This group of caches will lead you to the four Beijing temple parks (Temple of Heaven, Temple of Earth, Temple of Sun, Temple of Moon) plus my favorite small park in Beijing.
The fifth Cache (Bonus) can only be found after the first four have been found. In each of the four caches, you will find a piece of information, that you will need to solve the last puzzle, so take a pen and a notebook with you to get all the hints.
The second one leads to the Temple of Earth.
Note, that the coordinates given with this cache are not real.
The Temple of the Earth in Beijing, China, is located in the northern part of central Beijing, around the Andingmen area and just outside of Beijing's second ring road. It is also located just a few hundred yards north of Yonghe Temple. At 42.7 hectares, it is the second largest of the four Temples of Beijing behind only the Temple of Heaven.
It was built in 1530 during the Ming dynasty. Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty dynasties would attend the annual summer solstice ritual of offerings to the heaven.
Directly opposite it, at the other side of the city, is the Temple of Heaven in Chongwenmen, southern urban Beijing.
The Temple of Earth (also referred to as the Ditan Park) was constructed in 1530 by Emperor Jia Jing during the Ming Dynasty. The park covers a 40 hectares space outside of Beijing's second ring road. This places the park in the middle of a heavily populated area. The park features lush gardens and tree lined paths. During the Cultural Revolution of China, the temple was damaged; however, the site has been restored and renovated since then.
For thousands of years, the Chinese have believed that important cosmic things could be symbolized using common shapes and directions. Because the Temple symbolizes the Earth, its footprint is square in shape. The square is a powerful symbol in Chinese culture and mythology which can mean Earth or the ground. The Temple's construction mirrors these beliefs with its many square walls and altars. The Temple of Earth is also located in the north of Beijing, north being the direction associated with the Earth. In contrast to this, the much larger Temple of Heaven is circular in shape, symbolizing the heavens and sky, and is located in the south of Beijing. These two temples, along with the Temples of the Moon and Sun (located in the west and east, respectively), interact with each other in spiritually important ways. The Chinese government has listed the Earth temple as one of the most important historical monuments under special preservation.
The cache coordinates can be determined from the attached puzzle. Complement the sequence and note down the the six figures (A1-A6) of the next row. From that, take the following coordinates:
N 39 57.(A2)(A1+6)(A3+1)
E 116 24.(A4+4)(A5+2)(A6+1)
You can check your coordinates on Geochecker.com.
