The day started with a tour of the Temple of Heaven where all important buildings are round because apparently Heaven is round and earth is square. It dates back to 1420 during the Ming dynasty and grew in size during the Qing dynasty. It is now over 670 acres in size and includes a huge forest and park area. It was where the emperors would worship and pray for a good harvest. At that time, all natural disasters like landslides, droughts or earthquakes were attributed to the sitting emperor and could result in uprisings and overthrowing of their power, so the emperors prayed particularly hard. There were intricate designs all over the buildings.
On the park grounds, we saw people doing Tai Chi, practicing calligraphy with water, and playing jianzi, like hackey sack with a shuttlecock. Many other games were being played as well. We bought a shuttlecock for the girls to use together.
After, we went to lunch and sat down to a shared feast on a lazy susan. We tried Peking duck (thankfully without the head).
We then walked to a silk factory. They showed us the silk-making process from wriggling silk worms to boiling the cocoons to pulling threads to finished piece. They use the silk from the worm, and any remaining part is used for paper. As for the pupa, they told us they are eaten and taste like a peanut! We bought a dress for Jia, a bag for Willa, and an embroidered tapestry for our home.
For the final part of the tour, we rode in rickshaws to visit a hutong near Houhai Lake Park. Hutongs are traditional alley homes centered around courtyards. They were for high-ranking officials during prior empires. Very few remain as the Chinese government paid the locals to move into apartments so they could develop larger streets and structures. The remaining few are historic and some families open their homes to the public. The hutong home that we visited was constructed in 1621 during the Ming dynasty. The structure was certified as entirely original. In ancient times, each room around the courtyard held one family. The family that owns the hutong now has had it for three generations and lives there as an extended family with many pets, including a cricket! Their ancestor who purchased it was a famous artist.
(pet cricket, very loud)
(This bedroom was decorated for newlyweds.)
(Painting inside bottles)
These beds were large. Apparently people hang out in them quite a bit as they take up most of the room.
We then rode in the rickshaws around the lake area. It was fairly breathtaking as the drivers were all trying to race each other to get ahead.
Joe bought a plethora of local snacks. We ended the very hot day with a dip in the hotel pool.
Climbing the Great Wall tomorrow!
1 comment:
I don't know how you have the energy to write and post so much at the end of the day, but I am so glad you are. It gives such a great feeling of the country, and really makes us want to go on a tour also. You all look like you're having a great time, I'm going to share this with XX as she'll want to see what it looks like to travel back to her birth country. Thank you!
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