To get to the Temple of Heaven, just take line 5 of the Beijing Subway and rode south to Tiantan Dongmen Station (Temple of Heaven East Gate). Exit the station and turn right. The East Gate is right around the corner (although not that well marked). I was the only non-Chinese person to enter the park, and saw very few tourists. The Chinese were bundled up (it was November), but many were wearing athletic clothing. I soon discovered why. Inside the park were multiple plazas, upon which groups of Chinese were practicing tai chi, dancing, singing karaoke or some other kind of group fitness. Men were playing mah jong in the long halls and drinking tea. Inside the Temple of Good Harvest and the other religious buildings, only tourists - both Chinese and international - were around. I spend almost 2 hours wandering around and could have used more time.
The second temple I visited that day was Yong He Gong Temple, also known as the Lama Temple. Yong He Gong is located on the intersection of subway lines 2 and 5 in the at Yonghegong Station. Yong He Gong is a Tibetan Buddhist temple, and home to some of the largest Buddha statues in the world. This temple was much more touristy than Tian Tan had been, but there were still Chinese burning incense. We rushed through the temple (we went as a group) in a scant hour. I could have used more time, personally.
All of the temples I visited in Beijing had beautiful architecture, the kind of sites you would expect to see when thinking of Chinese history. The Temple of Confucius was especially well-preserved, especially considering their age. The Temple of Heaven dates to 1420 AD, the Confucian Temple to 1302 AD and the Yonghegong Lamasery was started in 1694.
0 comments:
Post a Comment