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The Temple of Heaven was initially built in Yongle year 18 of the Ming Dynasty (in 1420). Situated in the southern part of the city, it covers the total area of 273 hectares. With the additions and rebuild during the Ming, Qing and other Dynasties, this grand set of structures look magnificent and glorious, the dignified environment appears solemn and respectful, it is the place for both Ming and Qing Dynasty’s Emperors to worship Heaven and pray for good harvest. The northern part of the Temple is circular while the southern part is square, implies “sky is round and earth is square” to better symbolize heaven and earth. The whole compound is enclosed by two walls, dividing the whole Temple into inner and outer areas, with the main structures enclosed in the inner area. The most important constructions are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Heaven, The Imperial Vault of Heaven, Heaven Kitchen, Long Corridor and so on, as well as the Echo Wall, the Triple-Sound Stone, the Seven-Star Stone and others of historic interest and scenic beauty. The Temple of Heaven is a comprehensive expression of the unique construction techniques from Ming and Qing Dynasties, it is China’s most treasured ancient architecture, it is also the world’s largest architectural complex for worship heaven. In 1998, it was included in the “list of the world heritages” by the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Do you know? There are four wonderful sounds in the Temple of Heaven! It’s worth your time to study the four wonderful sounds.

1. The echo from the Echo Wall - There is a circular wall around The Imperial Vault of Heaven, this is the famous Echo Wall. One person’s mere whisper at any point close to the wall can be heard clearly on the other side if you draw your ear close to the wall, it is so clear that it is like talking on the phone. Do you want to know why? This is possible because the wall is round and hermetically constructed with smooth, solid bricks, so the sound wave can transmit to the other side via the extremely smooth inner circle.

2. The sound of the Dialogue Stone - If you speak while standing on the 18th stone in front of The Imperial Vault of Heaven, the sound can clearly pass to the northeast corner of the north side hall and the northwest of the west side hall that are both 36 meters away. The sound can be heard just as well on the stone when speaking from the corners of these two side halls, this is what we call the “Sound of the Dialogue Stone”.

3. Repeating sounds of the Triple-Sound Stone - In front of the steps leading away from the hall is the Triple-Sound Stone. If you stand on the first stone and call out or clap your hands, the sound will echo once; on the second stone, the sound will be heard twice; and on the third stone, the sound will repeat three times. Hence it inherited the name. This is because the distances that the sound wave reflected from the round wall to the stone are different, the number of echo is also different. Take a guess which flagstone is at the center of the Echo Wall’s? The third one. The echo actually gets repeated more than 3 times, it’s just the sound is too weak to be heard after the 4th echo.

4. The hollow of the Heaven’s Center Stone - There is a stone plate in the center of the Circular Mound Altar called the Heaven’s Center Stone. Shouting aloud standing above, you will hear the reverberation of the echo. This is due to the refraction of the sound.

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Jacklyn Chen - Webmaster of news-blogs.com and a full time mom with two lille kids. Working very hard to make living with multiple web sites. For more articles and information about travel, visit her travel blog

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Do you know that Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Hong Kong are the most visited cities in China?

A lot of people refer it as the ‘golden route’ or ‘presidential route’ after Bill Clinton visited these cities in 1998.

Certainly the golden route has a good combination of everything: great historical heritages, beautiful landscape, delicious Chinese food, great shopping and so on.

Best time to visit China is spring and autumn when China has beautiful weather and fewer tourists.

If you are a first-time visitor to China, the golden route is your top pick. You would need at least two weeks to complete the tours.

Beijing - you would need at least four nights to complete what you need to see and do.

Great Wall of China - the longest man-made architecture on earth. This should be your number one destination in Beijing.

Forbidden City - the former palaces and offices of Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is currently a museum with countless treasures.

Summer Palace - the most well preserved royal resort of Qing Dynasty.

Temple of Heaven is the symbol of Beijing. Ming and Qing emperors worshipped Heaven here.

Please do include a hutong tour in order to have an old Beijing feel. After all, don’t forget a Beijing duck feast.

