Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Day 107 - The full package of sightseeing, but where is the snow?

Yesterday the cab drive told us, there is going to be snow today! There wasn't - at least not what snow is according to my perception. Sam claimed he saw three snow flakes, I would say maybe not even three... when I stood on top of the Bell Tower.

Time is getting tight here in Beijing. Only seven days left. I figured out that it is probably not possible to finish the whole sightseeing program. But, this is good. So, I have something left when I come back.

Three of the more famous sights I checked up today anyway. The Lama Temple (finally), the Drum-, and Bell-Tower.

The Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple)...

... is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world and combines (Han) Chinese and Tibetan styles. It was build in the late 17th century and survives the Cultural Revolution because some ministers intervention.
The temple consists of five main halls which are separated by courtyards. Compared to other temple buildings where I have been to this one seems to be the most authentic one, because a lot of people knee down for praying and ignite thousands of incenses in the courtyards. The whole Tibetian Lama culture appears to me very trashy and kitschy, but a lot of people, at least, really act like this means something to them.
The courtyards where full of smoke from all the incense and inside the halls people where praying in front of - sometimes gigantic - Buddha statues. Even the worlds largest Buddha made from one piece of sandalwood is in the last hall (18 meters high). Overall this is a (more or less) real place. The buildings still have a meaning towards the religious Tibetan folk and their supporters. Unfortunately is wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the halls, but as a little exchange one gets a little video CD with the entrance ticked... not really the best video though.
Student entrance fee: 12 (?) Yuan - relatively cheap. Worth it!

After this spiritual watching I walked a little bit through the real Hutong neighborhood. It is staggering how people still live there just with a shared toilett on the street etc. In the middle of this original Beijing area there are the Drum- and the Bell-Tower.

The Drum-Tower

This is where the American tourist was stabbed during the Olympic Games, afterwards the perpetrator committed suicide by jumping of the approx. 40 meter high building. It was told to be a random act of violence without any motive.
But the drum tower has more to offer than this. It was build for some musical amusement in the 13 century, burned several times and was rebuild and finally used to announce the time till 1924 when the last emperor had to leave the forbidden city. A water clock that was used to keep the time can still be seen in the tower. The main attraction today is of couse the drum playing performance every half an hour - of cause on rebuild drums.
Also the great look-out on the Hutong neighborhood is really worth climbing up the steep stairs. Unfortunately one can't see the Bell-Tower from the top of the Drum-Tower because this side of the tower is not open for tourists.

The Bell-Tower

Just next to the Drum-Tower (they are on the same north-south axis as the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square - just noth from the Forbidden City) , same purpose, little bit younger (?), no drums, but a bell of couse. From here one can have a look at the Drum-Tower and at the sqare in between, where the rickshaw drivers wait for tourists to drive them through the Hutongs.
The bell of the tower was not stroke by a clapper fom the inside but was stroke with a massive stem from the outside and after the first iron bell was replaced by a bronze its tolling was audible even 20 kilometers away.

After some walking I found the way back to the subway... it was freaking cold - but snow, no snow wasn't really there. Just a few snowflakes as I stood on the Bell-Tower...

The day in pictures - click on it to enhance.

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