The Temple of Heaven is located in a very large public park in central Beijing.  There were hundreds of elderly Chinese folk throughout the park doing 'morning exercise'. In China, it is normal to take part in some activities every day (This seemed oddly staged to me, as if people were encouraged to give the tourists a good show.  Nevertheless, it was impressive.  The part that interested me the most was the calligraphy.  Although I could not read the texts, it was quite interesting.  The park had large concrete walkways.  People would 'paint' using water and long 'brushes' that were constructed from a sponge and a stick.  I got a great picture.

The trip seemed a bit rushed.  This was one of the more touristly-inclined sites, as people were expecting visitors.  Most of the monuments that we have seen were grand in scale.  Although the Temple of Heaven was large, it was smaller than the pictures I have seen implied. The temple is an entirely wooden structure; and in my opinion needs restoration.  We did not have much time to spend at the temple, as we needed to catch our flight from Beijing to Xi'An. If you would like to see the Temple of Heaven on a satellite map, the coordinates are N039 52.613 E116 24.420.  Google Maps Link.

(Temple of Heaven)

A Chinese airport is similar in construction to an American one; but in many ways simpler and better.  Security is odd.  They are less concerned with the American hang-ups; and they have an odd fixation with alcohol.  I find this odd, as they serve free beer in the cabin.  Speaking of beer, I have enjoyed quite a lot of it on this trip.  Since you are going to consume a packaged liquid anyway, why not try the local fare at each stop?  Mmmmmmm, cheap Chinese beer is good.

Also, there is another major difference between American and Chinese airports.  In our country, we have the planes pull right up to the airport building.  Here, you ride a bus to the plane, and use a portable stairway to board the plane.  It saves a lot of taxiing time, and in my opinion, is a pretty good idea.  A bus is certainly more agile than a 757.

Upon our arrival in Xi'An, we went immediately to the Big Wild Goose Temple.  This temple is important in the history of Buddhism in China.  It is quite an impressive sight.  I greatly enjoyed visiting it.  I even scored some prayer beads for a certain Buddhist that I know.  The temple is actually a tower, seven stories tall.  Big stories too.  It took a while to climb, but was totally worth it.  I would have spent the entire day here, if I had the chance.  I missed out on the opportunity to inflict my bad Mandarin on the Buddhist monks.  I collected coordinates at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda also.  They are N034 13.178 E108 57..549.  Sorry, no satellite link this time.  Satellite imagery is really weak over central China.

(Big Wild Goose Pagoda)

We were rushed out of the temple in order to visit an art museum nearby to the temple.  'Museum' is a flexible term, somewhat like 'bilingual' or 'western'.  This museum showed some crappy recreations of Qing dynasty clothing and styles.  Then we were led to another building for viewing traditional Chinese paintings.  We were given a lecture about how Chinese painting is performed, although it was very incomplete.  This 'museum' was just another ploy to sell overpriced items to the dumb tourists.  It's funny how the 'museum' closed immediately after our tour passed through.  Oddly enough, no actual Chinese people were given the same buying opportunity.  Jessa wishes to acquire some authentic Chinese inks and brushes on our trip.  That sounds like a great idea to me.  Although the 'museum' has hundreds of them on hand, they were little help.  Hopefully the hotel concierge can be of more assistance.

From the museum, we departed for the new hotel.  Xi'An is one of the oldest cities in China, but its main roads are more modern than many of the places that I have seen.  It appears to be the equivalent of an American 'College Town'.  Young adults are everywhere.  I've seen a lot of interesting modern sights in town, including a seven-story shopping mall shaped like a vertical accordion.  I have seen a store with over 500 models of cell phone on the shelf.  I stand out here.  This is a town for Chinese tourists, not foreign ones.  It's pretty cool to see the modern culture; even if they look at me strangely.

Rather than joining the group for the dinner option, we set out on our own again (with our friends John and Shiela).  We decided to find a local restaurant that was populated with as many locals as possible.  We have been advised to try the local specialty, a 'hot pot'.  A 'hot pot' is a type of soup-style dish with meat, vegetables, noodles, and/or tofu floating in it.  However, it is not cooked when served.  Picture placing a iron pot over fire and waiting for it to boil.  As it boils, you fish out items and eat them.  It's really quite exceptional.  I would recommend it to anyone.  Again, the staff spoke no English; but it wasn't a problem.

After dinner, we decided to explore the town.  The town is very modern.  We got to see the Chinese equivalent of the Mickey Mouse Club dancing in the streets (trying to lure people in to a Chinese Disney Store).  That was surreal.  There is no shortage of poor translations here in China.  No shortage at all.