Lunch and the Temple of Heaven

So we hopped back in the car and settled in for the drive back to Beijing, in less than 5 minutes we had stopped at what appeared to be a greenhouse. It was our lunch venue, warm and verdant. Food was good, fried aubergine and potato in a garlic'y sauce, vegetable wraps (like duck with pancakes but veg and strips of egg) and a spicy chicken dish with a sharp sauce and unidentifiable crunchy fungus. This plus our exertions meant that both of us were struggling to stay awake for the drive back to the city. We got back and went straight to the Temple of Heaven. Large gardens much used by the local retired community for dancing and gambling and in the middle a square building. This lead to another covered walkway the balustrade of which was buried in groups of people playing noisy games of poker and Chinese chess.
This brought us eventually to a central building and a gate which took us through to the centre of the complex including the magnificent Temple of Heaven, a Qing dynasty Daoist temple solely for the use of the Emperor. A circular building made entirely of wood (nanmu ), no nails or pegs and decorated inside and out.
Surrounding buildings explained the rituals and the construction history/techniques. The crowds were thining and there was again Chinese music drifting from the dancing pensioners outside the complex.
We were offered various options after but we settled for a return to the hotel to rest our tired trotters.Read more