In my mind’s eye, all I can see is the vision of the GIGANTIC Temple of Heaven as we walked through the gate.

Of course pictures just do not do justice to the majesty and color of the template. And like The Forbidden City, it is built completely out of wood with NO nails. It boggles my mind.

Built from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, this is where he came once per year to pray for a good harvest.  Since the Emperor was regarded as the son of Heaven, there was also an annual sacrifice of animals to respect the God of Heaven.

Tourists can no longer go inside the temple …

But we feel extremely blessed to see this in person.

And to make this place even more memorable, I chose my first Chinese toilet outside of the gates of The Temple. So grateful for my yoga practice!