The Temple of Heaven

The Imperial Heavenly Vault

The Imperial Heavenly Vault was built at the same time as the Round Altar, and is structured along the same lines of the older Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. It used to contain tablets of the emperor's ancestors, which were used in the winter solstice ceremony. It stands 19.5 meters high and 15.6 meters around at the base. Built entirely of wood, eight pillars support the vault. The roof has no beams but a great number of brackets entwined within each other support the roof. The ceiling tapers upwards.