Temple of Heaven and Hutong Tour

Highlights of our third day included the Temple of Heaven and a Hutong tour


Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven Park. It's big, so there's a map.	It was fun to see so many people exercising in so many ways. This group is using fans.

The Temple of Heaven is so symmetry and pretty! (And it's another UNESCO World Heritage Site!)

Next we visited a "Tea House" in the park's parking lot.	Our hostess had very good English and taught us about tea. I learned a lot!
	We even got to taste several types of tea. I didn't know that tea could taste good :)
Next was a trip to the Beijing Planning Hall.

This bronze model helped us understand how Beijing is situated related to mountains and where the Great Wall is. (We were able to find where we'd been the day before!)	Upstairs, there is a giant model of the whole city!

Next, we stopped for our final lunch in Beijing.

After lunch, we stopped at a "Pearl Factory" for our obligatory shopping stop.

On our way to visit the hutongs, we stopped at the Bell Tower (left) and Drum Tower (right).
	To start our hutong visit, we got to visit a family that still lives in a hutong. The woman told us about life in the hutongs and answered our questions.

Here is a panorama made from several photos of the hutong courtyard.

Next we took a pedicab ride around the hutong area.	This was not my favorite thing. I am fat, and watching a man peddle me around when I am capable of peddling myself wasn't very fun.

We saw more outdoor exercise equipment, just like in Macau!	We were a long line of pedicabs through the streets.

That night, we ate at a Western Buffet. It was pizza and french fries!

Our last event of the night was to attend the Beijing Opera. I must admit I slept through it.

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