地坛

地壇
Dìtán
proper noun

Meanings

  1. 1 Temple of Earth, Ming-Qing altar in Beijing where emperors made offerings to the Earth, now a public park

Examples

HSK 7-9
Chūnjié de shíhou, wǒmen qù Dìtán guàng miàohuì.
At Spring Festival we went to the temple fair at the Temple of Earth.
HSK 7-9
Míngcháo hé Qīngcháo de huángdì měi nián Xiàzhì dōu dào Dìtán jìsì dàdì.
Every summer solstice the emperors of the Ming and Qing came to the Temple of Earth to make offerings to the Earth.

Tips

culture
Beijing's four imperial altars stand on the four sides of the old city: 天坛 (Heaven) to the south, 地坛 (Earth) to the north, 日坛 (Sun) to the east and 月坛 (Moon) to the west. The altar of 地坛 is square, because heaven was thought round and the earth square.

In Pop Culture

我与地坛 Wǒ yǔ Dìtán
Me and the Temple of Earth
Shi Tiesheng's 1991 essay on the years he spent in the park after losing the use of his legs, a standard text in Chinese schools.

Stroke Order

地 dì
坛 tán