Temple of Heaven and The Summer Palace

Today wasn’t as early start as the last few in Beijing which I am thankful for! We only have one thing on the itinerary today and it is the Temple of Heaven. Created during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the same Emperor who ordered the creation of the Forbidden City, it served as a place of prayer for many imperial families and the Emperor himself throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. The temple and the surrounding buildings, covering an area of just over a square mile, are considered to be the finest example of ancient China’s no-nail wooden slate architecture. To be honest this doesn’t interest me as much as the amazing decoration: the vibrant colours and paintings are amazing, although difficult to see through the crowds.

There are two main areas, one the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in which the Emperor prayed for a good year and harvest. Another more open area made of marble, The Circular Mound Altar, dedicated to the end of year where the Emperor had more of a catch up with god to discuss the year gone by and how it went. Tony explains that like many rulers of old, the Emperor was seen as a person selected by the Gods and were almost semi-divine themselves a step in between man and God. As such there was a responsibility on them to communicate with the gods and do everything in their power to ensure a good harvest and therefore a successful year for all of China. My personal favourite part was The Imperial Vault of Heaven, a smaller building similar in design to the Hall of Prayer, but surrounded by the echo wall – a small wall which has lead to there being multiple echo points surrounding the building. I personally wasn’t able to hear any echoes but it was entertaining watching people push on to the spots to stand there and clap and either look elated or disappointed. The Circular Mound also has an echo point in its centre but this was very busy and hard to get on, so wasn’t as much fun!

After the fake goods market Erika, Tom and I head to the 798 art district. Once there we realise that although considered to be the arts district the area has more of an industrial feel with many old warehouses and factories. Nonetheless it is still a nice area even if none of us wanted to pay what seemed like extortionate fees to go into any of the galleries. Tom and I decide to stick around and have a beer in the sun at one of the bars in the area. I was planning on heading straight back to the hostel after this but Tom convinces me to go out to a local bar, Wiggly Jiggly. I say a bar; Wiggly Jiggly is actually three different buildings down the street from our hostel and we had a drink in at least two of them. The final one we ended up ordering a bottle of rum after mis-calculating the exchange rate paying £75 instead of the £8 we thought; don’t do maths after a few drinks is the lesson here. Anyway it was a fun night, for part of which we were joined by the bar cat Toni. I suppose the one good thing about starting early is that you finish early so after a quick Churro stop Tom and I go to bed drunk but relatively early.

After the Temple of Heaven Tony dropped us off at the famous Hongqiao Pearl Market which specialises in pearls but is also well known as a fake goods market. This was a little disappointing as I think we were all expecting more of a bazaar type area where as this was more of a mall full of people trying to rip us off. I was however in need of a belt, having been unable to find mine this morning, so I engaged in a little bartering. I was able to get the price down from 280 yuan to 70 yuan which gives you an idea of how much they try and rip you off! Annoyingly after I bought it I realised that it was a little bigger than I would have liked but I can always add an extra hole and let’s be honest, if I end all this travelling and eating not needing a bigger belt I will be surprised!

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Circular Mound echo point

Hongqiao Pearl Market

The next day Tom and I give ourselves a lie in, the only thing on the schedule today is getting on the sleeper train tonight to Hangzhou. So waking up at 10am we head back to Wiggly Jiggly this time for the English breakfast tea I noticed on the menu last night and it doesn’t disappoint. It is even served with cold milk something I haven’t seen for weeks now! Revitalised by my tea and Tom his coffee, we get the metro to the Summer Palace. Tony suggested we used our free day to visit this Qing dynasty imperial gardens and it was not a bad suggestion.

Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

Entering the Summer Palace

The grounds are massive with not only living quarters and temples but a massive garden including many beautiful lakes. Tom and I start our exploration walking up Longevity Hill, a 60 metre high hill with two contracting sides. The back is an oasis of tranquility with many winding paths through the natural grounds, the other side facing the central Kunming Lake is adorned with many buildings including many pavilions to enjoy the views from, temples and docks where one can get on one of the many boats that take tourists around the grounds. Tom and I decide to spend our time on a slow meander round the lakes taking in the sights, enjoying a slower paced day while we nurse the remainder of our hangovers.

Wonderful Decoration

Toni, the bar cat

Escaped buffalo

Bridge of Pastoral Poems

Behind you!

After the lovely self guided tour of the grounds we are back on the metro and have a couple of hours to kill before we are due to leave for the train station. Tom passes out on the sofas in the lobby of the hostel while I take myself to their restaurant and order a not so Chinese meatball and chilli pizza. The beautiful blend of bread and cheese is a nice respite from the Chinese cuisine I have been eating for the last few weeks and, as I am sure you already know, not much beats a pizza! The pizza along with the full fat, all sugar, coke I order is enough to dust of the final pangs of my hangover in time for me to feel fine to meet up with everyone for our ride to the station. The mood isn’t great. After our last train none of us are looking forward to this one; it may be a sleeper but 14 hours is too long to stay in such a tight space. Although once on board I realise I have been lucky this time; I have the bottom bunk, this is great because the bottom bunks come with a lot more space than the others, like a lot more! So I settle in, set up my chargers and iPad and get ready for what will hopefully be a rather comfortable night.

At last... the bottom bunk!