Hello everybody! Here are a couple of pictures. Bartholomew and I traveled to Tiantan, or the Temple of Heaven today. The first picture is of the Temple of Heaven. The second is me trying to take a picture of myself. The second is Bartholomew chilling in a Cyprus tree. He needed a little rest before the subway trip home. I didn't blame him.
Tiantan, or The Temple of Heaven is one of the most famous, historical sites in Beijing for Chinese history. Emperors of the past would gather here with there people and pray and make offerings to Heaven. The Emperor would go three times a year to make sure the people of China would have a good harvest. He would go when there were problems brewing in the country to sort them out with the celestial beings. He and his party would pray in the Temple, make an animal sacrifice in the Hall of Sacrifice and walk up the Pathway to Heaven.
The entire park is very vast, so I did what I felt comfortable with, and followed a group of Japanese tourists! I love it. The tour guide would lead them from area to area, giving them enough time to explore, and then they would move on... and I would move on with them! They were all wearing red baseball caps, so I could spot them easily. Bartholomew appreciated his time outside, too, I think.
We started in the Hall of Sacrifice where the Emperor's people would slaughter a calf and other animals to use as an offering. Today, people enjoy playing music, playing card and selling hacky sacks in the Hall. It was a fun people watching area.
Next, I moved on to the Temple of Heaven. There were only a few entrances open where you can peak inside of it, but you can not go in. The original was hit by lightening in the 1800s, so much of it is replicated. It was fun being high up and looking over the city a bit. I also toured two museums were they explained the ceremonies that were practiced at the Temple. There was a picture of President Nixon visiting up in one of the museums.
Next, I walked with the tourists to the bridge that led to the Pathway to Heaven. I was expecting a big climb, because I had read that it is a circular path that leads up toward Heaven. It was about maybe twenty steps up! I was a little disappointed, but it was still very cool.
I then moved on to the Hall of Echoes. There is a Temple there, too, but the very cool thing is that if you stand in one part of the courtyard, your buddy on the other side could hear your echo. Very fun. Children and dads and grandpas seemed the most into this activity!
Bartholomew and I went back to the courtyard area where people were selling a lot of stuff. This is the first time I have really been hounded in China. One woman followed me half way out the courtyard trying to get me to buy an umbrella. Other then that incident, it was a very lovely touristy afternoon.
Yesterday, I had a fun evening. One of the senior teachers at another Kids and Teens Center put on a wine tasting event at a beautiful bar across town. I had fun getting all dressed up and meeting some new people. We tried six different wines, on sparkiling, two white wines, and three red wines. I now know some bona fide wine tasting terms. They were all from South Africa to celebrate the up coming World Cup that is being held there. We even had a South African in the group to vouch that those are wines he would drink at home!
No comments:
Post a Comment