ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — BEIJING, no. 13 Tiāntán — Temple of Heaven — is a historic religious site within a 660 acre urban park. Especially in the early hours of the day people gather there to play games, dance, practice tai chi, and perform music. There are two large, well-tended flower gardens, one of roses, the other of peonies. Long wide walkways through manicured forests lead to … [Read more...]
Tiāntán
ARTIST RESIDENCY CHINA — BEIJING, no. 12 Emperors and retinue of the Ming and Qing dynasties used Tiāntán — Temple of Heaven — annually to perform complex and lengthy ritual ceremonies for the worship of heaven to insure a year of good harvest. The circular wooden altar has been rebuilt many times. It was occupied, damaged, and looted by the Anglo-French Alliance in the 1850s, again by the … [Read more...]