Beijing Trip (Jun 2016) - Temple of Heaven and Peking Duck
We woke up early the next day to catch a 9 am high speed train ride to Beijing. The train ride is 5 hours with intermittent stops inbetween. If this duration is too long for you, you can opt for the plane which takes around 2 hours.
You can take the MRT to Hongqiao Train Station stop and that's the departing station for High Speed Trains. Tickets can be bought online but only if you have a local credit card. Foreigners like us can only buy on the spot and remember your passport, because technically you are leaving a city and the ticket sellers will require your passport details too.
High speed trains have 4 categories of seating - with the highest category as Business Class, followed by First Class, Second Class and Standing tickets. If you are taking less than 2 hours and don't expect to sleep/rest, Second Class is comfortable enough and cheaper too.
The boy bought First Class because we were taking the train early and expect to snooze a fair bit. It costed around RMB900 per person per trip (it's not a round trip!). My photos don't do it justice but First Class is really comfortable! The boy took Business Class for work before and it had reclining seats!
5 hours and an extremely long nap later.... HELLO BEIJING! 
It's been so long since I last came Beijing. To be exact, that was 9 years ago when I was still doing my internship. I feel old already just by saying that. Yikes.
It's been so long since I last came Beijing. To be exact, that was 9 years ago when I was still doing my internship. I feel old already just by saying that. Yikes. 
Beijing is further up north from Shanghai and hence the air is much drier. We could feel the tightness of our skin the moment we got down the train. If you are terrified of static like I am, do apply body lotion (before alighting) all over the body parts that are expected to come into contact with anything - such as your hands (when you grab a railing) and your arms. You can sprinkle some water on your clothing too if you wish.
We arrived in the city at around 2 plus pm and decided we should check into the hotel first, drop off our luggage and embark on some sightseeing on whatever time is left for us. Our home for the next 4 days is Novotel Peace Beijing Hotel, located along Wang Fu Jin (王府井), also known as the Orchard Road of Beijing. The street houses the big and expensive international brands such as Prada, Cartier et cetera - according to the boy's colleague, it is more touristy though. Most locals do not buy their branded bags here but instead in another area.
Glimpse of Wang Fu Jin street. I assure you it looks much nicer at night!
Our hotel was a good 15 min walk from Wang Fu Jin train station. The weather was blazing hot on our first day and suffice to say we almost melted by the time we got to the hotel!
Mandatory shots of the hotel because it's an occupational hazard:
Mandatory shots of the hotel because it's an occupational hazard:
We put down our luggage and quickly hated out to Temple of Heaven before they close for the day. Most of the tourist attractions in Beijing close fairly early, around 4 to 5.30pm so it's highly encouraged that you do not turn up at the park too late. Most places, however, starts very early (some at 6.30am!)
We decided to head up to Temple of Heaven (天坛) first. You can get there via the train on Metro Line 5. The name of the stop is literally named after the place (天坛东门 - which refers to the east gate of Temple of Heaven). Once you alight. exit via Exit A and turn right and walk up ahead. Temple of Heaven is a very short walk (around 5 min) away. In case of doubt, just follow the tourists. Haha.
We decided to head up to Temple of Heaven (天坛) first. You can get there via the train on Metro Line 5. The name of the stop is literally named after the place (天坛东门 - which refers to the east gate of Temple of Heaven). Once you alight. exit via Exit A and turn right and walk up ahead. Temple of Heaven is a very short walk (around 5 min) away. In case of doubt, just follow the tourists. Haha.
Temple of Heaven is located in the southeastern part of central Beijing, which means it isn't far flung so don't worry about that. It is made up of various religious buildings and was visited by emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty for annual prayer ceremonies to the Heaven for good harvest and peaceful year.
It was constructed in the 15th century during the Ming dynasty under the period's 3rd emperor, Yongle Emperor. The construction was completed almost the same time as the Forbidden City. Below is a brief map of how the whole area looks like:
It was constructed in the 15th century during the Ming dynasty under the period's 3rd emperor, Yongle Emperor. The construction was completed almost the same time as the Forbidden City. Below is a brief map of how the whole area looks like:
The Chinese believe that Earth is represented by a square and Heaven round - hence the design of the park being rounded at the top and squarish at the bottom. The entire area (including the surrounding greenery and parkland, which is not seen in the map above) is almost 3 square kilometres, 4 times larger than the Forbidden City. It was constructed to be larger than the Forbidden City as the Emperors at that time did not believe that an earth dwelling should be larger than one meant for the Heaven.
In ancient China, emperors were deemed Sons of Heaven (天子). To show respect to his source of authority, prayer ceremonies are held here. Our guide mentioned as well that in the past, people does not understand the powers of nature and were fearful and respectful of it. This also explains as well how important these prayer ceremonies were to both the emperor and his nation. To prepare for the ceremony, the emperor and his empress (and his entourage) will move from the Forbidden City through Beijing into Temple of Heaven. They will spend a few days within the complex, dressed in special robes and taking only vegetarian meals. Offerings include live animals, quality silk and other expensive goods were chosen in elaborate fashion before being presented during the ceremony.
The ticketing office is up north of the East Heavenly Gate (recall it's the same name as the Metro Line station), so you will enter via that spot (where you see Pavilion for Butchering Animals) This will be what greets you first.
