I spent part of my Spring break in Beijing where I visited the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven.
The Great Wall
There are numerous locations around Beijing where you can see the Great Wall. I chose the Mitianyu part of the Wall because it was recommended by friends. We left the hotel at 7am to avoid the traffic.
Standing on the Wall is breathtaking! It was amazing to see how the Wall stretched across mountains and down the sides! According to history, the first building began in the Qin Dynasty, more than 2000 years ago, and various dynasties have added bits, improved bits, or started up whole new sections of their own. Most construction took place in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Simply amazing!
We were blessed with fine weather that day so we were able to see the Wall. I met people at the base of the Wall who were going up for the second time because on their first visit it was too foggy to see anything.
This is at the base of the Wall. As soon as you get off the cable car,you are greeted with these sellers all trying to persuade you to buy souvenirs. You definitely need haggling skills here!
The Temple of Heaven
This was another interesting place. It was where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties held the ceremonies of worshiping heaven and praying for good harvests. If the emperor couldn't do it himself, an official was sent to the Temple to worship heaven.
The Temple area covers about 273 hectares. On one end is the Circular Mound Altar and the other end was the Altar of Prayers for Good Harvests. The site was buzzing with school kids on excursion, locals dancing and singing and tourist
This is the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It's the place where the tablets of the god of heaven are stored.
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.
Inside the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The 24 pillars represent the 24 solar terms.
Unfortunately we couldn't go in so we took photos from the side.
The Great Wall
There are numerous locations around Beijing where you can see the Great Wall. I chose the Mitianyu part of the Wall because it was recommended by friends. We left the hotel at 7am to avoid the traffic.
Standing on the Wall is breathtaking! It was amazing to see how the Wall stretched across mountains and down the sides! According to history, the first building began in the Qin Dynasty, more than 2000 years ago, and various dynasties have added bits, improved bits, or started up whole new sections of their own. Most construction took place in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Simply amazing!
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| Going down the steps was easy but climbing up was a different story! |
We were blessed with fine weather that day so we were able to see the Wall. I met people at the base of the Wall who were going up for the second time because on their first visit it was too foggy to see anything.
This is at the base of the Wall. As soon as you get off the cable car,you are greeted with these sellers all trying to persuade you to buy souvenirs. You definitely need haggling skills here!
The Temple of Heaven
This was another interesting place. It was where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties held the ceremonies of worshiping heaven and praying for good harvests. If the emperor couldn't do it himself, an official was sent to the Temple to worship heaven.
The Temple area covers about 273 hectares. On one end is the Circular Mound Altar and the other end was the Altar of Prayers for Good Harvests. The site was buzzing with school kids on excursion, locals dancing and singing and tourist
This is the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It's the place where the tablets of the god of heaven are stored.The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.
Unfortunately we couldn't go in so we took photos from the side.
Very nice my sister, thanx for the update and please send more as u proceed with your journey. Am glad that u having a great time. Hope u are well as always and looking forward to more pics. Have a blessed week.
ReplyDeleteNat