Temple of Earth is located in the north of Beijing Ritan Park in a huge among three other temples. The largest among them - the Temple of Heaven.

The temple was built during the reign of the imperial Ming Dynasty in 1530. Today - it is a huge garden with flowering trees, lawns and flower beds, located in a densely populated town of Beijing.

At that time, when China launched the "cultural revolution", the building was damaged, but then restored and rebuilt.

Chinese since ancient times believed that the essence of a lot of things lies in the four cosmic elements: the sun, the earth, the moon and the sky. Temple of Earth has a square base and is located on the north side of the park, as this part is connected with the Earth. Temple of Heaven, in turn, has a circular shape, implying the sky, and is located in the southern part. All four of the temple, including the Moon and the Sun, located on the east and west, interact with each other in different spiritual directions. All four buildings are in China and cultural monuments protected by the state.

On the territory of the temple is an altar of sacrifice, which was used during the summer solstice to calm the gods. At this point, we pray for a good harvest, as the weather is good, the welfare of the country. The altar in the center of the temple is called "Tan Tse Fung", meaning "Altar of water", because before it was surrounded by water on all sides, the source of which to date has dried up.

The temple complex consists of five buildings: the imperial house, the palace, warehouse, hall of sacrifices, and the altar. Around all these buildings grows a lot of trees, about 170, which celebrated 300 years or more. The most popular trees - a ginkgo, elm and juniper.

During the celebration of Chinese New Year, usually begins on day 1 of the 1st cycle of the lunar year, at the Temple of Earth begins the famous festival. Lots of bright red lanterns are hung on the trees, the lights are burning everywhere, and thousands of people gather.