Beijing

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The lama temple in Beijing is now a Tibbetan temple, but was historically an imperial residence. There were some traces of that imperial style in the size and style of some of the buildings. An unusual building for a temple was an overhead walkway connecting one of the main halls and another pavilion.

The Temple of heaven is not really a temple, but a large park with imperial structures dating back around 500 years to the Ming dynasty. The number 9 and 81 (9x9) is important as seen at the round altar which is white marble. Wea walked past the echo wall (too many people to hear any echo) to the main building which is the Hall of Prayer for good harvests. It is the building with the blue tiled roof in the photograph. It is a reproduction of a Ming dynasty building. The colour blue symbolises heaven. The park is used by the Chinese people for tai chi and other outdoor excercise classes set to both traditional and more modern music. The Chinese are not at all embarrassed about dancing or singing in the middle of the day outdoors and in public. They find the English reticence hard to understand.

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