Taimiao - Working People's Cultural Palace

The Imperial Ancestral Temple, located to the east of Tiananmen Square in Dongcheng District, Beijing, was first built in the 18th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1420 AD) and was the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped their ancestors. It was one of the "Five Altars and Eight Temples" in old Beijing. On May 1, 1950, it was renamed the "Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace" and officially opened to the public. The Temple of Heaven is rectangular in plan, covering an area of ​​197,000 square meters. It is 475 meters long from north to south and 294 meters wide from east to west, with three walls. The main buildings inside the wall all face north and south. The main buildings in the temple are the Xian Hall (front hall), the Qin Hall (middle hall), and the Ancestral Temple (back hall). The Imperial Ancestral Temple was built at the same time as the Forbidden City according to the ancient system of "ancestral temple on the left and community temple on the right". It has survived the Ming and Qing dynasties and is the most complete and largest imperial ancestral worship complex in China. There are fewer tourists going to the Temple of Heaven, so the security check is fast. The Meridian Gate of the Palace Museum is right outside the west gate, which saves you the time of queuing for security check at the Palace Museum.