Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Oregon would constitute proper feng-shui. This decision very happily corresponded with
the best engineering advice, and the New World furnished the pillars which you now see.
The four central pillars symbolise the seasons, the 12 in the next ring denote the months of
the year, and the 12 outer ones represent the day, broken into 12 'watches'. Embedded in
the ceiling is a carved dragon, a symbol of royalty. The patterning, carving and gilt decor-
ation of this ceiling and its swirl of colour are a dizzying sight.
All this is made more amazing by the fact that the wooden pillars ingeniously support
the ceiling without nails or cement - quite an accomplishment for a building 38m high
and 30m in diameter.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Building Běijīng's principal shrine in the heart of the former Chóngwén district, a traditionally down-at-heel,
working-class neighbourhood outside the walls of the Imperial City, might seem unusual at first, especially as
the vast majority of the capital's other major temples are located further north. But Chóngwén lies in the south,
with an aspect facing the sun and indicative of
yáng
(the male and positive principle). Blessed with such posit-
ive
fēngshuǐ
(geomancy; literally 'wind and water'), it is not surprising that the Temple of Heaven was sited
here.
Other Buildings
With a green-tiled two-tier roof, the
Animal Killing Pavilion
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(Zǎishēng Tíng )
was the venue for the slaughter of sacrificial oxen, sheep, deer and other an-
imals. Today it stands locked and passive but can be admired from the outside. Stretching
crowds sit out and deal cards, listen to the radio, play keyboards, and practise Peking op-
era, dance moves and hacky-sack. Sacrificial music was rehearsed at the
Divine Music
Administration
(Shényuè Shǔ )
in the west of the park, while wild cats live in the dry moat of
The Park
There are around 4000 ancient, knotted cypresses (some 800 years old, their branches
propped up on poles) providing much-needed shade. The parkland itself is typical of
Chinese parks, with the imperfections and wild irregularity of nature largely eliminated
and the harmonising hand of humans accentuated in its obsessively straight lines and reg-