Tip: Beijing travel requires a lot of walking. Please be prepared for it.

Xian - everyone should visit Xian at least once in life, Chinese and foreigners alike. Spend three nights here is necessary to cover the most important sightseeing.

Xian has been a capital city for 13 dynasties, totaling 1,100 years. It was the world’s most prosperous city in Tang Dynasty, 1300 years ago.

The Terra Cotta Warriors is a full-scale replication of the Qin Dynasty army. There is no other place in the world you can see a life-size army of over 2,000 years old.

Banpo Neolithic village is a famous site of 6,000 years old which has typical features of a matriarchal society. You’ll also see clues of ancient burial, marriages, creative tools and artifacts.

In Xian, don’t forget to go for a dumpling feast which usually goes with a first class entertainment show of Tang Dynasty music and dance.

Guilin is ranked second on China’s list of top 10 tourists’ destinations. It has beautiful landscape integrated with fabulous countryside. Make sure you won’t miss the Reed Flute Cave, the Crown Cave and some of the beautiful peaks.

Don’t forget to make a day trip to Yangshuo where the best hills and waters are. Go there on a Li River cruise and return by bus. If you choose to stay overnight, you would be able to watch the spectacular ‘Liu Sanjie’ performance, which takes place on the Li River. Yangshuo is truly a place for you to relax and enjoy.

In Guilin, make sure to go for a rice noodle feast. Or you can just eat it as a street food at

Tags: beijing, China travel, Guilin, Hong Kong, tour, travel, Xianbeijing, China travel, Guilin, Hong Kong, tour, travel, Xian

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Home to 15 million, Beijing has for centuries been one of the world’s centers of culture. The land here has been occupied for over 3,000 years. As a result, visitors face the well-known traveler’s dilemma - too much to see with too little time - amplified many times over.

Here are just some highlights…

One of the most famous attractions is not even in the city itself, but about 60-125km (35-75 mi) outside it - the Great Wall. (The distance varies depending on the desired viewing location.)

To see one of the best preserved sections, visit Mutianyu. Though the wall was under construction for over 2,000 years, this 6th-century section was used as the northern barrier to defend the capital.

Not as old, but just as impressive a man-made achievement is the Imperial Palace, often referred to as the Forbidden City. So named because for centuries the common people were not allowed to freely enter. And sometimes wished they hadn’t gone when invited!

More than 9,000 rooms spread over 250 acres, it was first built in the 15th century and later renovated during the Qing dynasty in the 18th.

To get an excellent high view of the city itself, take a trip to Jingshan Park, built in 1179 AD. It looks out over the Forbidden City and features spectacular views of Beijing and the surroundings.

Constructed near the same time, in 1420 AD, the Temple of Heaven covers 270 acres and is the largest religious building in China. Today, thanks to the relaxing of religious repression, visitors can see this magnificent work of architecture and envision the train of emperors who have used it over the centuries.

Beijing has much more than religious temples, however, in which to find a peaceful atmosphere. The park at Yiheyuan is a 290-acre retreat, where visitors can wander through pavilions and over bridges near the enormous lake. Sit a while and sip tea at one of the many tea-houses there or stroll along one of the many tree-lined paths.

Most will want to visit the now-infamous Tiananmen Square, the largest open square in the world. It can easily accommodate over one million people, provided they don’t have to share space with tanks.

Be sure to take at least half a day and visit the equally famous Beijing Zoo. Home to nearly 600 species, the pandas may be the most well known, but they’re far from the most exotic. The over 6,000 animals housed there are drawn from all over the country and many parts of the world.

Spring or Fall is probably the best time to visit - Beijing can be quite cold in the winter and summers are often uncomfortably hot. But anytime of year you visit, there will be sites and sights galore worth seeing.

This article is brought to you by celestial-china.com If you’re looking for more information about travelling to China feel free to visit our website.

Tags: beijing, china, China travel, travel china, travel to china, travelling to chinabeijing, china, China travel, travel china, travel to china, travelling to china

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