Imperial Ancestral Temple 太庙

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was first constructed in 1420, with the Sacrificial Hall and the Resting Hall within the inner courtyard. The Distant Kin Temple was built to the north of the Resting Hall in 1491. During the Ming dynasty, the national sacrificial ceremony system was changed during the? ?Jiajing reign. Consequently, new zhaomu temples and the Temple for the Emperor Taizong were added to the Imperial Ancestral Temple on the west and east sides of the inner courtyard in 1536. In 1545, the main buildings on the central axis of the Imperial Ancestral Temple were rebuilt due to the lightning fire, while restoring the “same hall, different rooms” system. The Qing dynasty inherited the planning pattern of the Ming dynasty. The Palace Museum took over its management in 1925. After the 1950s, the Imperial Ancestral Temple has been open to the public as the Beijing Working People’s Cultural Palace in Beijing. It has since become the place for sightseeing, recreational performance,