Woke up at the crack of dawn, ate breakfast at the Aroma buffet downstairs the Ritz-Carlton, then set out to the Forbidden City by tour bus. The entire palace is a city in itself - it has been said that a child born there, who stays in a different room every night, would be around 27 years old by the time he or she has lived in all the quarters in the Forbidden City. The architecture is stunning, with colorfully painted rooftops, intricate carvings and paintings inside and outside each building, and long corridors stretching the length of different parts of the palace. More surprising is the fact that none of the rooftops were built with the use of nails. Artisans used the ancient technique of interlocking wood blocks to create the curved rooftops we see at the Forbidden City and elsewhere in old buildings.
Afterwards, we went off to lunch to the Beijing International Hotel's famous revolving restaurant, a buffet-style restaurant that spins very slowly to allow visitors a stunning view of Beijing's cityscape. The pastries and sushi are absolutely delicious.
I look like a gained a lot of weight in this picture -_-
panorama view of the city from the restaurant
stunning view of Beijing's buildings
Next stop, the Tian Tan, or Temple of Heaven. There's a Chinese saying that the earth is square in character, but heaven is round. The Temple of Heaven follows this saying carefully, with the round rooftops and square layout.
On the way to the Circular Mound Altar
the Circular Mound
The Imperial Vault of Heaven
On the way to the Hall for the Prayer of Good Harvests
The Hall for the Prayer of Good Harvests
me and dad
inside the Hall
After a long day of touring the historic sites, we went to see Chun Yi: The Legend of Kungfu at the Beijing Red Theatre, a spectacular show featuring live Kungfu practitioners and Chinese acrobats, and a touching story of a young monk aspiring to be a full-fledged Shaolin monk. Check out their website:
http://www.chunyi-kungfu.com/home/ The parts when the mother leaves her son, and when she dies, are so touching that I nearly cried. Overall, excellent show with stunning acrobatics and stunts, and heartwarming storyline - a must-see.
The adorable young Shaolin monk
Lastly, we went to a Cantonese-style dinner at Ocean Star (?), a famous and fancy restaurant. The food was alright, but we had a lot of fun.
