East Gate

Through this gateway, you enter the Temple of Heaven, the former imperial ceremonial complex where the ruler performed rites for the coming harvest and winter sacrifices. The order of movement was part of the ritual: the procession arrived from the Forbidden City in the west, and different gates served the two ceremonies. Now the eastern route leads to the Long Corridor and the northern part of the complex; on an ordinary day, it is used by residents of nearby neighborhoods and other park visitors.

Above the central opening is the inscription “Temple of Heaven Park.” This is specifically an entrance to the park: the imperial Temple of Heaven had no East Gate. A solid outer wall ran across this spot.

The planners of the Temple of Heaven anticipated the movements of entirely different people. The imperial procession arrived from the Forbidden City in the west. For prayers for the harvest, the ruler entered through the northern gate in the western wall; for the winter sacrifice, Emperor Qianlong ordered separate southern gates built there as well. There was no reason to open the eastern side: neither the ruler nor the sacrificial animals came from here.

After the last emperor abdicated, officials of the republican Ministry of the Interior decided to turn the closed sanctuary into a park open to everyone. They drew up a plan of the grounds, numbered the trees, and began repairing the roads. The work was disrupted by the soldiers of General Zhang Xun, who sought to return the young Puyi to the throne. His units occupied the Temple of Heaven, and their opponents shelled their positions. The attempt to restore the monarchy lasted twelve days; Zhang Xun fled to the Embassy of the Netherlands, Puyi abdicated again, and the officials had to clear away damaged buildings and trees.

On January first, nineteen eighteen, the Temple of Heaven opened to the public. An adult visitor was charged three-tenths of a silver yuan; a pass for a servant or rickshaw puller cost one-tenth. But everyone still entered from the west. There was still a wall here.

Park staff created the East Gate only in nineteen seventy-seven, for visitors arriving from the eastern neighborhoods. From here, they laid out a convenient route to the Long Corridor and the northern part of the ceremonial complex. Later, the neighboring subway station took the gate's name. No emperor ever passed through this opening: it was opened for city residents almost sixty years after the Temple of Heaven became a park.