We went to 天坛, which is the divine temple. It was used by the emperor during the Qing Dynasty to pray for good harvests anually, and other things.. We spent the later part of the afternoon wandering around the grounds.
Side entrance to the 天坛. Its the West gate. 西门。。
Very long walkways leading up to the temple. The compound is very large. Wonder how did the people in the olden times manage.
The fasting palace. 斋宫. Where the emperor prepares for his role in the ceremony.. Which includes fasting, among other things.
Moat around the palace. Now devoid of water.
Squirrel. It was standing atop a tree, but very near us. That was like the closest that we've gotten near a squirrel so far..
Fields of flowers, blooming.
Had to take it, as it looked fantastic in the afternoon light.
Old trees. Forgot what they were. I'm guessing they are Cypress.
Rainbows!
Gate leading to the temple.
祈年殿。Which is the temple..
Behind the 祈年殿。Once again, am amazed by the largeness of the scale.
One of the 3 tiered levels surrounding the 祈年殿
Cloud decorations adorning the steps. I'm guessing its like an abstraction to being in heaven, like high up above the clouds in the sky.
Interior to one of the smaller temples holding the various tablets of the gods. Like the God of Thunder, God of Rain, Lighting... and many many others.
The main God that they pray to.
The smaller supporting buildings around the 祈年殿.
Interior of the building. Now converted to a musem, exhibition ground.
A model of the Divine Palace. How it was possibly like in the older days.
Grounds of the 祈年殿.
The ceremonial area. Think its called the 圜丘. Where the emperor holds the rites, which includes the sacrificial of animals and other things.
Surrounding grounds. It's a very huge area. I guess its to hold the people participating in the ceremony.
Steps up leading to the centre of the grounds.
The centre of the platform. I think its where the emperor usually stands in the ceremony. According to the tour guides, your voice will become very loud if you stand on the raised circular platform and speak... Now its used by everyone to turn their fortunes around, if they are to stand on it and turn around in a circular motion. haha 转运。
Me participating in a bout of a 转运 session with everyone else..
The brazer where they burn the offerings to the gods.
A pit where they bury the hairs of the animal that they sacrificed. I think there were cows and calfs and bulls involved...
Not too sure what they were used for...
Huge pole. Where they light up the top of the pole, during the period of the rites. Its to signify that the ceremony is going on during this period.
回音壁。We managed to get into this area before it was closed. Due to the unique construction of the walls, which are circular. It is said that when 2 persons stand opposite to each other across the grounds and talk. They can hear each other clearly, due to the echo or is it the amplification of the sound because of the circular walls. Many people were trying it out. But can't really tell the difference.
天坛 in the evening
Named 长廊, the long corridor
Nicely maintained plants
Beijing cats are pretty fat. Wonder if its the cold weather. Reminds me of Garfield. This cat was spotted just outside the exit of 天坛. According to some auntie, people have been feeding the cat population there regularly. And they can even discern the people who feed them. Such good life.
Another of the cat that hung out around the area. This refused to have its picture taken...
Side entrance to the 天坛. Its the West gate. 西门。。
Very long walkways leading up to the temple. The compound is very large. Wonder how did the people in the olden times manage.
The fasting palace. 斋宫. Where the emperor prepares for his role in the ceremony.. Which includes fasting, among other things.
Moat around the palace. Now devoid of water.
Squirrel. It was standing atop a tree, but very near us. That was like the closest that we've gotten near a squirrel so far..
Fields of flowers, blooming.
Had to take it, as it looked fantastic in the afternoon light.
Old trees. Forgot what they were. I'm guessing they are Cypress.
Rainbows!
Gate leading to the temple.
祈年殿。Which is the temple..
Behind the 祈年殿。Once again, am amazed by the largeness of the scale.
One of the 3 tiered levels surrounding the 祈年殿
Cloud decorations adorning the steps. I'm guessing its like an abstraction to being in heaven, like high up above the clouds in the sky.
Interior to one of the smaller temples holding the various tablets of the gods. Like the God of Thunder, God of Rain, Lighting... and many many others.
The main God that they pray to.
The smaller supporting buildings around the 祈年殿.
Interior of the building. Now converted to a musem, exhibition ground.
A model of the Divine Palace. How it was possibly like in the older days.
Grounds of the 祈年殿.
The ceremonial area. Think its called the 圜丘. Where the emperor holds the rites, which includes the sacrificial of animals and other things.
Surrounding grounds. It's a very huge area. I guess its to hold the people participating in the ceremony.
Steps up leading to the centre of the grounds.
The centre of the platform. I think its where the emperor usually stands in the ceremony. According to the tour guides, your voice will become very loud if you stand on the raised circular platform and speak... Now its used by everyone to turn their fortunes around, if they are to stand on it and turn around in a circular motion. haha 转运。
Me participating in a bout of a 转运 session with everyone else..
The brazer where they burn the offerings to the gods.
A pit where they bury the hairs of the animal that they sacrificed. I think there were cows and calfs and bulls involved...
Not too sure what they were used for...
Huge pole. Where they light up the top of the pole, during the period of the rites. Its to signify that the ceremony is going on during this period. 
回音壁。We managed to get into this area before it was closed. Due to the unique construction of the walls, which are circular. It is said that when 2 persons stand opposite to each other across the grounds and talk. They can hear each other clearly, due to the echo or is it the amplification of the sound because of the circular walls. Many people were trying it out. But can't really tell the difference.
天坛 in the evening
Named 长廊, the long corridor
Nicely maintained plants
Beijing cats are pretty fat. Wonder if its the cold weather. Reminds me of Garfield. This cat was spotted just outside the exit of 天坛. According to some auntie, people have been feeding the cat population there regularly. And they can even discern the people who feed them. Such good life.
Another of the cat that hung out around the area. This refused to have its picture taken...That sort of concludes the first day of our stay in Beijing. We went to meet Pika's cousin at night and ate the famous 北京烤鸭. Its very nice. The duck was lightly salted then barbequed. I thought it would be marinated but its not. I kind of like the soup alot, which was made up of the bones of the duck, after the meat was sliced..
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