Temple of the Earth

The temple of the Earth is located at No.2A, Anwaidajie Street, Dong district. Its construction began in the 9th year of Emperor Jiajing of Ming Dynasty (1530AD) and was the place where Ming and Qing emperors made sacrifices to the God of Earth on the summer solstice each year. It was a quiet and solemn imperial temple garden. The temple is square in shape with a total of 37.4 hectares. The two-layer, square marble terrace-the Fangze Alter-facing north, is the mian structure of the temple. The altar was surrounded by the Fangze Pond. Tablets of God of Earth were enshrined in the five rooms south of the altar. On the west side there are also the divine warehouse, divine kitchen, sacrificial utensil warehouse, and musical instruments warehouse with five rooms each. On the west lied the Abattoir Pavilion while the Worshipping Palace was on the northwest. In 1925, it was named “Jingzhao Park” and opened to the public, and now it’s the Temple of the Earth Park. In recent years, on the changing of seasons, book fairs are held inside. It is now one od the Olympic Cultural Squares in Beijing.