Travels in China 2007
Beijing
Many greetings from Dr. Lu and Katarina, Oran and I and all the GCI staff in Beijing.
Oran and I had just enough time to catch a few hours of sleep, after 17 hours of flying to the other side of the world, before launching right into our adventures and explorations of the amazing architectural wonders of the ancient Chinese culture.
And what better way to start our visit than at this unique and historic complex, the Temple of Heaven. Constructed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, during the reign of Ming Emperor Tongle, this is the largest architectural structure in the world dedicated to honoring Heaven. All paths lead to this large central dome behind us, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, where the emperors would come during the Winter Solstice to pray for bountiful and abundant harvests. This Hall, supported by immense pillars symbolizes the 4 seasons, the 12 months of the year, the 12 time divisions of day and night and all the constellations. It is the only existing example of the ancient Ming Tang architectural style.
We joined Dr. Lu, Katarina, and the GCI family at lunch at a former Buddhist Temple that Yun had spent many an hour at in his youth. Now it is a restaurant run by the temple where we had a truly delicious, vegetarian lunch.
I now have just enough time to send this message to you before preparing for our six-day journey to Shanxi.