On the day before the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, the emperor left his palace and travelled to the Temple of Heaven. Drawn by elephants and with a 3000 man strong entourage, the son of heaven left his nest deep inside the Forbidden City at this exact time every year to perform the most important ritual of the empire, a ceremony that revitalized his powers and reconfirmed his status as the son of heaven.
After fasting and purifying himself, the next morning the emperor humbly walked some hundred meters to take his place in the middle of the white marble altar where heaven and earth meet. Here he reported to the sky what had ocurred the last year in the empire and outlined his grand plans for the future, an obedient servant of heaven’s superiority.
The final leader to perform this ritual was the first president of China Yuan Shikai. It is quite telling that when he was scheming to abandon democracy and the republic to become an emperor in his own right in 1914 he chose this ritual as a way of supporting his claim to the throne. But heaven did not grant the little fat man an empire - instead he died in misery only a few years later.
Join us to explore the Temple of Heaven after dark. Illuminated at night, the altars are enhanced by an almost otherworldly beauty. Using a handheld projector we will display the history of the Temple, charting its path from a closed off Imperial altar ground to the beating heart of the city that it is today. We promise that the Temple of Heaven will reveal itself to you in a way you have never seen before.
Where to start: North gate of Temple of Heaven (天坛北门)
Cost: 300RMB/person