Todo na T.O.H.

We woke up early (again) on our last day in Beijing. Olive want us to visit Mao's mausoleum as early as possible since the attraction is known to attract thousands of visitors. Turns out nearly almost ALL the tourist who was at Beijing have the same thing in mind.

Riding the train and off to Tiannamen square, the throngs of people who greeted us at the entrance of the square made my nightmare into a reality! Almost all people where going to the mausoleum! Yikes! I kid you not when I tell you that the line is almost 2 kilometers long! ! And with the heat of the sun (it was the middle of summer naman kasi!) and slow moving line we've decided t's a bad idea to  visit the place.

All types of people I've seen on Tiannamen Square!!

Thats' where the Great Mao is laid to rest, ala Macoy lang ng Ilocos. 

The Swedes are coming!!!

The square does have a lot of tourist spots around it. The huge Chinese pagoda on the back of the mausoleum is magnificent. The huge palace serves as a vantage point of the emperors to view the other side of the Forbidden City.

As for the mausoleum, I believe it is a new edifice constructed by the government. 3 group of statues of it's people, worers and soldiers graced the area. Another magnificent work of art by Chinese Artisan.

All Hail to the Chief!

After persuading Olive to ditch the trip to Mao (i don't want to waste my time falling in line on a very hot summer morning!) we proceed to our next destination, that is The Temple of Heaven. 

What I like about tourist spots in China is that they have maps on every entrance. Very efficient and tourist friendly =). And of course it is written in English, French, German and local Chinese language.

Before entering the Temple of Heaven, we passed by this long gazeebo like structure, or as i put it "tambayan"! People spent their lazy morning here chatting, playing chess, selling stuff for tourist, etc.

It's the ultimate meeting place! Parang National Bookstore lang (ultimate kitakits place LoL!)

Finally, after passing by the "tambayan" area, we've finally entered the Temple of Heaven area. Yehey!!

Weh! Gwapo!

Since it is about 10:00AM only when we arrive not so much people was in the area, unlike Tiannamen Square. The weather was perfect to stroll the area (and buti nalang may dala akong gatorade so kayang-kaya ang lakaran portion sa TOH).

One thing that caught my attention, the design of the balusters are the same as those located in the Forbidden Oalace. Siguro iisa lang gumawa nun! (jazz kidding!)

Another thing that is common sight in the Palaces at China are the humongous horno which i think they use pag may events like birthdays, binyag, kasal, chinese new year, etc. Dapat meron ding ganun dito sa Pinas fir our New Year celebration, instead na magsunog pa tayo ng tires sa kalsada. (insert wishful thinking here).

Well, a temple will not be complete without those mini palace/rest house ng mga emperor and empress. Aba shempre after nila magdasal sa TOH they need to freshen up and relax before returning to Forbidden Palace that's why they built up these structures here in TOH. Sila nang mayaman!

TOH also have these marble stone cravings situated in the stairs fronting the temple the same as in Forbidden Palace. It's so old and delicate they put railings around it. Unfortunately some people do not follow the instructions on the side (no touching, no stepping, no whatsoever!) The kid in the picture is oblivious that she's stepping on a stone which is almost a 100 years old! Que barbaridad!

If you've been following my blog...errr reading some of my ho-humm post (LoL) you've noticed that I LOVE details. Yes i love intricate details, even the smallest details excites me. TOH paintings all over is like a kaleidoscope of colors and I was in Shangrila. It's so lovely!!!!

After namin magsawa sa TOH we proceed at the back of the Temple where still many artifacts and temples (!) are located

There's a green lawn here as well, strolling area ng mga royalties

Cypress Trees are all abound the garden! ganda!

There's a small Temple at the back of the complex, here the chief priest prays to the weather God's for well, good weather! They dedicated each gods for the north, east, south and west heavenly winds for good weather. 

Entrance Gate

Here's what it looks like inside the weather god's temple. May special urn and stands sila. But what excites me again was the balusters around the temple. Ang cool! See also the back of the balusters, yung pila ng tao. It took us almost 20 minutes to have our sneak peak inside the temple.

The wailing wall is funny. Sabi nila if you shout on one side of the wall maririnig nung nasa kabila yung boses mo because the place is round and the voice will travel daw dun sa canal-like sturcture ng wall. But the funny thing is sa sa sobrang lakas ng boses mo maririnig ka talaga sa kabila, without the help of the shouting wall. Anubah!

Outside the complex was this huge circular area where people converge at gustong magpa-picture sa bilog na something.

At hindi nagpaawat ang dalawang turista!

Balusters! Balusters! Balusters!!!!

Las but not the least was the offering area for the Gods. It's a marble like material 8 feet tall where they hold the burning of animals to be offered to their Gods. Cool noh?

And these iron made vase are used during celebrations, I wonder how they use it during those times. But one thing is for sure i want it at our house. Ganda eh! LoL!

More peeking sa Peking on next post =D

Advance Happy new year to all!