I woke up this morning at my normal 5:30 and this is what I was greeted with. Another perfect weather day in Beijing. Someone must be smiling on us! The fog and low ceiling from day 1 has been non-existent and has been providing us some very good touring weather.
This was our last day in Beijing and we made the most out of our limited time today! After breakfast Sarah met us in the lobby to take us to the Temple of Heaven that was just a short subway ride away. It was a bit brisk this morning, but like the unprepared tourist I am, I braved it in shorts and a t-shirt (that got a lot of stares)!
We had limited time so we focused on the Temple itself and the Circular Mound Alter. The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. Behind the temple itself we found the ovens and fire pots used to prepare the sacrifices (animal) for presentation to the gods inside the temple itself.
After the temple we walked down the hill towards the Circular Mound. The Circular Mound is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven or the Supreme Yang, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with the Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740
The park surrounding the temple is used today for many activities. We watched locals dancing, signing, playing music, exercising and even match making! Sarah explained that the parents of children who were not married and thought that they should be took to the park each weekend to seek a mate for their child. It was so strange to see all of these parents milling about looking at small sheets of paper laid on the ground describing their child, much like you would see on an Internet dating site, but I understood their angst and would smile when one would see me reviewing their documents. Maybe China is an untapped market for a savvy entrepreneur who wants to help these parents!
After returning to the hotel via the subway we headed back to our room to pack and prepare for the trip to Nanning. We loaded the kids and an abundance of luggage into the van for the ride to the airport and bid our farewell to Beijing one last time. We really enjoyed our experience and cannot wait until we can bring all 3 kids back the place of their birth for even more education on where it is that they come from.
We took off from the Beijing airport around 3:30 and arrived in Nanning just about 3 hours later to much warmer temperatures and rain! According to Bob, our guide, there are some monsoonal rains setting in due to Typhoon Son-Tinh so we should prepare to get a little wet! Oh boy! We quickly loaded up and made our way to the Nanning Marriott, a fabulous hotel that more than meets our needs! After a quick load in and document review, Bob told us to be in the lobby tomorrow at 3:00 pm to being our trip to meet Declan! Its almost here! What seemed to be so long ago, the decision to proceed, the medial updates, the application process, the waiting for approval, the steps we have taken so many times will come to an end tomorrow and our family will be complete! Its exciting, its scary and its so close!
But for now, the kids are asleep along with Mom and I sit here in a dark room writing to you. Its a calming thing for me and something I like to do, so I hope you enjoy. So now I will go slip into bed for a long nights sleep and to prepare for the exciting day ahead.......
So till then.......
Michael (is the subway always this crowded on Sunday?), Ann Marie (I hope the air-conditioner works in this hotel!), Savannah (Can I watch another movie?) and Aiden (I need a nap!) Kennedy
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| Fire Kettles at the Temple of Heaven |
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| Empress Savannah |
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| Skyline from the Mound back to the Temple |
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| Emperor Aiden on the center of the Mound |
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| Local men playing cards on the temple grounds |
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| Breakfast Buffet at the Poly Plaza Hotel |
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| Sarah bids us farewell in the Beijing Airport! She was a great guide! |
I woke up this morning at my normal 5:30 and this is what I was greeted with. Another perfect weather day in Beijing. Someone must be smiling on us! The fog and low ceiling from day 1 has been non-existent and has been providing us some very good touring weather.
We had limited time so we focused on the Temple itself and the Circular Mound Alter. The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven is a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. Behind the temple itself we found the ovens and fire pots used to prepare the sacrifices (animal) for presentation to the gods inside the temple itself.
After the temple we walked down the hill towards the Circular Mound. The Circular Mound is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven or the Supreme Yang, where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with the Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740
The park surrounding the temple is used today for many activities. We watched locals dancing, signing, playing music, exercising and even match making! Sarah explained that the parents of children who were not married and thought that they should be took to the park each weekend to seek a mate for their child. It was so strange to see all of these parents milling about looking at small sheets of paper laid on the ground describing their child, much like you would see on an Internet dating site, but I understood their angst and would smile when one would see me reviewing their documents. Maybe China is an untapped market for a savvy entrepreneur who wants to help these parents!
We took off from the Beijing airport around 3:30 and arrived in Nanning just about 3 hours later to much warmer temperatures and rain! According to Bob, our guide, there are some monsoonal rains setting in due to Typhoon Son-Tinh so we should prepare to get a little wet! Oh boy! We quickly loaded up and made our way to the Nanning Marriott, a fabulous hotel that more than meets our needs! After a quick load in and document review, Bob told us to be in the lobby tomorrow at 3:00 pm to being our trip to meet Declan! Its almost here! What seemed to be so long ago, the decision to proceed, the medial updates, the application process, the waiting for approval, the steps we have taken so many times will come to an end tomorrow and our family will be complete! Its exciting, its scary and its so close!
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