In his role, Zhong offers a sacrifice to the God of Heaven. Located in southern Beijing, the Temple of Heaven has been one of the most sacred places for more than five centuries, serving the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) emperors, and is the largest among several royal altars to Heaven, Earth, the Sun, the Moon and other deities or symbolic forces of Nature in the city. It symbolizes the relationship between Heaven and Earth, at the heart of Chinese cosmology, and the role played by emperors within that relationship.[Photo/IC]