天坛
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Natural Features
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自然概况
The temple lies at the east of Inside Street Yongdingmen Gate，originally a place to worship Heaven and pray far good harvest.
天坛在北京市崇义区水定门内大街东侧，是明清两朝皇帝“祭天”‘祈谷”的地方。
Temple of Heaven is unique in architectural achievement It is majestic,sublime,harmonious with the cypress wood ，and grand，inviting a strong sense of lofty and farseeing，in addition to mystique snd affection.
北京天坛代表着中国古代建筑史上特殊的成就。天坛的建筑形体庄重、挺拔，与周围的道路和大片柏树林地极为和谐，显得庄严肃穆、仓境幽远、大气恢宏，营造出了意在高远、图谋存志、显现神秘、诱发情感的特殊环境氛围。
The total area of the temple is 273 hectares，three times to seven times larger than rorbidden City and near that of Summer palace. Two walls separate the temple into an outer court and an inner court. The north wall is taller and semicircular. while the south wall is Power and rectangular .in accordance with the belief of “round heaven above square earth" and”lofty heaven and humble earth"
天坛占地273公顷，比故宫大3到7倍，略小于颐和园。整个建筑布局呈”回“字形，四周环筑坛墙两道，把全坛分为内坛、外坛两大部分。坛域北端围墙高大，呈半圆形;南边的围墙较低呈方形，寓意”天圆地方“与”天高地低“之说。
The primary buildings of the temple are in the inner part，which is again separated by a wall. In the north of this part is Altar of Prayer for Grain for spring ceremony，with Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest as the center. In the south is the huge Circular Mound Altar for worshipping Heaven on winter solstice. Linking the two parts is Danbi Bridge。also referred to as Haiman Avenue，the axis of the complex sides with large woods of cypress.
天坛的主要建筑集中于内坛。内坛用墙分隔为南北两部分。北为“祈谷坛”，用于春季祈祷丰年，中心建筑是祈年殿;南为“圜丘坛”，专门用于于“冬至日”祭天，其中心建筑是一个巨大的圆形祭台，名”圜丘“;天坛正是”祈谷“、”圜丘“两坛的总称。两坛之间以高于地面、长360米的甬道——丹陛桥相连，形成一条南北长1200米的天坛建筑轴线，两侧为大面积的古柏树林。
Temple of Heaven and in December 1998 is among the first key cultural sites under state protection， the UNESCO inscribed it on World Heritages List.Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest，a marvelous building in the temple，is now one of the symbols of Beijing.
天坛是首批全国重点文物保护单位之一。1998年12月联合国教科文组织将其作为世界文化遗产列入《世界遗产名录》。天坛内的奇妙建筑祈年殿现已成为首都北京的象征性建筑之一。
