Tian Tan-Temple Of Heaven

To speak the truth, when I was there, I did not truly appreciate what I was seeing; it was only after I came home that I realised what a gem all the monuments etc. are! Tian Tan is one of my favourites, and I appreciate its beauty only after seeing the pictures I took. The best and my favourite picture is taken here! Maybe that's why I love it so much here hehe...

Tian Tan, or Temple Of Heaven, used to be for the emperors to pray for a good harvest and longevity. One could see huge platforms around some parts, and that's where animals were sacrificed for the gods.A bit barbaric huh? Again, the architecture is exquisite. The beautiful blue coloured tops of the many halls are eye-catching and look really elegant and soothing. This is one of the best ancient Chinese buildings in terms of artistic architecture and scientific layout.

The two most interesting features are the echoing wall and the stone. The round wall surrounding the QiNianDian is so cleverly built that if one person stands at one point and whispers, another person standing exactly opposite, ie.at 180 degrees away, can hear the words whispered! However, due to to many visitors nowadays and the damages done to the walls, like scratches and vandalism, this no longer seems to work. One cannot get too near anyway since railings have been put up to prevent further damages.

The other amazing feature is the 3rd marble slab from the entrance to the QiNianDian.(A stretch of marble runs straight in front of the steps that lead up to the hall.) If one stands on this 3rd slab, and claps real loud, one can hear the echoes!

Other interesting trivials involving the building of palaces are told by my tour guide. He said each brickmaker in those days had to carve their names on each brick they made. In this way,any bricks that should break apart or showed inferior quality can be easily traced back to is maker, and thus the culprit can be found and punished! If you look real carefully whenever you visit these ancient buildings, you can see the names!I did when touring the Ming Tombs. And I really mean carefully, since I saw it while walking down the steps and there is was, on one brick that had one face exposed from weathering! Too bad it was too crowded to take a picture!

Another interesting fact is that people used to bribed the tilemakers. In those days, sycophantic courtiers liked to impressed their majesty by banging their head loudly on the floor when they 'kow tow'. The louder, the more loyal! Certain tiles were made such that they were a bit more hallow, thus producing a louder sound when knocked. That is why the courtiers bribed the builders, to find out just where these special tiles were!

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