Beijing: Day Three

We had the morning of our third day free for exploring before heading to the airport. We started with our hotel's breakfast buffet (the first time since being in China that I've had cereal and milk - simple pleasures.) The photo album shows pictures from the buffet, where we were surrounded by European tourists, and other shots from our hotel. From there, we bundled up again and headed to the Temple of Heaven, a short walk from our hotel. The Temple sits in a beautiful park, with an area of just over one square mile. Beyond seeing the main pagoda, we enjoyed people watching, as every activity imaginable was going on there - from dancing to fencing to singing (video of a choir here: http://hsinchina.shutterfly.com/videos/12) to card playing and on and on... It was fun to see the park still so full of life even on a chilly Monday morning!

 

From the Temple, we headed to the Pearl Market, one of Beijing's most famous markets for selling pearls and all sorts of knock-off goods. Then, reluctantly, we packed up to head to the airport, with a stop for a lunch-time feast of peanuts, corn, sesame bread, rice, and chicken kabobs on the way. I also had a little too much fun documenting Jeff's hair, finally freed after three days of being trapped under a hat.

Enjoy the pictures here: http://hsinchina.shutterfly.com/1945.