Imperial Vault of Heaven

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Located in the Temple of Heaven. It is the place where the spirit tablets of the Heavenly Emperor and the eight generations of emperors’ ancestors are enshrined.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven was built in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1530). Initially, it was a double-eaved circular building named “Tai Shen Hall,” serving as the main hall of the Circular Mound Altar. It was used for housing the divine plaques during daily worship ceremonies for the Heaven Worship rites. In the seventeenth year of the Jiajing reign (1538), it was renamed the “Imperial Vault of Heaven.” In the seventeenth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1752), it was rebuilt into its current form. The hall is 19.5 meters high and 15.6 meters in diameter, featuring a wooden arched structure. There are eight eave pillars and eight golden pillars, with entrances facing south. The doors and windows are latticed with diamond patterns, and the railings are made of blue glazed tiles. The east, west, and north sides are enclosed with brick walls finished with dry-laid stonework up to the top. Inside the hall, the domed ceiling features a central golden coiled-dragon caisson ceiling, a double-dragon painted ceiling covered in gold leaf, golden pillars adorned with entwined lotus patterns in gold, and inner and outer walls decorated with imperial dragon and seal paintings in gold. At the center of the hall stands a circular stone Sumeru pedestal with a rear upturned angle, 1.51 meters high and 2.53 meters in diameter. It is exquisitely and rigorously designed, topped with a blue-glazed roof and a golden finial, presenting an elaborate yet solemn appearance. The central ceiling inside the hall is a green-toned caisson with golden dragons, featuring a large golden coiled-dragon motif at the center, making it a masterpiece of ancient architecture. The surrounding wall is circular in shape and functions acoustically as a whispering wall, hence also known as the Echo Wall.

The Imperial Vault of Heaven is located to the north of the Circular Mound Altar and serves as the shrine for the spirit tablets used in the rituals of the Circular Mound Altar. It houses the tablets of the deities worshipped there. It now has a single-eaved, round, pointed roof covered in blue glazed tiles and a gilded finial. The building is constructed of brick and wood, with no beams inside. The roof is supported entirely by eight eave pillars, eight golden pillars, and numerous brackets, ingeniously applying the principles of mechanics. The three-tiered caisson ceiling is uniquely designed to step inward with each level, a rare feature among ancient buildings. The eaves are covered with blue glazed tiles, and the roof is topped with a gilded finial. The walls are perfectly round, built with precisely jointed, polished bricks. From a distance, it looks like a giant sapphire umbrella with a golden finial. On either side of the main hall are two side halls, each five bays wide, with a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof. Outside the main hall are the famous Echo Wall, the Three Echo Stones, and the Dialogue Stone.

The enclosing wall of the Imperial Vault of Heaven has sound-transmitting properties, commonly known as the Echo Wall. Historically, the acoustic effect of the wall puzzled many, and the phenomenon could not be scientifically explained for a long time. In 1953, Professor Tang Dingyuan tested the acoustic effects of the Imperial Vault of Heaven’s architecture and concluded that the wall’s precise construction and smooth surface prevented sound waves from being absorbed by the bricks, causing them to reflect instead. This created the echo and formed a unique acoustic phenomenon. This was the first scientific explanation of the echo effect observed in the various structures of the Temple of Heaven.

Temple of Heaven Park

Divine Music Administration

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Bridge of Vermilion Steps

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Hall of Abstinence

Echo Wall of the Temple of Heaven

Lingxing Gate of the Temple of Heaven

Ruins of the Circular Mound Altar

Fire Sacrificial Altar

Beacon Tower

Heart of Heaven Stone

Seventy-two Corridors

Gate of Sixty Years