After bailing on Forbidden City, Felicity and I jump the sparklingly new, brashly efficient, spotlessly clean, fast-fast-fast Beijing subway and next thing you know we are walking across an overpass on our way to the Temple of Heaven.
Like Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven grounds are vast. Unlike Forbidden City they are more garden-like, peaceful and bucolic, dare I say heavenly.
One of t
he things I, as a moderately avid birder, miss is songbirds. There were few to be seen climbing Silver Mountain and almost none, other than magpies, in urban Beijing. Here were a few birds of which the most interesting and common was the azure-winged magpie.
So Felicity and I strolled blissfully, snapping a few pictures and contemplating heaven while approaching the temple.
As we made our way toward the temple named The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (the largest of several such prayer halls) we passed people eagerly playing games, many with spectators crowded around intent on every move. I did not recognize any of the games.
Triple gabled and nearly 40 metres high, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests draws one's eye pleasingly heavenward - the place beneficent rains descend from. Or at least that is one way to connect the dots.
Surrounding the temple are gardens with richly colored flowers. And high walls. Unsurprisingly, if named appropriately, Forbidden City was also enclosed by high walls. High walls deter the peasantry, imperial contenders and invaders. One can imagine during dynastic times the poverty and squalor outside the walls and the imposed peace within.
Leaving the Temple of Heaven we pass local musicians most skillfully playing wonderful, highly complex music. I quietly watched in fascination for quite some time.
Near sundown we depart the park to made our way back into the urban landscape. Once beyond the walls we saw, amongst many new automobiles, remnants of some fast disappearing ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment