THE HILLMAN 2013 ASIAN ADVENTURE
100s of Photos Documenting a 6-week tour of
Malaysia ~ Singapore ~ Thailand ~ China
Section II: China
www.hillmanweb.com/china2013/china17.html
Photos by Bill and Sue-On
Captions by Sue-On (expanded from our FaceBook pages)
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Gallery 17:
TEMPLE OF HEAVEN ~ Pt. I

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 After our Peking Duck lunch, 
we went to the Temple of Heaven Park.
 The proximity of the sculpture and the "public facility" 
brought bouts of laughter 
which helped the digestion of our big lunch.
 Here we are at the entrance to the Temple grounds.
 It's quite a walk to the entrance.
 The "mall" and park part of this UNESCO Heritage site. 
The area of 2,700,000 square meters is larger than The Forbidden City. 
The size difference is because the emperors could not build a residence
greater than the earthly residence dedicated to Heaven.
 The entrance is via a covered walkway, 
with many "retirees" spending the day with their friends 
at various games of cards, checkers, etc. 
The walk is beautiful, with the plum trees in full bloom. 
The Temple grounds cover 2.73 square km of parkland.
 The covered walkway has a display of paintings on the ceiling. 
As with many covered walkways in these heritage sites, 
the paintings serve two purposes -
as embellishments as well as a means of preserving the wood from the elements.
 The shade provided was welcomed by everyone.
 Once we accessed the area with the buildings, 
our guide told us the meeting time. 
In the background is one of the annexes. 
Some of our group members, from New Zealand and Australia!
 Dragons and lions, two popular motifs, decorate the rooftops.
 Looking through the gates, 
we can see The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, 
the most spectacular building on the grounds.
 The triple-gabled circular building sits on
three levels of marble base, 
where the Emperor prays for good harvests.
 There are eight stairways to access the Hall of Prayer
for Good Harvest.
 Danbai Stairway Stone Carvings: 
The central parts of the stairways facing north and south 
are decorated with stone bas-reliefs.
 One of the three panels of stone bas-relief: 
"Two Dragons Over Mountains and Sea", 
"Two Phoenixes Over Mountains and Seas", and 
"Auspicious Clouds Over Mountains and Seas".
 The building is completely wooden, with no nails. 
The original building was burned down by a fire caused by lightning in 1889. 
It was rebuilt several years after the incident.
 Vying for a glimpse of the interior.
 Inside the Hall are many pillars with elaborate designs and colours.
 There are four inner, twelve middle, and twelve outer pillars 
representing the four seasons, the twelve months, 
and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively.
 Some of the utensils used in the ceremony.
 The beautiful ceiling tiles. 
All the buildings in the Temple grounds 
have special dark blue roof tiles, representing Heaven.
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Bill and Sue-On Hillman Eclectic Studio
hillmanweb.com
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada