H.I.S. Beijing Offers an Affordable, Exclusive Night Tour at the Temple of Heaven Followed by Dinner at TRB

The Temple of Heaven is so synonymous with Beijing that stylized versions of its main attraction, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, grace everything from street wear to Beijing’s public transit cards.

If you visit Beijing for only a short time, it’s likely that a trip to the Temple of Heaven is on your itinerary. But if you’ve settled in the city it might be that you’ve seen no reason to go back (the crush of the crowds being a major deterrent). 

The Temple of Heaven has a nearly 600-year history, and for the majority of that time acted as the emperors’ bi-annual place of worship, first to the gods at winter solstice and then for bountiful harvests at Lantern Festival. When making a trip to the park and retracing the steps of the royal procession, the regal vibe can really rub off on you.

Crowds at almost any attraction in Beijing can be a major turn off to visiting a place like the Temple of Heaven, but there are workarounds. Travel service provider H.I.S. Beijing and world-renowned fine dining restaurant Temple Restaurant Beijing (TRB) now offer a night guided tour of the park complete with chauffeuring via electric cart and a banquet dinner suitably titled “The Temple of Heaven Under Glowing Neon & Heavenly Delights Dinner.”

Touring the Temple of Heaven in the evening lets you have exclusive access to its breathtaking architectural artifacts. The main attractions listed below shutter their doors at 5pm each day, but H.I.S Travel’s guided tour provides access after 8pm, so you won’t have to fight other visitors to see if that “echo wall” really works.

The banquet included in the tour is served at the Min Yuan Royal Restaurant, located within the Temple of Heaven park, and said to mark the exact site where emperors would dine before performing rituals and praying. The banquet menu has been designed by TRB and includes dishes such as foie gras terrine and crispy beef carpaccio complete with wine pairings. 

Most trips to the Temple of Heaven involve a B-line straight for this awe-inspiring circular brick and wood structure that is located on a three-story white marble platform. Each year during Lantern Festival, the emperor would conduct a ceremony here to pray for a year of good weather and bountiful harvests. 

A visit to the Temple of Heaven will also inevitably involve the experience of elbowing your way through a crowd of people so that you can shout at a brick wall. You haven’t gone mad, you’ve just reached the famous “echo wall,” a circular enclosure that surrounds the Imperial Vault of Heaven in the park. It’s also where it’s said that two people separated by 60 meters can speak directly into the wall and can hear each other as if having a telephone conversation. 

Also located in the Imperial Vault of Heaven complex is the Triple Sound Stone, another acoustic oddity that produces a range of echoes depending on where the listener stands and claps their hands: one echo on the first slate, two on the second, and three on the third. This effect is also thanks to the unique build of the surrounding echo wall. Geometry is great! Or is that physics?

Another feature of the park that has taken on legendary status is the Circular Mound Altar; the place where the emperor worshiped heaven at the arrival of winter solstice. The altar stands five meters high on three levels of marble and is centered on a so-called Heavenly Center Stone, which sits at its apex. Standing atop the Heavenly Center Stone is supposed to make one’s voice especially resonant because of the altar’s design, but you won’t be wrestling for position here as only one person can fit on the stone at a time. When you get your chance to be alone perched up there, you can’t help but channel what have must have been like to be the emperor. 

The Temple of Heaven was designed to highlight the exclusivity of the emperor’s life. H.I.S. Travel’s private guided tour lets visitors experience a slice of what that must have been like, navigating the complex in the tranquility night and avoiding the throngs of people encountered in the day. 

Tours run from 6.30-8.50pm and include tickets, a banquet, transportation, and tour guide services. Guides are available in English. RMB 1,990 per person, minimum two people per tour. For much information, call H.I.S. Beijing on 8511 3832 or email pek-inbound@his-china.com to reserve your spot. 

This post is sponsored by H.I.S. Beijing 

Photos courtesy of H.I.S. Beijing