TempleClosed Inner halls closed Monday (except public holidays); the park stays open

Temple of Heaven

#6of 10 places to visit in BeijingBeijing, Beijing Municipality, China

Also known as Tiantan · 天坛 · Altar of Heaven

Quick answer

Opening hours: 06:00–22:00 and 06:30–22:00 and 08:00–18:00 and 08:00–17:00, last entry 21:00. Entry: CN¥34. Allow 2.5 hrs. Best time: 06:30-08:30.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

Get directionsOfficial site

Photo: Shujianyang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Opening hours: 06:00–17:00; Park gates 06:00-22:00 from April to October and 06:30-22:00 from November to March, last entry 21:00. Inner sites 08:00-18:00 from April to October (last entry 17:30) and about 08:00-17:00 from November to March; sources differ on the winter opening time.
Entry fee: CN¥34; Ticket from
Time needed: 2.5 hrs
Best time of day: 06:30-08:30
Best months: Apr – May, Sep – Oct
Address: 7 Tiantan Neidongli, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100061, China

About Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven charges CNY 34 for a combined ticket from 1 April to 31 October and CNY 28 from 1 November to 31 March, as of 2026, covering the park and the three main altars and halls. The 273-hectare park is larger than the Forbidden City and is laid out on a north-south axis where the circular buildings stand on square bases, following the Chinese idea that heaven is round and earth is square. The blue-tiled Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests rises about 38 metres on a three-tier white marble terrace, its wooden columns and rafters joined without nails, and the Circular Mound Altar beside it repeats the number nine in its stair counts and paving rings. Temple of Heaven remains a working neighbourhood park as well as a monument, so dawn brings locals rather than tour buses.

Best time of day: 06:30-08:30. When locals fill the park doing tai chi and singing, and the halls open to a thin crowd at 08:00.

Temple of Heaven timings

Opening hours: 06:00–17:00; Mon–Sun 06:00–22:00 and 06:30–22:00 and 08:00–18:00 and 08:00–17:00; Park gates 06:00-22:00 from April to October and 06:30-22:00 from November to March, last entry 21:00. Inner sites 08:00-18:00 from April to October (last entry 17:30) and about 08:00-17:00 from November to March; sources differ on the winter opening time.
Closed on: Inner halls closed Monday (except public holidays); the park stays open

Mon–Sun	06:00–22:00 and 06:30–22:00 and 08:00–18:00 and 08:00–17:00

Good to know: Winter closing of the inner halls is reported as 17:00 on official Beijing pages and as 16:30 last entry elsewhere; verify on the day.

Opening hours compiled from english.beijing.gov.cn and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Temple of Heaven ticket price

Entry fees for Temple of Heaven
Ticket	Price
Standard ticket	CN¥34
Concession (student / senior)	CN¥17
Children	CN¥17

The combined ticket for the park and the inner sites (Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Circular Mound Altar) is CNY 34 from 1 April to 31 October and CNY 28 from 1 November to 31 March, as of 2026. Park-only entry is CNY 15 in the high season and CNY 10 in the low season. Sources conflict on concessions (half price for students and ages 18-25 in some, free for over-60s and children with a passport in others), so verify at the entrance or on the official booking channel. Foreign passport holders are reported to need a pre-booked ticket rather than a gate purchase.

Prices compiled from english.beijing.gov.cn and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Temple of Heaven

Quiet
Busy
Very busy

06:00 - 08:00
Local morningBest time to go
Locals exercise, sing and play cards in the Long Corridor and cypress groves; the inner halls are not yet open.
Quiet
08:00 - 11:00
Tour group arrival
Coach groups reach the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Echo Wall; expect queues for the centre stone at the altar.
Busy
11:00 - 15:00
Midday peak
The central axis is at its busiest, especially on weekends and holidays, and there is little shade on the stone terraces.
Very busy
16:00 - 20:00
Evening quiet
The inner sites close but the park stays open until 22:00 with a quiet evening crowd of walkers.
Quiet

