Beijing Temple of Heaven's Fasting Palace

The Fasting Palace is located inside the West Heavenly Gate, where the emperor would bathe and fast before performing sacrificial rites. Facing east, the palace covers an area of about 40,000 square meters, surrounded by a moat. It houses a total of over 60 rooms. The main hall is five bays wide and is known as the Beamless Hall because it contains no beams or wooden columns. There are two stone pavilions on the platform of the main hall, the left one is the Fasting Bronze Man Pavilion (allegedly cast in imitation of Tang Dynasty's Wei Zheng), and the right one is the Pavilion of Time Tablets. Behind the main hall are five sleeping quarters, and in the northeast corner stands a bell and drum tower, which houses the 'Great Harmony Bell' cast during the Ming Dynasty's Yongle era.