Editing Temple of Heaven (section)

==Buildings and layout==
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{{wide image|Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China - 010 edit.jpg|925px|Panorama with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the center, viewed from the south}}
[[File:Temple of Heaven - Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests 03.jpg|thumb|Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests]]
[[File:Temple of Heaven - Imperial Vault of Heaven 02.jpg|thumb|Imperial Vault of Heaven]]
The Temple grounds cover {{convert|2.73|km2|abbr=on}} of parkland and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:

* The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) is a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, {{convert|36|m|abbr=on}} in diameter and {{convert|38|m|abbr=on}} tall,<ref name="timeoutBBeijing.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Visiting_Beijing-Beijing_tours/149745/A-beginners-guide-to-the-Temple-of-Heaven.html |title=A beginner's guide to the Temple of Heaven - Visiting Beijing - Time Out Beijing |access-date=2020-03-28 |archive-date=2020-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328201851/http://www.timeoutbeijing.com/features/Visiting_Beijing-Beijing_tours/149745/A-beginners-guide-to-the-Temple-of-Heaven.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> built on three levels of [[marble]] stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests. The building is completely wooden, with no nails. The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889.<ref name="lonelyplanet1">{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/sights/parks-gardens/temple-heaven-park |title=Temple of Heaven Park in Běijīng, China |publisher=Lonely Planet |access-date=2016-10-31 |archive-date=2016-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417070655/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/sights/parks-gardens/temple-heaven-park |url-status=live }}</ref> The current building was re-built several years after the incident.
* The Imperial Vault of Heaven (皇穹宇) is a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base. It is located south of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and resembles it, but is smaller.<ref name="timeoutBBeijing.com" /> It is surrounded by a smooth circular wall, the Echo Wall, that can transmit sounds over large distances. The Imperial Vault is connected to the Hall of Prayer by the Vermilion Steps Bridge, a {{convert|360|m||adj=mid|-long|sp=us}} raised walkway that slowly ascends from the Vault to the Hall of Prayer. The dome for this building also has no crossbeams to support the dome.<ref>Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Temple-of-Heaven {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117233521/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Temple-of-Heaven |date=2020-11-17 }}</ref>
* The [[Circular Mound Altar]] (圜丘坛) is the altar proper, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven (天心石) or the Supreme Yang (太阳石), where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the [[Jiajing Emperor]] and rebuilt in 1740.<ref name="lonelyplanet1"/>