The Temple of Heaven and The Pearl Market
Thursday, October 16th, 2008. Today was a half-day – we worked in the morning and toured in the afternoon. When I say “worked” it was more about “catching up on email” than anything else. After lunch, we hoped on the subway system (as nice as any you’ve ever seen – very clean and neat) and rode to the exit closest to the Temple of Heaven.
Sara and I standing before the entrance to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest at Beijing’s Temple of Heaven park.
The Temple of Heaven, built in 1420, is very special – it was here that the Emperor would go to pray for good harvests. The aptly named “Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest” was the showpiece – an amazing multi-story pagoda set atop a large stone mound. There was a huge LCD screen sitting next to the hall that explained the purpose and function of the hall, the stone bridge leading up to it, as well as all the related buildings (see video). It was interesting without being showy – a very nice touch. The Temple of Heaven is said to be the largest “existing architectural complex in the world,” and I believe that means that this area hasn’t been harmed throughout Chinese history to the degree that many other attractions have been.
After visiting the Temple of Heaven for a few hours, Sara and I made our way to the nearby “Pearl Market.” Floor upon floor of clothes, electronics, souvenirs, and jewelry, the pearl market was a full-on selling center. Hundreds of vendors, each with their own table, would yell “HELLO!” and then shake or wave their wares at you. Some of the better vendors spoke enough english to offer “ROLEX WATCH!” or “PRADA!,” but the sad truth was that most of these stalls sold the same variety of inferior goods. Similar to Canal street in NYC, it’s only worth a look if your dead-set on buying some pearls. Still, Sara and I both managed to buy some trinkets.
Tired and hungry after the assault at the Pearl Market, we were trying to find a specific restaurant mentioned in our guide book. Known as “San De Guizhoumen” (or something like that) in Chinese, we asked a random white person when we got off the subway and he told us where to go. Unfortunately, after following his directions, we couldn’t find a restaurant with the name listed in the book. Frustrated, Sara and I rested and contemplated our options. I looked at the description in the book again, and Sara asked me to find another restaurant in the same area.
We were getting ready to walk away when out of desperation, I showed a local sitting on a nearby bench the name of the restaurant in the book. Confused, he looked at me and then pointed to a shop right next to us – we had been standing in front of the restaurant the whole time! The restaurant, in order to make it “easier” for westerners, had changed their sign from Chinese to English. Therefore, the “San de Guizhoumen” was translated to “Three Guizhou Men.” Embarassed (but grateful), we enojyed a nice (and very spicy) meal of hot-pot. Fortunately the food was good enough to make the journey worthwhile.
