Saturday, June 20, 2009

Heavenly Sight


The Temple of Heaven is my favorite tourist site in Beijing--probably because it's the only place I didn't get excessively harassed by hawkers selling all sorts of cheap souvenirs at inflated prices that I could buy just about anywhere in China. It also helps that the two times I visited the Temple of Heaven the weather was great, albeit extremely hot (the sky was even blue the second time around). And the massive park surrounding the main structures never felt crowded, though I'm sure there were plenty of people spread out around the place.

2 comments:

Josh said...

I couldn't agree more. I think like you said it has something to do with the large park surrounding the temple and the absence of too many hawkers, but it really is a relaxing place to walk around.

I went during February's Spring Festival and was astounded that I was able to capture a photo of just me and my family with no other tourists in the background. That's never before happened for me in Beijing.

John Scotus said...

I have to second Josh's comment. The Temple of Heaven is perhaps the best place in Beijing to visit. Not only is it nearly devoid of hawkers and other tourists, but it is an architectural and cultural jewel. It shouldn't be missed if you are going to Beijing. (BTW--your picture looks nice, too.)