Beijing--Day 3

On our last morning in Beijing, we were up and checked out of the hotel by 8:00 am and on our way to the Temple of Heaven, our last place to visit before heading back to the ship.

The Temple of Heaven is an imperial complex of religious buildings. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.

It is actually larger than the Forbidden City because Chinese emperors were precluded from building a dwelling for themselves that was greater than the earthly residence dedicated to Heaven.

The ancient Chinese believed that the earth was square and heaven was round and the entire temple complex is designed around this premise with a semicircular wall depicting heaven and the square wall depicting earth.

With our time limited before we must leave Beijing for the port, our guide Jimmy took us just to the main and most significant sites.

Here we are standing on the Heavenly Center Stone on the Circular Mound Altar.  It is surrounded by 9 circular stones representing the nine heavens.  "If one speaks standing on the Heaven Center Stone, their voice will be particularly resonant and sonorous".

Well, we just had our photo snapped!

Next we saw the Imperial Vault of Heaven.

 It is the place housing the god's tablets to be used at the Heaven Worship Ceremony.

Then it was on to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, where the the Ming and Qing emperors held ceremonies for good harvests in the first month of spring.

Again we were the curiosity of the Chinese.  This gentleman came up to Penny and wanted to push her wheelchair.  There were cheers and laughter from his group...and ours!

And there were cute children...

When we left the Temple of Heaven complex, there were groups of seniors playing card games, visiting, and having fun.  Jimmy said they meet here every day to socialize.

It was then time to head to the restaurant for lunch and then make the trip back to the ship.  This time our server was dressed in his national costume.

It was then back to the ship and we would have 2 sea days before reaching Shanghai, where we will disembark and then stay 2 nights in a hotel before flying home.

But, before we leave here, let's talk toilets!
It was only in the Beijing visit that we experienced "squat toilets" versus "western toilets".

Here's a photo of a Chinese squat toilet...you know what a western toilet looks like.

We experienced these at the tourist sites and some restaurants; there always was at least one handicap stall available, which would have the western toilet.

It was amusing to see some of the signs posted in the restrooms...

This one reminds you not to squat on top of a western toilet seat.

This tells you what kind of toilet is inside the stall...

 If you pick the squat toilet, here's a how-to sign!

To continue reading, scroll up towards the top of this page and click in the right-hand column the entry entitled:  Shanghai--Day 1.