Day 73 11-24

Today we went to Temple of Heaven which was used by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for their annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for a good harvest.

Arrived at Temple of Heaven

We got our tickets at student price at 14 yuan.

Entering the sacred place

Photo of the entire complex with Kai Zhong blocking half of it :)

After entering, we went to a fitness area where many people were exercising in. These elders despite their age are so much fitter than any of us are. We were astoundingly impressed by their physique.

One of a few elderly man doing gymnastics on the pull up bar

Elders enjoying a game of chapteh

After a long time of mesmerizing at these old folks we left to go to the QiNianDian.

Walking to QiNianDian which is seen at the background

Front view of QiNianDian. Sorry for bad quality :(

The lavishly decorated insides of QiNianDian

The grandeur of this building is breathtaking

We continued to walk around the area and went to visit the other parts of the complex. Our first stop was at HuiYinBi, The Echo Wall.

Next we went to a dome shaped arena and located there was the Heavenly Centre Stone.

Walking up to the Heavenly Centre Stone

Tourists taking selfies on top of the stone

"It is said that if one speaks standing on the Heavenly Centre Stone, their voice will be particularly resonant and sonorous."

After touring the Temple of Heaven we went to Pearl Market which was nearby.

Similar to silk market largely notable for selling pearls

Shopping time

A whole floor dedicated to selling pearls of all kinds

A few of us purchased some souvenirs back

We bargained for the products that we bought over here. It was pretty exciting and intense, since both the customers and the sellers want to earn the most. But ultimately the seller will usually still earn at least twice of the product's cost price. 

After that we headed back home from the pearl market after walking for hours!