Home > Destination > Beijing > Attractions > Temple of Heaven > Architectural Complex of Palace of Abstinence
Beijing Bus Search

Search buses/subway lines between two stops.

Search a bus/subway line.

Architectural Complex of Palace of Abstinence

Ask Question

According to the ancient ritual system of China, people have to abstain from pleasure before the sacrifices to pay respect to God and to honour the ceremony. Thus, the Architectural Complex of Palace of Abstinence, in the southwest part of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, was especially built by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for abstinence. The buildings in this area include the main hall - the Beamless Hall, and many auxiliary buildings for rites, living, service and security such as the Living Hall, the Bell Tower and the Long Covered Corridor.

The Architectural Complex of the Palace of Abstinence is a dual rectangular palace-style building, having two layers of palace walls and two royal moats. Over the moat of the outer palace wall were built white marble arch bridges. Along the moat was a long covered corridor of 163 rooms used as defense. However, in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), the Temple of Heaven was divided into the outer city area of Beijing, and the moats lost their protective function. The inner moat was also destroyed later, leaving the three sides to the east, south and north.

Built in 1420, the Beamless Hall is situated in the central part of the architectural complex of Palace of Abstinence. It was the place for the emperor’s abstinence during daytime before sacrificial ceremonies. There are two reasons that it is named it ‘beamless hall’. Firstly, it was built without any beam or pillar. Secondly, the Chinese word for ‘beamless’ has a similar pronunciation to the  word for ‘infinite’ and 'immeasurable’, giving it a profound meaning.

At present, except for the middle room, the other four wing rooms on both sides of the Beamless Hall have been developed into exhibition rooms. The exhibits includes the historical functions and evolution of the Palace of Abstinence, the ritual system and vessels of abstinence, introduction to the officials’ abstinence before the ceremony and portraits of the 22 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties who used the Temple of Heaven to offer worship to heaven.

Behind the Beamless Hall is the Festoon Gate (Chuihua Gate), crossing which you will arrive at the Living Hall. The hall was built in 1743, serving as the chamber room of the emperors during abstinence. There is a throne and some decorative articles, such as screens, table and porcelain wares, set up in the middle room of the hall for the emperor. The wing rooms were the study and bedroom of the emperor. Behind the Living Hall were the rooms for the princes during abstinence.

Outside the Living Hall, there are two big vats in front of the gate, known as ‘Peaceful Vat’ or ‘Auspicious Vat’. They were used to store water for fire prevention, typical of fire control facilities in ancient China. Thus, this kind of vat can be seen in most of the ancient architectures in China. There are totally 308 similar vats in the Forbidden City.

In the northeast corner of the Architectural Complex of Palace of Abstinence, there is a two-tier bell tower between the two moats. On the tower is hung a ‘Teihe Bell” built in the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), which was also known as “Yongle Bell’ from later generations. There is also another bell in the open air south of the corridor of the tower, named the ‘circular Mound Bell’. This bell was originally hung in the bell tower inside the Circular Mound Gate and was moved here after the bell tower was pulled down in 1958.

 Go to the Next Attraction: Architectural Complex of Devine Music Administration 

Ask a Question about Architectural Complex of Palace of Abstinence
Back Go Top