Our 2008 China Eclipse Trip - Page 4

Temple of Heaven

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is mounted on a three-tiered marble terrace. Amazingly, the wooden pillars ingeniously support the ceiling without nails or cement -- for a building 38 meters high and 30 meters in diameter, that is quite an accomplishment. Built in 1420, the Hall was burnt to the ground in 1889 and heads rolled in apportioning blame. A faithful reproduction based on Ming architectural methods was erected the following year.