Exploring China 中国: Temple of Heaven 天坛

After class today a small group of us decided to adventure to the Temple of Heaven. We got lost and ended up a few blocks away at the Longtan Park. Which wasn't so bad. Getting lost in Beijing was all part of the fun! (I seem to find more places that way!) Eventually, we found our way to the Temple of Heaven complex and park entrance. Unfortunately, the temple was closed for the day, which we were sad about. But, after paying a few kuai (another common name for the Chinese currency) we got to walk around the park and get as close as we could to the temple. We were so glad that we did too. What we found was a meeting place for the local community. Young and old were involved in all sorts of different activities from choir groups, dance groups, different sports; to having picnics, long walks etc. The group I was with just sat for 30-40 minutes and watched everything going on around us. It was relaxing and enjoyable. Many of the older people surprisingly spoke wonderful English as well. We were surprised when this older woman who was walking and sort of dancing as she walked to the nearby jianhu player music stopped and in perfect English began asking us questions! Finally someone who spoke English well and wasn't afraid to talk to us! Our evening ended with a wonderful dinner and ice cream at a local restaurant across the street from the front gate of the park. Tomorrow we board a bus for our week long adventure in the Shandong Province!