Back to Beijing...Part 2

Having spent the morning visiting Mao and sampling the coffee at Starbucks, I decided to head off for something a bit different.

The Temple Of Heaven Park in the south of Beijing used to be the place where the Emperors would come and pray for a good harvest, and there's a range of historic buildings, all surrounded by a large park. While the main part of the park is extremely busy, and very popular with Chinese tourists, it's rather pleasant, and if you get away from the main bits is really quite and peaceful.

Here's some pics:

The main temple:



The walkway between the various sites:



The amazingly quiet, and beautiful park:



But perhaps my favourite thing in Beijing was the Lama Temple. It's the most important Buddhist temple outside of Lhasa – and it's so quiet and peaceful that it makes a real contrast to Beijing. You can follow the faithful around the many temples looking at the incredible art work and images that fill the place.

But what makes it such a magical place is the real sense of calm that pervades – it's so calming – and incredibly relaxing.

Sign showing how to get there - but strictly banning "Long, Over Length Incense" :-)



The main temple:



Sensibly sized incense being burnt:



Er... :-)



Amazing art work at the temples:



I also went to the Confuscious Temple - but after the Lama Temple it was a bit disappointing - so nothing to report here.

Random street in Beijing:



On a different note: one other highlight in Beijing has been the food. When I arrived back in Beijing I met up with Adrian from America, and we ended up dining out most nights. While most of the time we favoured the small out of the way street side eating places – we did decide to give the Peking Duck a go one night – and it was one of the most memorable meals in China so far.

Our first attempt to find a good place ended up with us being in a very expensive place – and it was full of tourists. So we decided to pass and went wandering looking for a local place. While we didn't find one that night – we did end up in a back alley somewhere eating amazing egg plant with pork and veggies.

The next day Adrian spotted a place while he was out in the city – so we headed off to try the local speciality – and it was a real winner. The duck was the best I've ever eaten. You basically get three cuts of the duck – the crispy skin, the dark meat, and the white meat. And each one is eaten in a different way.

The woman kindly showed us what dips went with what and how they should be eaten – and then we tucked in. I can't remember eating so much in a long time. But it was just so good – that it was tempting to have just one more pancake filled with plum sauce, cucumber, and spring onion. Or just another piece of the skin dipped in sugar.

Totally amazing – and a quarter of the price of the tourist place. If you want to find the place we went to – go to the Lama Temple. Walk down the street past the Confuscious Temple, and at the end of the street turn left – and it's on the corner.



Before...:



...and after:



We also headed to the street food market and tried the large black scorpions:





And one other culinary treat: Fish and Chips and a pint of Boddingtons. No where near as good as home – but a real taste of home – with real tomato and tartar sauce:



And some final thoughts.

To be honest – Beijing has been my least favourite city in China. And it just happened to coincide with me feeling really homesick. The return visit helped – and while it's worth a visit, I preferred the others cities I've been to.

It can feel very oppresive, with the constant X-ray of bags, military on every street, and CCTV everywhere – a real reminder that this is a country run by a military dictatorship. And then there's the smog which leaves you feeling totally chocked.

But if you get away from the tourist areas, you can still see what feels like the real China - a wander through the Hutongs – the traditional neighbourhoods of Beijing - is a real experience.

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Editors Note: You can visit Adrian's Blog here: http://friendlyplanetblog.com/

You can also read Adrian's entry on our time in Beijing - check it out here: http://friendlyplanetblog.com/travelers-serendipity/