Thursday, September 5, 2013

Last Day in Beijing

On August 8, Vivie took us to the Summer Palace, Lama Temple, the Hutongs area and the Pearl Market. We ended the day with watching another show - The Legend of Kung Fu.

The view from our hotel room - a nice and clear (but hot) day

The craziness of getting onto the subway during rush hour

Paul drowning in a sea of Asians

We made it to the Summer Palace

And so did everyone else

This market area (Suzhou Street) is fake - the Emperor created it so royalty could get a taste of everyday life

Amazingly clear day

Close up of the roof guardian riding a large chicken

The outside wall of the Hall of the Buddha Confirming his Doctrine

Close up shot

View of Kunming Lake

Another view of the Hall of the Buddha Confirming his Doctrine

Close up of some roof guardians

Kunming Lake

Walking down steep steps

Octagon Tower (Cloud Gathering Temple) on Longevity Hill

Paiyunmen Gate (Gate of Dispelling Clouds) and Octagon Tower (Cloud Gathering Temple)

The Long Corridor 

A different view of the Octagon Tower and the Hall of the Buddha Confirming his Doctrine

One of the many paintings along the Long Corridor - this one tells the story of bridge of birds - look it up!

This is a story of a strong warrior who claimed he could kill a tiger...so he did

Looking up along the Long Corridor

A cool door

Walking around the Summer Palace was really peaceful

The Garden of Harmonious Pleasures was quite pleasant - we love the willow trees

Close up of some lotus flowers

And a dragonfly

Willow tree leaves

This was my favorite area in the Summer Palace

I like looking up

The Bridge of Knowing the Fish

Another shot of Kunming Lake but with Yu Feng Pagoda in the background

More willow trees

We headed to the Lama Temple after our stroll through the Summer Palace.

This is the path to the entrance

Main entrance

Zhaotai Gate

More roof guardians

Locals and tourists from afar come to pray here

Burning incense

You're not supposed to throw money at the incense burner shown here but nobody listens

Maitreya is 26m tall (18m above and 8m under ground); this is the the tallest Buddha in the world carved from a single piece of wood (Tibetan white sandlwood to be exact)

Wanfu Pavilion (Tower of Ten Thousand Happiness), home of Maitreya

I think I heard her saying, "I want the knife, give me the knife..."

Close up

After a quick lunch, we headed to the Hutong area which is a small section of what's left of a traditional neighborhood in Beijing with narrow streets and original houses (well, remodeled).

Rickshaw ride

Stuck in rickshaw traffic

Touring the area

We got to visit a traditional home - this is considered a hutong

Xiaojinsi Hutong


Entrance to the home we visited

Inside the garden of the home we visited - 3 families live here

Qianhai Lake


Empty rickshaws

Our day ended with a visit to the Pearl Market and then we watched The Legend of Kung Fu Show.

Flying a really long kite

The kite looks like birds in the sky

Sunset

With Vivie, our tour guide, in front of the Pearl Market

Theatre for The Legend of Kung Fu Show

Outside the theatre entrance

These pictures don't quite capture the show

But trust me, it was quite entertaining...Paul hums the song from it all the time

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