Yuetan Park

　　Yuetan Park is situated west of Nanshilu Road in Xicheng District, south of Yuetan North Street. Originally called “Xiyue Tan” (Altar of the Moon), it is one of Beijing’s Five Altars. Constructed in the ninth year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1530), it served as the site where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped the moon goddess (the moon) and various celestial deities on the Autumn Equinox. Covering an area of 120 mu, the park preserves well-maintained ancient structures such as the Bell Tower, Heavenly Gate, and Divine Warehouse. It is a protected cultural heritage site of Beijing.

　　The park is planted with numerous pine and cypress trees, and its ancient buildings have been restored. Structures like the Bell Tower, Heavenly Gate, and Divine Warehouse remain intact. In 1983, new attractions were added, including the Yuetan Lunar Palace, which houses a stele corridor, the Twin-Ring Moon Reflection Pool, Guanghan Bridge, and a statue of Chang’e Flying to the Moon. Other sites include Tianxiang Courtyard, Lanyue Pavilion, Jiyue Pavilion, Shuangxin Pavilion, and Yuegui Pavilion. Valuable ornamental trees such as bodhi, wutong, pomegranate, and osmanthus have been planted. Centered around the theme of the “moon” and highlighting the ambiance of autumn, it has become a beautiful spot in Beijing for moon viewing and leisure.

　　Yuetan was turned into Yuetan Park in 1955. A television tower was erected in the park in 1969. In 1983, new attractions such as Tianxiang Academy, Lanyue Pavilion, Shuangxin Pavilion, and the Chang’e Flying to the Moon sculpture were built in the outer altar area. In 1987, the Temple of the Old Man Under the Moon and a stele wall were added. The park is divided into a northern section and a southern section.

　　The northern section is characterized by red-brick, green-tiled ancient architecture and formal pathways, while the southern section features rockeries, ponds, and winding paths that create a natural landscape garden. Major structures in the north include Yuetan Altar; the north and west main gates; the western hall; the southern hall; the four-cornered pyramidal pavilion; the eastern hall of the west courtyard; the southern hall of the west courtyard; the Bell Tower; and the Attire-Changing Hall. The altar platform is a square white-stone structure facing east, 1.5 meters high and covering 13 square meters, surrounded by low walls. Outside the walls are structures such as the Divine Warehouse, the Slaughtering Pavilion, the Ritual Ware Warehouse, and the Bell Tower.

　　The southern section, also known as Yaoyue Garden or Lunar Palace Garden, features a newly built small garden in its center. It is renowned for its rockeries, ponds, and meandering paths, and displays potted plants year-round. The area consists of a five-bay painted northern house, corridors, and flower walls, with osmanthus planted in the courtyard—symbolizing the poetic line “Osmanthus petals fall from the moon, their fragrance drifts beyond the clouds.” Named Tianxiang Courtyard, it includes an open-air music tea house that plays famous melodies like “Moonlight Sonata” and “Spring River Flower Moon Night,” offering moon viewing, moonlight evening events, and a colorful, music-controlled fountain at night that immerses visitors in a scene of “a thousand blossoms in the tender moonlight, a radiant moon above the flowers.” In the northeast corner of the southern section, there is a small hill covered with lush pines and cypresses, topped with an open-air hall for summer cooling. In the northwest and southwest corners are two mounds, each with a colorfully painted ancient pavilion: Lanyue Pavilion and Jiyue Pavilion. From the top, visitors can overlook the entire park. At the base of the southern hill lies an exquisite small bridge, beside which a waterfall cascades into a pond. A statue titled “Chang’e Flying to the Moon” is carved in the pond. South of Tianxiang Courtyard is an open grassy altar decorated with several stone rabbits, symbolizing the earthly “Guanghan Palace” together with the courtyard.

Yuetan Park is aAAA-tier attraction