Things to do over the Spring Festival: Sacrifice to Heaven Ceremony at Tiantan

Starting from yesterday, Jan 26, those looking to experience a little of Beijing's imperial history, can head over to Tiantan and catch a reenactment of the Ming and Qing dynasty 祭天大典 (Jitian Dadian) or Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony. The rite has been taking place in Tiantan since the Ming dynasty and it's reported that a total of 22 emperors have performed this sacrificial ceremony 654 times. Two ceremonies will be held daily (11.00-11.40am and 2.40-3.15pm) until Jan 30. Yuan Shikai was the last "emperor" to perform the ceremony - see images below. You can also find a shaky video of the modern-day reenactment after the jump.

Tiantan Park
RMB 15 (adults), RMB 8 (students).
Daily 8am-5pm (last ticket 4.30pm). Yongdingmen Dajie (take subway line 5 to Tiantan East Gate stop) Chongwen District (6702 8866)
崇文区永定门大街

Links and Sources:
Yahoo Space: Slide show of Yuan Shikai performing the ceremony at Tiantan in 1915
The Beijinger Directory: Tiantan Park
The Beijing News: 天坛祭祀 “皇帝”不再当花瓶
Youku: Video of the Ceremony