he Temple of the Sun is located in Chaoyang District

Chaoyang District, Beijing

Chaoyang District is a district of Beijing, China.Chaoyang is home to the majority of Beijing's many foreign embassies, the well-known Sanlitun bar street, as well as Beijing's growing CBD. The Olympic Park, built for the 2008 Summer Olympics, is also in Chaoyang...

, Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is within Ritan Park (日壇公园), in the Jianguomen

Jianguomen

Jianguomen is a major transportation hub in Beijing.Flanked by Jianguomen Inner Street to the west, Jianguomen Outer Street to the east, the Eastern 2nd Ring Road runs through it in a north-south direction....

 area. The nearest Beijing Metro station is Yonganli on the Beijing subway Line 1

Line 1, Beijing Subway

Line 1 of the Beijing Subway is the longest, oldest and busiest line of Beijing's mass transit rail network. It runs underneath Chang'an Avenue, the city's grand east-west thoroughfare, right through the heart of Beijing with stops on either side of Tiananmen Square...

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The temple's altar was built in 1530 during the late Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 for use in ritual sacrifice to the sun by the Emperor of China

Emperor of China

The Emperor of China refers to any sovereign of Imperial China reigning between the founding of Qin Dynasty of China, united by the King of Qin in 221 BCE, and the fall of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China in 1916. When referred to as the Son of Heaven , a title that predates the Qin unification, the...

. The area surrounding the Ritan temple is now a public park, and the site features extensive gardens and a small lake.

On the opposite side of Beijing, to the west, is the Temple of the Moon

Temple of the Moon (China)

The Temple of the Moon is an altar located in Fuchengmen, Xicheng District, in western Beijing, China. The altar was built in 1530 during the Ming Dynasty for use in ritual sacrifice to the Moon by the Emperor of China....

, located in Fuchengmen

Fuchengmen

Fuchengmen is the name of a gate on the western side of Beijing's city wall. The gate was torn down in the 1960s, and has been replaced by the Fuchengmen overpass on the 2nd Ring Road. Fuchengmen Station is now known as a transportation node, where a number of public buses and Line 2 of the...

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During the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

, it was selected as one of the three protest zones

Free speech zone

Free speech zones are areas set aside in public places for political activists to exercise their right of free speech in the United States. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging.....

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