Temple of Heaven, Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City

Another Conference Tour!  The Temple of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings, was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The number nine represents the Emperor and is everywhere in the design of this Circular Mound Altar where a single round plate is surrounded by a ring of nine plates, then a ring of 18 plates, and so on for a total of nine surrounding rings, the outer ring having 9×9 plates.

The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a magnificent triple-gabled building, built on three levels of marble bases. The building is completely wooden, with no nails used in construction.

Inside one of the temples.

A silk factory was today's shopping opportunity and once again I left empty handed. The little white balls are the silk cocoons.

Next stop Tian'anmen Square, site of the 1989 massacre not mentioned in China. It is massive and the brochure says it's the largest square in the world. (Most things are the largest, biggest, tallest, longest etc). This is the Monument to the People's Heroes.

Mao's mausoleum on the square.

A great piece of monumental Communist sculpture.

These gardens soften the scene somewhat.

Gate tower to the Forbidden City, which faces one side of the square.

Joining the crowds inside the massive Forbidden City, the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government for almost 500 years. It was built in 15th century and consists of 980 buildings. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The more of these dragons and creatures decorating the roofs in China the more important the building.

The Emperor's time piece.

Just to prove I was there!

Touring with the conference group

While Bill was busy at the conference all week, Joy joined some of the tours organised by the conference. They were friendly and interesting and jam packed with activities. Unfortunately the famous Beijing smog descended for the first two tours on the first day, but it was nothing like the winter smog where visibility is only a metre or two.

The first stop was Jingshan Park, one of the Emperor's imperial gardens during the Ming and Qing dynasties(1368-1911). This is the entrance guarded, like most entrances by the two lions. One has a foot on a globe, representing the Emperor's power (which was enormous).

The other has a foot on a baby lion, representing his fertility. Considering we were told about one Emperor who had 3000 concubines, this must also have been quite impressive.

The gardens were very extensive. I liked the crepe myrtle bonsai.

There were five pavilions. We climbed to the highest spot, passing three pavilions. The first one was circular to represent heaven.

This is the roof of the second pavilion we passed. Blue and green are the preferred colours.

Our group approaching the third pavilion, the Pavillion of Everlasting Spring.

There was a great, if smoggy, view from the top. This side overlooks the enormous Imperal Palace (the Forbidden City). The hill, the highest point in Beijing, was built from the dirt excavated for the moat around the Palace.

It 's wonderful the way seniors are in all the parks playing music, dancing, doing tai chi etc. We could hear the sound of a large choir coming up from the valley in this park.

This one is for Alexander.

Another gate, this time into Beihai Park, anther Imperal garden. 

The Bai Ta (White Pagoda) is a 40m high stupa placed on the highest point. Its body is made of white stone. Sun, moon and flame engravings decorate the surface of the tower.

Steps down to the lake.

Boarding a boat for a trip across the lake.

 The ceiling of the boat.

Lotus peddle boats.

More dancers. It was tempting to join in.

This Nine-Dragon Wall was built in 1402 and is one of three walls of its kind in China. It is made of glazed bricks of seven-colors. Nine complete dragons playing in the clouds decorate both sides of the wall. It's really rather beautiful.

Detail of the screen.

Dressing up as the Emperial family. Yellow was a colour only Emperors were allowed to wear. Note - father was not amused and was on his mobile phone the whole time.

Charley was our great guide. Couldn't miss him!

Houhai and Qianhai Lakes and the Hutongs

On our second day in Beijing we once again braved the crowded, but efficient Metro system and headed off to Houhai and Qianhai Lakes and the Hutongs. The air was still reasonably clear and it was lovely to find such tranquil spots in amongst the bustle and crowds. Beijing's population is about 22 million, almost the same as the population of the whole of Australia.

Looking across Qianhai Park.

As it was Sunday, lots of families were out boating.

The water lilies were beautiful.

The Jinding Bridge.

Of course tea is very big here and this is a Chinese Tea House. The woman is performing a traditional tea making ceremony.

We wandered through the Hutong area. Hutong means water well and the Hutongs are the preserved alleyways of old China.

This is one of the fancier doorways. Behind the doors there are small courtyards and several generations live here together. Actually with so many people living there they are quite ramshackle. There is no plumbing, so public facilities have been built in the alleys for them to share.

Off to Beijing 23 August - 1 September

Our first night (22 August) was spent in Sydney so we could sat good bye to Thomas, Zoe and Elliot. Sweet Elliot was so happy to see grandpa.

Grandma and Elliot share a ride.

We arrived in Beijing in the early hours of the morning after two uneventful flights. It's hot here, but not as humid as expected, so walking is quite bearable. 

Out hotel is in Olympic Park, next to the conference centre. The first morning, with no real plans, we headed off to find the metro. "15 minutes walk" said the concierge, "always turn right then left". Well, not ones to give up easily and grab a cab like any sane people, an hour and a half of wandering past high rise apartments and shopping malls we finally found it. When we arrived in the city we found ourselves still surrounded by high rise buildings and incredibly glitzy malls full of every designer shop you can think of.

At last we spied this gate and took a look behind it.

It was a charming restaurant area and...

...an interesting market.

Anyone for live scorpions?

Or maybe wee ducklings?

These are seahorses and various other things you probably don't want to know about.

Our first lunch in China turned out to be a beauty. We selected the ingredients (no scorpions) and they woked it up for us. The chilli was pretty intense.

A park near the Forbidden City.

Well, what do you know - dancers!

Sheltering from the heat.