Beijing - Part 4

This is the last post in a series about my trip to Beijing, China (see previous posts here). On this last, full day in Beijing, I decided to take my wife to another of my favorite places in the city. It's called the "Temple of Heaven". Actually, it's more than just a single building - it's a series of structures that are contained within almost 3 square kilometers of park land.

The park around the Temple is beautiful - mostly trees, with lots of open areas. It's quite popular for exercising - especially tai chi:

We found all kinds of group that were meeting in the park. Here's another video clip of a team that was learning line-dancing:

Not quite country music...

We even found a group that was singing karaoke. When I listened to this "singer", I immediately thought of my oldest son - he would have a field day, trying to imitate this fellow:

Hold on to your ears...

The Temple of Heaven was really an giant alter, where the emperors would go to pray to heaven for good harvests. It was originally built in the early 1400s.

The main structure itself is quite amazing - it's called the "Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests". No mistaking what took place there ; ) From the photographs, it may appear simple. However, the ornate decoration - particularly on the roof and walls - is gorgeous. The tiles used to construct the roof are lavender, or a deep purple.

Here is a couple of pictures to show you some of the amazing detail on the structure:

What would a trip to a treasured historical location be, without a little goofing around?

I tried really hard to just blend in to the environment...

I guess using this ancient urn as a garbage can may not be the right thing to do...

Away from the Hall of Prayer, there are other beautiful structures. Nearby is the Imperial Vault of Heaven. You can get to this building using the Vermillion Steps Bridge:

Detail of roof, next to the Vault of Heaven

The view from beyond the Vault, looking all the way back to the Temple (background)

And, just to prove that we were actually there....

Before closing the post, I wanted to give you a couple other images. First, this is a short video clip of the subway. As you can tell from all of my posts - it was crowded. Every time we took the subway, these are the crowds we encountered:

We also had a chance to do some shopping. One of my favorite things to do, is to go to "normal" markets or grocery stores. I get to see unusual items and learn just a little more about the culture. My wife and I happened to find a Wal-Mart ; ) One of only three in all of Beijing. However, we found some interesting items:

Flavors: BBQ Steak, Aromatic Crispy Chicken, Crab, and Shrimp

I say it's OK to be happy about your hand soap

Apple Store - did you expect anything different from me?

What woman doesn't want to find great deals in shoes?!?!

Overall, we had an amazing time in China. I'm so glad that my wife was able to join me on the trip. We managed to pull this one off for very little money (go frequent flyer miles!). I'm trying to figure out how my company is going to send me to Africa now ; )