Heaven on earth

It may surprise you to learn that the Temple of Heaven is just one of five altars built for imperial worship during the final 500 years of dynastic rule in China.

The five altars hosted the most important religious occasions of the year and the Emperor was expected to act as chief petitioner in making sacrificial offerings to the gods to ensure a trouble-free year ahead.

The Son of Heaven, as the Chinese emperors always claimed themselves to be, would start with the grandest ceremony at the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan), built in 1420 and more rituals would follow at Xiannong Tan (Temple of Xiannong), Ditan (Temple of Earth), Ritan (Temple of Sun) and Yuetan (Temple of Moon).