Module 6　The World's Cultural Heritage

　　天坛，世界文化遗产，是北京"天地日月"诸坛之首，是我国和世界上现存最大的古代祭祀性建筑群。

　　The Temple of Heaven

　　The Temple of Heaven is situated in the southern part of the city of Beijing.It was built in 1420，covering an area of 273 hectares (公顷)．

　　The temple was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for good harvests.It is regarded as one of the greatest architectural (建筑学的) structures in the world.Some environmental artists and gardeners describe the temple as a place where people can talk to heaven.In Beijing，four imperial (皇帝的)temples were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.At the southern end of the city axis is the Temple of Heaven.It is the most important of the four.The other three are the Altar of Earth in the north，the Altar of Moon in the west，and the Altar of Sun in the east just behind the Beijing Friendship Store.All of them are still standing，but the Temple of Heaven is the largest group of temple building of its kind in China，nearly four times larger than the Forbidden City (紫禁城)．It was designed in a way that makes you close to heaven.

　　In making the heaven like structures，the designers made good use of the color，sound，and figures of the circle and the square.The combination of building and gardens helps to make it appear mysterious and magical.The temple's architecture has two themes.One is "on the earth" while the other is "in the heaven"．

In imperial days，the Chinese people believed that the sky was circular and the earth was square.On the basis of this traditional concept，the circle was widely