Circular Mound Altar
圜丘坛
The altar seats inside the South Gate. Constructed in 1530,it is a circular stone platform of 3 tiers,5m high, guarded with stone slabs between balustrades, encircled by a low wall of round inside but square outside as a reference to “round sky and square land”. Four groups of Lingxing gates, three in a unit,stand in the four directions outside the inner and outer walls of the temple, but the Circular Mound Altar is double walled and has two rings of the gates, to form a 3-dimensional geometry that is grand and Circular Mound Altar is long known as a holy,a sacred site for offering worship sacrifice. It is truly the heavenly a altar,also popularly referred to as the Altar,Altar to Worship Heaven,or Altar of Obeisance for Heaven.
圜丘坛的位置在南门。建于1530年,它是一个3层,5米高的圆形石头平台，栏杆之间的石板守卫着,内墙是圆形，外墙是方形比喻为“圆天方地”。菱形门有四组，三个为一组,在神殿内外墙的四个方向,但是圆丘坛的双围墙和大门的两个环,形成一个宏大的三维几何和圜丘坛能够提供牺牲以神圣,庄严而为人熟知。这是真正神圣的祭坛,也通常崇拜皇天或尊敬皇天的坛。
。