Although the Forbidden City is easily the most famous site within Beijing, my favorite was the Temple of Heaven, generally considered to be the second most famous site in the city. The Temple of Heaven site is much smaller than the Forbidden City, but the one plaza or square that featured the historic buildings was much more colorful. Even better was an absolutely delightful park that we passed through enroute and on our return from the Temple. The park is popular for local folks, mostly older people, to come and sing, play cards, dance, and exercise. We passed along a long roofed passageway, much like a veranda, where hundreds of people participated in all sorts of activities. On either side of the walkway were small squares with ballroom dancers, folks doing Tai Chi, playing cards, or whatever. The most curious was actually a solo woman standing apart from the crowd behind a tree facing the wall that enclosed the park. She would sing and shriek and then stop, clear her throat, spit, have a bit of tea, and then start again. I shot several videos on my little camera and put them together into a single movie of the park. You can see the woman at the very end.I joined in some of the activities:

Here are some pictures of the Temple of Heaven. The notable thing about the structure is that it is made completely out of wood…no nails either. The grounds around the temple are surprisingly free of the street vendors. I have no idea why.

Panorama of the temple area: