Tai Miao, the ancestral Imperial Temple, is situated East of the Forbidden City. It is the only example still in existence of an ancestral Imperial Temple. It was used during the Ming and Qing Dynasties to celebrate sacrifices to ancestors and to hold the wooden tablets which represented the ancestors. One of the most sacred places in the city, the complex - the construction of which began in 1420 - includes three buildings of various functions. Among these, a stand-out is the grand hall for the worship of the ancestors, one of the four buildings in all of the city to rise on three rows of steps, a sign of holiness and prestige. The emperors participated in the most important cerimonies in this room, surrounded by burning incense and votive offerings. The centennial cypresses which can still be found in the park surrounding the three buildings, are another motive for visiting this place of peace and serenity, of great importance to the Chinese culture of the Imperial Age. In 1950, it was renamed the Working People’s Cultural Palace.