The Altar of Earth was built in 1530. It is located in the northern regions of Beijing, a little distance from the Andingmenwai Street. The Altar of Earth covers and an area of 37 hectares and it is circled by a double square enclosure. The outer enclosure no longer stands at its place but you can see the west gate. The Altar of Earth was a sacred place where the emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties prayed the God of Earth. This place, reopened in 1984, is converted into a park primarily serving the aged people.
At this centre, the public may play billiards, chess and table tennis or may hear lectures on flower-growing, "qigong" (a scheme of deep breathing exercises) or may learn "taijiquan" (a kind of orthodox Chinese shadow boxing).
The biggest structure in the Altar of Earth is the altar called Fangzetan. It is called so because a moat encircles it. A sculptured stone dragon’s head is fixed towards the west side of the southwestern portion of the moat wall. Water was brought in through the dragon head from a well. Fangzetan was constructed on a north-south axis and surrounded by two square enclosures: both are painted red and scaled with yellow glazed tiles. The inner and outer enclosures have triple white marble gates at the north, south, west and one gate to the east.
Worshipping the Earth was conducted once a year, at the summer solstice. On significant occasions such as an emperor's enthronization, marriage, birthday or funeral, an interpreter of the emperor would come to give a report to the God of Earth. The Altar of Earth was not used after the upset of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. This Altar became a public park in 1925. It was once badly ransacked and because of years of negligence, became a wilderness. But the People's Government gave the Altar of Earth a new flavor in 1957, when it was once again turned into a park. The buildings were renovated, an orchard was built and a large number of flowering and non-flowering trees were planted.
|