History of Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven was built from 1406 to 1420 under the Yongle Emperor, the same reign that produced the Forbidden City, as the site where Ming and Qing emperors performed sacrifices to Heaven at the winter solstice and prayed for a good harvest each spring. The Ming emperor Jiajing expanded the complex in the 1530s and added the Circular Mound Altar, which the Qianlong Emperor rebuilt in 1749.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was destroyed by a lightning fire in 1889 and rebuilt on the original plan in 1890, so the present timber is Qing-era rather than Ming. Anglo-French troops in 1860 and the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900 occupied the grounds, and the imperial ritual ended with the fall of the Qing in 1912. The park opened to the public in 1918, and UNESCO inscribed the complex as a World Heritage Site in 1998; it also forms part of the 2024 Beijing Central Axis heritage listing.

Rules & etiquette at Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven separates park entry from inner-site entry, and a park-only ticket does not admit visitors into the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests or the Circular Mound Altar. Foreign visitors should bring a passport for real-name checks at the gate, and multiple sources say tickets should be booked through the official channel or a reputable platform before arrival, because walk-up sales to foreign passport holders are unreliable.

Temple of Heaven inner halls are viewed from the doorway, and the Circular Mound Altar is a stone platform where visitors stand at the centre stone to hear the sound reverberate. Loud voices carry across the Echo Wall, so keep chatter low while others test it. Tripods are generally discouraged, drones are banned in central Beijing, and dancing or singing groups in the park's long corridor are locals who welcome polite observers but not intrusive filming.

Tips for visiting Temple of Heaven

1
Temple of Heaven is best done with the East Gate entry at Line 5 Tiantandongmen, then walking north along the raised Red Stairway Bridge toward the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests before looping south to the Circular Mound Altar; this keeps you moving against the morning tour flow. Arrive by 08:00 for the inner halls, since coach groups reach the Echo Wall by mid-morning.
2
Temple of Heaven's Long Corridor, a covered 360-metre walkway near the East Gate, hosts card games, calligraphy and choirs from about 07:00 and is the best free show in the park. Cypress groves provide shade in summer, but the paved central axis is exposed. Food stalls near the gates charge tourist prices, so eat in the streets outside the East Gate instead. Photography of the hall is best from the eastern stairs in the morning light.

How to reach Temple of Heaven

The red star is Temple of Heaven; the numbered pins are the 6 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

7 Tiantan Neidongli, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100061, ChinaDirections in Google Maps

From Beijing Capital Airport (PEK)
30 km · 60-80 min
CNY 25 Airport Express plus CNY 4-5 subway
From Tiananmen East
6 km · 30 min
CNY 3-4
From Beijing South Railway Station
6 km · 20-25 min
CNY 20-30 taxi

Nearest airport

From Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), about 30 km; Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), about 45 km.

Nearest station

From Tiantandongmen (Line 5) at the East Gate; Tianqiao (Line 8) is the closest to the West Gate.

Temple of Heaven FAQs

How much is the Temple of Heaven ticket in 2026?

CNY 34 for the combined ticket from 1 April to 31 October and CNY 28 from 1 November to 31 March, as of 2026; park-only entry is CNY 15 in the high season and CNY 10 in the low season.

Is the Temple of Heaven closed on Monday?

The inner halls are closed on Mondays except public holidays, but the park itself stays open. Plan the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests for another day.

Do foreign visitors need a passport to enter the Temple of Heaven?

Yes. Foreign visitors should carry the passport used for booking, and pre-booking online is safer than trying to buy at the gate, where sales to foreign passport holders are unreliable.

What is the best time to visit the Temple of Heaven?

Arrive at 06:30 to 08:00, when locals fill the park and the inner halls open at 08:00 with light crowds. Weekday mornings in April, May, September and October are best.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places