The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven (Traditional Chinese: 天坛; Simplified Chinese: 天坛; pinyin: Tiān Tán) is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. Construction of the complex began in 1420, and was thereafter visited by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is regarded as a Taoist temple, although the worship of Heaven, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.
The Temple grounds covers 2.73 km² of parkland, and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:
The Earthly Mount (圜丘坛) is the altar proper. It is an empty platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favourable weather;
The House of Heavenly Lord (皇穹宇), a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base, where the altars were housed when not in use;
The Hall of Annual Prayer (祈年殿), a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the "Son of Heaven", who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprised of prayers for good harvests.
Each winter solstice the Emperor and all his retinue would move through the city to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat; there the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.
Inside the Hall of Annual Prayer.The Temple of Heaven is the grandest of the four great temples located in Beijing. The other prominent temples include the Temple of Sun in the east (日坛), the Temple of Earth in the north (地坛), and the Temple of Moon in the west (月坛).
According to Xinhua, in early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (5.9 million USD) face-lift in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the restoration was completed on May 1st, 2006.
The Temple of Heaven was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.
天坛，字面上天堂的祭坛（中国传统：天坛；简体中文：天坛；拼音：钛āN Tán）是一个复杂的道教建筑群位于东南部城市北京，在宣武区。复杂的工程始于1420，和其后的明清以后所有的皇帝访问。它是一座道观，尽管天上的崇拜，尤其是在一天的君主，前的日期，道教。
庙公园²覆盖2.73公里，包括三个主要群体的结构，都按照严格的哲学要求：
地球上的山（圜丘坛）是适当的祭坛。这是一个三级大理石平台，在皇帝祈祷风调雨顺；
天上的主屋（皇穹宇），一个单一的山墙的圆形建筑，建在一个水平的大理石底座，在祭坛被安置在不使用的时候；
年度的祈祷大厅（祈年殿），一个宏伟的三门式的圆形建筑，建在三级大理石底座，在皇帝祈祷丰收。
在古代中国，中国的皇帝被视为“天堂”的儿子，谁管理的代表，世上的事并表示，神圣的权威。被看作是尊重他权力的源泉，在祭祀上天的形式，是非常重要的。该寺建于这些仪式，大部分是祈求丰收。
每个冬至国王和他的随从将通过城市扎营在复杂的，穿着特殊的衣服不吃肉；有皇帝亲自向上帝祈祷丰收。婚礼已经是完美的完成；它被广泛认为是最小的错误，将在未来一年全国一个不好的征兆。
每年的祈祷大厅里面。天坛是最主要的四大寺庙，位于北京。其他著名的寺庙，包括在东方的太阳神庙（日坛），在北土寺（地坛），与西方的月亮神庙（月坛）。
据新华社报道，在2005年初，天坛经历了47000000元（5900000美元）用于2008北京夏季奥运会和恢复准备面对电梯已于2006年5月1日完成。
天坛是注册在联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录1998。
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