Day 246 Staycation Day 3 in Beijing; starts weird and ends weird

Now that is warmer weather, I am once again disturbed
by the Chinese concept of potty training that involves
the use of split pants.  In the winter weather they
diaper their little privates, but now they are out
on display for all to see.  Being of the psychology
persuasion, I cannot help but think that there
are creepy people in their culture, too, that would
 find this practice to be sexually exciting.  It seriously
bothers me. Second to that, is the squatting anywhere and
 everywhere whenever the 'urge to go' strikes them- like the
 little girl who peed all over the subway platform as I
was waiting for the train.  Momma even had a bottle of
water in her hand, but didn't use it to at least rinse the
puddle away.....ewwwww.  I wonder if children
are trained any sooner by this method?  

Follow the link:  potty training in China

Curiosity got the best of me...I had to look it up.

Apparently the show "The Doctors" did a segment on this :)

No diapers by 12-18 months?  Count me in!!!  

But could we still shield their privates in some way, please?

So, today I hopped the subway toward the south-central part of Beijing to visit the Temple of Heaven. The surrounding park, its many halls and other structures contained within, is a popular spot among local Beijingers, Chinese tourists, and foreigners alike.  It is not uncommon to see the locals playing instruments, dancing, practicing t'ai chi or calligraphy, painting, flying kites, playing card games or board games, or simply enjoying a picnic in the park. It sounded like a great way to spend a Sunday.

I was greeted by a dancer the moment I entered through the gate :)

Then I followed my ears to some singing.

After consulting a map of the park, I decided to head south
passing by the 'meteor stones'  As I came upon them, I thought
I had been scammed yet again- these did not look like 'real'
meteor stones!  Then I found the sign below:

Well that explains that!

As I made my way around the 'meteors' this

couple was playing a not-so-ordinary game of catch.

Impressive :)  And artistic to watch!

Soon I was walking through a long corridor and
I could see the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

I had to pass through a gigantic door to enter the Hall
area, and y'all already know how I feel about doors :)

I was the happiest girl in China to finally visit
another iconic symbol of Beijing, China. 

Isn't it beautiful?!

The three rows of carved marble railings
that encircle the Hall are an incredible sight, too.

So the story of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests goes something like this:  Originally built in 1420, the Temple of Heaven served as a place of ritual for the Ming and Qing emperors.  Every year at the start of the winter solstice, the emperor would come to honor his ancestors and to pray for a good harvest for the upcoming season.  It involved a festival and feast that carried on for several days.  Then, during the middle of the first lunar calendar month, the emperor would come again to pray- this time in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.  Sadly, it was not the Hall you see pictured above.  The original Hall was struck by lightening in 1889, and was completely destroyed.  The story continues that officials were blamed for the fire for allowing a caterpillar to ascend up the holy structure and incur the wrath of Heaven.  More than 30 officials were executed for the catastrophic caterpillar crime.  I'm glad I wasn't in charge of keeping the little buggers out of the holy hall, as all sorts of holy hell broke loose as a result- Yikes!

In all seriousness, according to the Chinese, natural catastrophes, bad farming practices, failing harvests, and increasing corruption were all signs that the emperor had lost favor with his ancestors and Heaven.  It was considered a legitimate act to overthrow the emperor in these situations.  The sacrificial rites in the Temple of Heaven were therefore treated with the utmost respect by the ever-wary emperor.  Nothing like a little pressure if the countryside experienced a drought!  The last sacrificial ceremony at Temple of Heaven occurred in 1914.

As I peeked and poked around the halls within
this compound, I came upon this couple having
their engagement pictures taken.  Very cool :)

I exited the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests
at another gate and came down steps lined with
 beautiful flowers.  The pansies and petunias made
 me think of my momma.  She was always eager
to get out and dig in the dirt as soon as it started
warming up back in Indiana.  Pansies went in
first, and petunias followed a few weeks later.
You can see the Hall in the background.

As I continued on through the park, I heard someone

playing guitar that sounded a lot like Jack Johnson.

I had to follow my ears!  By the time I came upon

him, my brain could not compute the scene before

me- a whistling Chinese cowboy playing guitar.

Weird struck me for the second time today.

