Andy and the boys at the entrance gate of the Temple of Heaven
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The boys and me at the entrance gate of the Temple of Heaven
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Walkway to the temple. The pollution was particularly bad on this day.
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Owen and Alex on their way to the Marble Platform
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The Marble Platform is three tiers of marble that forms a circle 300ft in diameter and 20ft high. The balusters on the upper tier are decorated with dragon carvings to signify the imperial nature of the structure.
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On the third (top) tier of the Marble Platform
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The triple gates. The east gate was for the emperor to enter through, the west gate was for officials, and the center gate was for the gods.
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The spirit tablets of the gods inside the Imperial Vault of Heaven.
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Waiting in line to look into the Temple of Heaven
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The Imperial Vault of Heaven, used to store the spirit tablets of the gods.
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The Chinese always hold up two fingers when they have their photo taken. For us these two fingers mean 'peace', for the Chinese they mean 'victory'.
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The pillars
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Inside the Temple of Heaven. It is entirely built of wood without using a single nail. It is supported by 28 pillars. At the center, the four huge columns, known as Dragon Well pillars, represent the four seasons, while the other 24 smaller pillars symbolize the months in a year plus the two-hour time periods in a day.
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This is the oldest tree on the temple grounds. It is said to be almost as old as the temple itself, almost 600 years.
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The grounds around the temple are full of trees. Each tree has either a green or a red marker on it. The ones with green markers are between 100 and 300 years old. The ones with red markers are over 300 years old. This tree had a red marker.
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This tree was really cool. Everyone was walking up to it and running their hands over the knots on the trunk.
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Standing in the archway of the Gate of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main entrance to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
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A courtyard with very green grass.
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Alex had a buddy while stopping for an ice cream break. She was so cute, just lurking around him. And she had split pants on too...naturally.
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The main areas of the temple are connected by an elevated walkway called the Red Step Bridge.
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Looking inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.
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To the right of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is the Imperial Hall of Heaven, first built in 1420. I don't know how many times it was reconstructed, but I'm sure its been at least a few. The Chinese seem to like to burn things down and rebuild them.
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The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, built in 1420, during the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in 1545 and then reconstructed again in 1751. The circular roof symbolizes the sky, the blue color of the roof represents the color of heaven. I had no idea Heaven was blue. Good to know. The golden finial on the top is 125ft high and prone to lightening strikes.
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Standing in the archway with the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest behind them.
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Cool tiles
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Housed in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest are the tablets of the emperor's ancestors.
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Owen...Gangam Style...walking out of the temple area.
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