Mike and Amanda go to Beijing

Michael and Amanda come to Beijing for a visit just before Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed their visit.

First up on their itinerary was the Temple of Heaven. It is one of the "must sees" in Beijing. As you can see the weather was very nice. Overall they had great weather for this time of year. It got a little cold when the wind picked up but on the other hand the wind means clear skies.

I've posted a lot of pictures from the Temple of Heaven. Here are links to some earlier ones for more discussion about the complex.

Tom and Misheil
Temple of Heaven 2009

This is the main hall at the Temple of Heaven from in the gate.

Pictures by Margot.

Getting together to sing is a popular pastime.

I think these are incense of offering burners.

We also visited the Bell Tower and Drum Tower.

It was late in the afternoon and the light was nice.

This is the Drum Tower.

This is the Bell Tower. They are located near each other separated by the plaza/parking area.



Here is a link to an earlier post with more information about the 2 towers.

Drum and Bell Towers

This is the bell.

This is the Drum Tower with this lights coming on as the sun sets.

One evening we took a walk over to "The Place". That is the English name. I'm not sure what the Chinese name is but it looks more complicated.

It is basically a shopping mall on both sides separated by this HUGE LED screen over the plaza. The scenes are accompanied by music.

The screen is 250 meters long. Think 2 and a half football fields in length.

The scenes have something for everyone. They range from fairy tale to fantasy to space/cosmos type scenes. It s quite a scene with the screen and the reflection on all the store windows.

That is a Christmas decoration in the middle. More on Christmas in Beijing in a later post.