After you walk past the greenery, you will reach what the guide mentioned as The Long Corridor (长廊):
The Long Corridor is a covered walkway of around 5 metres wide and 30 metres in length. All the sacrificial animals and other offerings will be transported to the altar through this corridor prior to the ceremony and lanterns will light up this walkway at night. The corridor is also composed of 72 rooms sharing the same back wall, hence it is also called the Seventy-Two Connected Rooms.
You will go to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) first before heading down because of where the ticketing office is located. The famed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests building, with its iconic blue tiles built upon 3 layers of marble stone:
Located in the southern part of the park is our last stop at the Circular Mound Altar and this is literally the Temple of Heaven. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Emperors will make their offerings here to the Heaven on the day of Winter Solstice every year. The structure is an empty circular platform on 3 levels of marble stone, each decorated with carved dragons.
The queue was insanely long and we waited another hour before we got our seat! We ordered a full duck for the 2 of us. It was just nice!
I wished I had taken more photos of the food but man I was too hungry! We polished everything on the table within 30 minutes and the duck was SO DARN GOOD. It lived up to all the reviews I've heard about this particular restaurant. Highly recommend you give it a try when you hit up Beijing.
We made our way back to the hotel for an early night right after. Next up, the Great Wall of China!
In ancient China, emperors were deemed Sons of Heaven (天子). To show respect to his source of authority, prayer ceremonies are held here. Our guide mentioned as well that in the past, people does not understand the powers of nature and were fearful and respectful of it. This also explains as well how important these prayer ceremonies were to both the emperor and his nation. To prepare for the ceremony, the emperor and his empress (and his entourage) will move from the Forbidden City through Beijing into Temple of Heaven. They will spend a few days within the complex, dressed in special robes and taking only vegetarian meals. Offerings include live animals, quality silk and other expensive goods were chosen in elaborate fashion before being presented during the ceremony.
The ticketing office is up north of the East Heavenly Gate (recall it's the same name as the Metro Line station), so you will enter via that spot (where you see Pavilion for Butchering Animals) This will be what greets you first.
After you walk past the greenery, you will reach what the guide mentioned as The Long Corridor (长廊):
The Long Corridor is a covered walkway of around 5 metres wide and 30 metres in length. All the sacrificial animals and other offerings will be transported to the altar through this corridor prior to the ceremony and lanterns will light up this walkway at night. The corridor is also composed of 72 rooms sharing the same back wall, hence it is also called the Seventy-Two Connected Rooms.
You will go to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) first before heading down because of where the ticketing office is located. The famed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests building, with its iconic blue tiles built upon 3 layers of marble stone:
Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is one majestic building, it actually looks very breathtaking in real life. The original building from the 15th century was completely burned down due to lightning in the 19th century during Qing dynasty under the reign of Emperor Guangxu. It was then rebuilt, faithful to original Ming dynasty's architectural methods the following year. This is the EXACT spot which the Emperor's fengshui master had calculated where heaven and earth meets. Which explains why this is the Hall where the Emperor prays for good weather and harvest for the coming year. The building is circular, sitting on a square yard, which represents heaven and earth.
According to the guide, this building is considered an architectural miracle by modern architects. The excessive weight of the blue tiles (this colour was selected to represent Heaven) were fully supported by 28 pillars with no nails at all! The 28 pillars are 4 inner ones, 12 middle and 12 outer - they represent 4 seasons, 12 months and 12 traditional Chinese hours (in ancient Chinese it's counted as 12 hours as each hour is around 120 minutes, 一时辰 is actually 2 hours!)
We crossed the DanBi Bridge - a 30 metres long bridge that will lead you to the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. Essentially it connects the southern part and the northern part. The southern end of the bridge is built lower than the northern one - which signifies stepping up and going up to Heaven as one crosses the DanBi Bridge towards the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. There are 3 paths on this bridge, the middle for the Emperor, one side for the Princes and the other for high rank officials.
The first building that you will see the Imperial Vault of Heaven. This was built with its shape echoing the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. This is where tablets of the Emperor's ancestors are stored in. The main building is flanked by 2 annex buildings which houses the divine tablets of gods such as cloud, rain, thunder et cetera.
Surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven and it's annexes, is a circular brick wall also known as the Echo Wall. According to the guide, the bricks used for constructing of this wall were baked to perfection - which allows sound to travel from one end to the other. Don't bother trying it when it's crowded though because you won't hear anything! You can consider coming here early if you wish to try.
Right in the middle is Heavenly Centre Stone - where the Emperor will stand to offer prayers. It is surrounded by 9 concentric rings of stone slabs - with the inner most circle with 9 slabs, second circle 18 and so on till the most outer ring of 81 slabs. The reason number 9 is chosen because in ancient Chinese, numbers are divided into Yin and Yang - odd numbers are Yang and 9 is the largest of the odd/Yang number.
We took a total of 1.5 hours to finish exploring the place - relatively short compared to most of the palaces/parks in Beijing. Would recommend going early if you can!
The last meal we had was hours earlier and by the time we ended our Temple of Heaven tour, we were completely famished! Headed straight for Peking Duck and we settled on Da Dong Roast Duck. They have a chain of restaurants all over Beijing and we opted for one near our hotel along Wang Fu Jin Street.
I wished I had taken more photos of the food but man I was too hungry! We polished everything on the table within 30 minutes and the duck was SO DARN GOOD. It lived up to all the reviews I've heard about this particular restaurant. Highly recommend you give it a try when you hit up Beijing.
We made our way back to the hotel for an early night right after. Next up, the Great Wall of China!
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