Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 6 – If Heaven means no rain, then this place is Heaven
We left the hotel at 9:15 for a trip to the Temple of Heaven, a huge religious installation in the city of Beijing. It was built at the same time as the Forbidden City, 1406-1420. But the big news was that for the first time, it wasn't raining!
It was a short drive, but it took a while because of the horrendous Beijing traffic.
It is interesting looking at the vehicles on the road. You'll see two colors of license plates, blue and green. A blue plate indicates that the vehicle is gas-powered. Green means electric. There are a ton of electric vehicles here. What we wonder is where they charge. Most folks live in apartments. They seem to have figured it out. Each neighborhood has a dedicated space for charging stations.
The Temple of Heaven was reserved for the emperor and men, specifically. Our guide, John, explained that historically, women had a low station in society. He joked that wife stood for washing, ironing, food, and entertainment. Of course, that has changed, but back in the 1400s in China, that was the way it was.
The Temple of Heaven featured a large temple building and multiple outer buildings that were used for prayer for the harvest. The emperor would pray for a good harvest, rain for the crops, and other items related to the well-being of his people.
We arrived at the complex and were greeted by a bunch of Eurasian sparrows flitting about in the trees.
There were lovely potted bougainvillea trees all throughout.
The entry to the complex had several ornate and extremely long walkways.
Just outside the complex, we caught our first glimpse of the top of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
The rest of the buildings resembled the buildings we saw in the Forbidden City, except that, unlike the yellow imperial-colored roofs, these buildings had green roofs.
Rectangular buildings are associated with Earth, while round buildings are associated with Heaven. Therefore, the rectangular buildings had green roofs representing their connection with Earth, and the round building had a blue roof representing its connection with Heaven.
We entered the complex and got a full view of the main building, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
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| A more Earthly building |
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| The roof had three layers - blue for the sky and Heaven on top, green for the Earth on the bottom, and yellow in the middle for the emperor who sits between Heaven and Earth |
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| The inside of the hall was stunning |
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| We weren't allowed in and could only gaze in from outside |
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| An interesting view of the Beijing skyline, including the 109-story, 528m CITIC Tower |
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| More marble carvings - they are under glass here |
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| Yesterday and today, we saw lots of folks in traditional wear, capturing Instagram moments - Oliver said it is a common practice |
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| Inside one of the side buildings |
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| Intricate marble column tops on the railings |
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| Big doors |
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| Everything was carved with amazing detail |
After having our free time to explore the complex, we toured an exhibition of relics.
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| A sandalwood chair |
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| The bell on the right was hung from this and struck to produce sound |
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| More rooftop detail |
Stepping back outside, we had to grab one more photo of the bougainvillea.
Several magpies were flying around as we left.
We got back on the bus and headed for our lunch stop. We drove around Beijing a bit in the midday traffic.
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| Beijing's railway station |
Our dining venue was located in the Macau Center.
We enjoyed another family-style lunch, learning to delicately spin the lazy Susan so we don’t knock each other’s drinks over with the spoon.
After lunch, we stepped outside and once again, into the relentless rain. It was a short walk to the bus, but none of us were happy to see the rain return. We arrived back at the hotel around 2:00 for an early afternoon. That gave me time to write this as Arlona enjoyed a little nap.
We decided that it was time to get dinner. We haven’t been impressed with the food here at the hotel. Google Maps said that there was a KFC right around the corner. KFC is hugely popular here in China, so we thought we’d give it a try. We asked the concierge for directions. He looked at our map and said it was wrong – there was no KFC there. There was one quite a bit farther away. It was pouring rain and cold. Yup, another mediocre food night at the Ritz-Carlton. We decided to split a cheese-steak sandwich. What arrived was a few small pieces of beef, a ton of grilled red onions, and what appeared to be white cheddar on two slices of rye bread. It certainly wasn’t as described in the menu, but it was what it was. I know that you pay a premium for food and drink in a hotel, and the swankier the hotel, the worse it gets. This was pretty bad. That sandwich was $32. The other night, we split a burger and had two Pepsi Zeros. The first night, we each had a Club sandwich and water. All told, we spent 875 Yuan, or about $122. Yikes. The Pepsis were 78 Yuan or $10.95 each. More than 11 bucks for a crummy can of Pepsi? Seriously?
We repacked our suitcases as we have to have our checked luggage out in the hallway by 7 am tomorrow morning. We leave the hotel at 9:30 for the bus ride to the airport. We fly from Beijing to Xi’an between 1 & 3 tomorrow afternoon and will tour the Xi’an city walls after we arrive. The good news is that Xi’an is expected to be a little warmer than Beijing. The bad news is that it is supposed to rain for the two days we will be there.
This wraps up our optional pre-stay time in Beijing, other than returning from Chengdu and then transferring to the ship. The rest of the passengers arrived today in various hotels, and we will all be joining each other for the flight to Xi’an and the beginning of the trip itinerary.
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