His whistling was more than I could bear, though
I could appreciate that he did it well. I moseyed
on looking for the perfect spot for lunch.
I found an arbor of wisteria that smelled glorious.
The sun on my shoulders, the scent of the
wisteria, a cold iced tea in one hand, and my
PBJ in the other hand never tasted so good!

When I left the wisteria arbor, I made a wrong
turn in Albuquerque, and ended up in an
ill fated ROSE GARDEN.  I am allergic to roses.
After the first sneeze, I quickly jogged my way
out of the madness, dodging all sorts of
Chinese striking weird poses for their photos
 to be taken in front of the posies.

 Next scene I stumbled upon was a traditional ribbon dance :)

The next structure I came upon was the Hall of Heaven which

was mentioned earlier.  It was built in 1530 and restored in 

1720.  I have never seen a round pointy tile roof like this one

and there's a golden spire on top.  I loved the cobalt blue tiles.

As I was getting ready to pass through the gate, I looked
up and was greeted by these scary looking dragons. Cool :)

Once you pass through the gate, the courtyard
is surrounded by a brick wall, now known as
Echo Wall.  Supposedly if you stand and face the
wall and quietly speak to someone who is also
standing by it, he or she could hear every word
at every point anywhere along the wall.  It
would be nice to try it, but you and a hundred
thousand of your closest Chinese friends are
all simultaneously trying to do the very same thing.

To the south of the Temple of Heaven and Echo Wall is the
impressive Alter of Heaven. It is considered to be the most
spectacular altar of the city's eight imperial altars.

The three leveled stone terrace is surrounded by two walls, an inner round one (Heaven) and an outer square one (Earth).  Again, the marble carvings were impressive, and I loved the cobalt blue dragons keeping watch on the tops of the walls.  The Alter of Heaven (above) consists of three stone terraces. The lowest level symbolizes Earth, the middle one is the world of human beings, and the upper level is Heaven.  It is all constructed of these marble stone slabs, and the construction is based on the number nine.  According to Chinese tradition, (and they are BIG on traditions) odd numbers were considered an attribute of Heaven (yang).  Nine, as the biggest odd unit, was the most important number of all. As such, the number nine became associated with the emperor. The innermost circle on the top layer consists of nine slabs, the second has 18 slabs, and the next has 27 slabs and so on until the final ring on the lowest level, (which is the 27th circle in the formation) has 243 slabs- all of which are multiples of nine. 

  As I made my way around the perimeter of the

park, I saw more people playing their instruments,

a group of elderly in a rousing game of Chinese poker,

and these dancers above.  I love that they participate

simply for the exercise, to enjoy the out of doors, or

for the joy of performing, but no tipping is asked 

in these public gatherings.  It made for a pleasant 

afternoon, but since the afternoon was still young, 

I decided to head to IKEA for some finishing touches-

I have been spring cleaning and organizing my apt.  

IKEA is in a HUGE shopping complex, and
the consumption of the Chinese people astounds
me.  Of course there are massive crowds of
people wherever you go; it can't be helped in
a city of 22 million, in a country of a staggering
1.4 billion people. But I am amazed by the
armloads of sacks and packages the majority
of them are carrying.  I also am astounded
whenever I see twins here in China- like
these two cutie patooties with their daddy
at Burger King.  Twins are quite the rarity
here, and I have never seen any other multiples.
(Yes, people, I caved in to Western fast food!)

As I walked in to IKEA, the first display to my left made me
giggle.  Daddy and baby were passed out on the bed, and
Momma was watching a movie on her IPhone6 while they napped.
To take you back to the beginning of the blog, I saw sleeping
children on furniture all over the store, and I couldn't help but
wonder, how often do the floor displays get peed on???

How can you pass by this sofa display and not crack up?!?!
Count how many sleeping Chinese are splayed out on the floor models!
REALLY NOW, CAN YOU SAY WEIRD????

But the weirdest one of all was in the display of occasional
chairs.  This lady was cozied up and down for the count-
with a pillow and blankie that had the price tags on them.
I'll say one thing, the Chinese love their naps more
than the Mexicans love their siestas!

 On that weird sleepy note, G'nite, y'all!