups of dancers doing slow-moving steps and arm movements to music pumped from a radio (a fairly ubiquitous sight in around here). A couple of groups danced with handheld fans.
Dancing with fans.
We also saw a group doing arm movements to the sound of a loud patriotic speech, and dozens of people playing badminton. Every once in a while, someone nearby would start singing or yelling. The park is full of cyprus trees (approximately 4,000) planted in rigid lines, which makes for heavy shade and lots of dirt pathways through the trees. Here and there, people would be exercising solo among the trees.
Dancing in the park.
And more dancing.
The real action, it turned out, was on the north-east side of the park. When I first moved here, I noticed brightly-colored jungle-gym looking equipment all over the city—anywhere there was a park-like space. These are actually free exercise machines that are mostly used by adults. In general, looking at these tools gives me zero idea how to use them, but it seems like there’s no real rules beyond “do whatever you want with this.” From watching other people, I’ve realized there are hand bars and stepping machines, leg and back massagers, sit up machines, and more. While in the park, we came across a huge area dedicated to this exercise equipment, and it was packed with people. Every piece of equipment was in use, and calories were on the burn.
Exercise equipment in use.
Calf massages up front.
I wandered through the crowd, snapping some (hopefully) unobtrusive photos and getting a huge kick out of two old men side-by-side on leg swinging machines (not sure what else to call them?) They were both expressionless looking straight ahead while their legs swung rigorously back and forth. Another man hung by his hands from a bar and swiveled his lower body around like he was using a hula hoop. One guy stretched his leg straight up and propped it on a bar so he was positioned in a vertical split. He talked with a friend and spat on the ground with his leg over his head.
Socializing AND exercising. Two birds, one stone.
After watching these older people give physical fitness their all, I couldn't hold on to my resentment about their free admission. And after two and half hours and six miles of walking—roaming the 275 hectares of this massive, beautiful, and action-packed park—I was satisfied. In fact, I enjoyed myself enough that I'm planning a sunrise trip to Beijing's Jingshan Park, which overlooks the Forbidden City. Stay tuned for that.
Also, if you're hungry, here's a delicious and affordable menu item my mom and I encountered when she visited a few weeks ago. More soon!