Today was another day of sightseeing. We started our day off at the Temple of Heaven, a temple where they would offer their sacrifices to heaven. It wasn't as big as the other places we had been to, but it was still breathtaking. There were old ladies dancing or what looked like they were practicing for a dance, and there were people handing out and playing cards or knitting scarves and beanies to sell. It was also interesting to read more into the place. Definitely do that if you're planning to go beforehand.
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| Women dancing in Temple of Heaven |
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| The actual Temple of Heaven |
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| Looks amazing inside! |
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| Me on the circular mound altar |
Across the road from the Temple of Heaven, was the Pearl Markets. Nearly everything here is fake unless you buy it from an actual store so seeing all this stuff was hilarious! Instead of ugg boots, there were uug boots haha and it didn't stop there! It was our first time trying to haggle so we kinda got ripped off, but we know for next time. We managed to score a mahjong set for about 20 bucks which was good but Lee reckons we could have got it for less but oh well! This guy was trying to sell us fake iPhone 4s and Samsung Galaxy S3s. I couldn't stop laughing it was hilarious! So many vendors were also selling beats headphones. Lee wanted to buy a pair cause some guy said he'll sell it to us for 50 CNY which is like $7.50 but I said not to worry about it. I'm sure it will break after it's first use! You really need to now how to haggle and unfortunately that's my downside as I'm crap at it! It's tourist heaven there so vendors are able to speak English and have calculators so make sure you haggle haggle haggle!
We continued our sightseeing and went to vist the Lama Temple (aka Yonghe Lamasery.) This temple is classified as the largest and most perfectly preserved temple in China. We sat and watched the locals do their offerings to their Gods. It was very serene. I also loved it because of the smell of the incense! We slowly travelled through the temple, and at the end of the temple was the largest indoor buddha which was named in the Guinness book of records in 1990. It was 18 metres high, and was amazing. Unfortunately no photos were allowed. It was amazing just to look an stare at the statue in all it's glory.
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| The entry into the temple. So nice and serene |
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| We sat there watching people do their offerings. |
After the temple, it was recommended by our tour guide (and our lonely planet book) to see Ghost Street. A 24 hour street of eateries lined with chinese lanterns. As it was coming to dusk, all the lanterns weren't lit yet so I would recommend to see it at night. Unfortunately, we didn't get anything to eat because nothing was in English, and because of my dietary requirements but I'm sure it will be a must do for everyone else!
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| All the lanterns lining the street |
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| The lanterns starting to light up as the sun sets |
It was a great day of sight seeing and haggling. Tomorrow will basically be our last day in Beijing, so I have kept it open for shopping shopping shopping, oh and an Acrobatic theatre performance!
-V
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