The Intrepid tour group was to meet at the hotel at 6pm so I had a whole day to get my travelling act together & explore a bit of the city. My first tourism choice was the Temple of Heaven. Looking at the Beijing map provided by the hotel, I figured that it couldn’t be too long a walk, & it would be good to mingle with the natives.
The short walk turned out to be nearly an hour. Crossing the street was similar to playing Russian roulette - see the blog on 'Traffic in China'.
Before reaching the temple, I found a restaurant packed with people and with a queue outside the door. Feeling hungry, I lined up, & on reaching the front of the queue, was constantly ignored by the attendant. So, with everyone overtaking me, I finally tapped him on the shoulder & asked for a table for one. He laughed at me. I think the Chinese find people eating by themselves a very strange thing to do as it’s considered a social occasion. So I asked again & he smiled nicely - I knew then I’d get my table. And I did - a table for 4 for 1. Two waiters came & cleaned away the table. Whatever was too big or difficult to take away, they just pushed over the edge towards the window. I sat down & had my first real Beijing food - stir fried beef with cumin - yummy!
The Temple of Heaven was a treat. Even more than the temples themselves were the fascinating gatherings of people within the grounds. Thousands of people lined the pathways, socialising together. People waltzed in the gardens, played cards all over the parks & benches, & sang to their hearts content. Walking back from the temples, I found one group of about 70 older people singing with all seriousness the songs being played on an accordion. There was even a conductor to navigate them through the tricky changes. I found out later that they were singing communist songs & that’s the reason why they sang with such pride & honour. Most of the people in the temple grounds were of a retirement age, & the reason many come to the temple is to contribute their value back to the community. The Chinese are remarkable for their community spirit!
The short walk turned out to be nearly an hour. Crossing the street was similar to playing Russian roulette - see the blog on 'Traffic in China'.
Before reaching the temple, I found a restaurant packed with people and with a queue outside the door. Feeling hungry, I lined up, & on reaching the front of the queue, was constantly ignored by the attendant. So, with everyone overtaking me, I finally tapped him on the shoulder & asked for a table for one. He laughed at me. I think the Chinese find people eating by themselves a very strange thing to do as it’s considered a social occasion. So I asked again & he smiled nicely - I knew then I’d get my table. And I did - a table for 4 for 1. Two waiters came & cleaned away the table. Whatever was too big or difficult to take away, they just pushed over the edge towards the window. I sat down & had my first real Beijing food - stir fried beef with cumin - yummy!
The Temple of Heaven was a treat. Even more than the temples themselves were the fascinating gatherings of people within the grounds. Thousands of people lined the pathways, socialising together. People waltzed in the gardens, played cards all over the parks & benches, & sang to their hearts content. Walking back from the temples, I found one group of about 70 older people singing with all seriousness the songs being played on an accordion. There was even a conductor to navigate them through the tricky changes. I found out later that they were singing communist songs & that’s the reason why they sang with such pride & honour. Most of the people in the temple grounds were of a retirement age, & the reason many come to the temple is to contribute their value back to the community. The Chinese are remarkable for their community spirit!
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