Comprehensive Review of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in the Temple of Heaven: A World Cultural Heritage Site

Hong-Lei Chen （ Temple of Heaven Park Administration, Beijing, 100061, China ）

Abstract

First constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420), the Temple of Heaven served as the sacred sacrificial ground where Ming and Qing emperors offered sacrifices to Heaven and prayed for abundant harvests. It stands as the largest and most complete extant ancient sacrificial architectural ensemble in China and the world. In 1918, the Temple of Heaven was formally opened to the public as a park. In March 1961, it was designated by the State Council as one of the first batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. In December 1998, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the "Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing" onto the World Heritage List. In July 2024, "Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" was also inscribed on the World Heritage List, with the Temple of Heaven serving as one of the 15 component sites. Cultural heritage records brilliant civilizations and inherits long-standing history and profound culture; it is a precious, irreplaceable, and irreproducible wealth bequeathed by our ancestors. Protecting historical relics is not only a legal responsibility endowed upon every individual but also a significant contemporary challenge.

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