The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven (Traditional Chinese: 天壇; Simplified Chinese: 天坛; Pinyin: Tiāntán Manchu: Abkai mukdehun) is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in southeastern urban Beijing, in Xuanwu District. Construction of the complex began in 1420, and was thereafter visited by all subsequent Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is regarded as the taoist temples , although the worship of Heaven, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism.

The Temple grounds covers 2.73 km2 of parkland, and comprises three main groups of constructions, all built according to strict philosophical requirements:

　 The Earthly Mount (圜丘坛) is the altar proper. It is an empty platform on three levels of marble stones, where the Emperor prayed for favourable weather;
　 The House of Heavenly Lord (皇穹宇), a single-gabled circular building, built on a single level of marble stone base, where the altars were housed when not in use;
　 The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿), a magnificent triple-gabled circular building, built on three levels of marble stone base, where the Emperor prayed for good harvests.
In ancient China, the Emperor of China was regarded as the "Son of Heaven", who administered earthly matters on behalf of, and representing, heavenly authority. To be seen to be showing respect to the source of his authority, in the form of sacrifices to heaven, was extremely important. The temple was built for these ceremonies, mostly comprising prayers for good harvests.

Each winter solstice the Emperor and all his retinue would move through the city to encamp within the complex, wearing special robes and abstaining from eating meat; there the Emperor would personally pray to Heaven for good harvests. The ceremony had to be perfectly completed; it was widely held that the smallest of mistakes would constitute a bad omen for the whole nation in the coming year.