Beijing is such an interesting city! It is surprisingly green, full of places to explore and marvel on, full of culture and history. I love exploring places and I love it even more when I can share that with the person I love.
So John and I visited places such as the Emporer’s Summer Palace, BeiHai Park, the Olympic Green (where the Olympic Games in summer 2008 took place) and the Park of Heavenly Temple. On top of that we walked miles and miles to get a feeling of that massive city and to see what’s in between subway stations. Using the subway is very convenient, but it feels like diving under the surface and come up a totally different location without being aware how far the distance is and what’s going on in between stations.
Some of the major places to see are either parks or within a park. And these parks are spacious! The emporers of the various dynasties knew how to enjoy life: lush summer residences, hide-aways from the citys heat and noise, pagodas, ornate walkways from temple to temple. Landscape architecture at its best. But a place that really is magical is the Park of the Heavenly Temple 天坛公园. The moment you step through the big gates the city is far, far away. Barely any noise, no hustle and bustle is perceptible. The parks layout is all about symmetry and everything has symbolic meaning – colours, shape, sound. For example, the main temple is round and is set on a square fundament. This symbolises the Chinese belief that the sky is round and the earth is square. We caught a perfect day – crisp, tblue skies, rlatively clean air and as the temple is built on a fundament that slighty raises above Beijing level, we had amazing views over the city in all directions. A truly special moment as I saw the beauty and I could feel the eternal purpose the place serves.
