Temple of Heaven and the Lama Temple

23 June

A brief note to all those who believe that there is no sun in Beijing. My skin says otherwise! This little day adventure left me with an uneven farmers tan, and an even better defined Birkenstock tan. No pictures since I am not that into self humiliation.  My father's ever-so-helpful comment was, "How old are you again?" Speaking of, for all of my blog followers check this out:

http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2013/06/25/its-still-raining/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+joemcnally+%28Joe+McNally%27s+Blog%29

It is a photography blog my father follows, and the guy Joe McNally just recently did a shoot at the Summer Palace in the same conditions I was shooting in. Basically, it shows the difference between a professional and an amateur hobbyist.  On ward with the tale resulting in yet another ridiculous sun burn.

The Temple of Heaven was originally an enormous staging platform for the Emperor of the Middle Kingdom to preform rights for good harvest, atonement, and divine clearance (I think that was a bad translation, but you learn to live with these things - like the signs that say "Bump your head carefully" on low clearances). It is apparently a fantastic example of Ming architecture, but an even greater amusement park for numerologists, mystics, and necromancers? I really don't know how they get this stuff, but I want to blame Google translator. My interpretation is that the complex both the layout and the individual buildings were constructed with built in symbols to create a conduit between earth and heaven.

The park seems small, compared to the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace, and then you remember that no lived here. It was used solely for these sacrificial rites. This is about the time I start shaking my head at the sheer extravagance. Coolest things I saw: pictures taken from the complex of Japanese bombers during WWII; Beijingers using the park (UNESCO World Heritage Site) as a park and not limited tourist attraction; and the geometry/symmetry at the Round Alter. Biggest let downs: Echo Wall, with so many people there is no way to see if the things actually echos; and the Round Alter, not because it isn't massive or perfectly round, but because there is nothing at the top -- on the other hand, maybe I missed something.

The Gallery:

Map of Temple of Heaven

Beijingers

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Look at all that sunny blue sky, and now imagine my awesome farmer's tan

The green grass and purple heather moat around the Palace of Fasting, I guess the Emperor was not allowed to drink anything.

I love to watch these guys, they make it look effortless

The toddler/grocery hauler

The symmetry/lines/geometry at the Round Alter was mind boggling

Echo Wall complex, it is round and you are supposed to here your echoing shouts/whispers

 The Lama Temple is Beijing's foremost Buddhist Temple, and the best example of Lamaism or Tibetan Buddhism outside of the Roof of the World. However, what I failed to take into account is that is was once say 1723 AD (yes, I looked it up) the home of a prince that became emperor. Hence, all of the architecture is exactly the same as all the other temples/ palaces/ buildings from the time period. The difference is the written script, the statues, and of course the massive amounts of incense. We did not linger too long because of the incense, but my overall impression is that complex is welcoming and stunning. I would say serene but for the number of worshipers. Overall, a 30 minutes well spent whetting my appetite to see the Roof of the World.

Welcome Gate

Layout of Lama Temple

Fierce Guardian Lion

Worshipers

and all the incense

Tibetan Script

Scene from the Courtyard

Hall of Worship

Proof I was there

Proof I dragged Marianna with me

By this point we were both quite weary, and sun-drained so we set off to find the street of a thousand red lanterns. Naturally, we took a wrong turn and found bakeries instead. This would have been fine, except they didn't serve beer. Thankfully, we happened across this place just before we dropped from thirst.

The Beetle in the Box

Sinking into the heavenly soft couch

They served us up kettle corn, German sausage pizza, and cold beer with a side of smooth Latin tunes and an incomprehensible French movie. A Gold Star happenstance.



We did eventually find that street of a thousand red lanterns when looking for desert. There was no desert to be found just sea food, and before you assume we went back to one of the numerous bakeries we passed in our search for the street of a thousand red lanterns -- we popped into the two table ice cream shop next to the metro. Street of a thousand red lanterns just didn't want to work with us -- though it is pretty.

I bet this is fantastic at night

Green Lanterns? Vegetarian beacons?

Link to the Google photo album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/108488715129842232914/albums/5893762325424755777?authkey=CJ3RwY63qcfL1AE