Day 390 Found a gem!

On Friday afternoon I took one of the newbie teachers to see my family doctor. She has gotten Beijing sick, and was just needing some care and reassurance from Dr. Bei Dong, who is an incredible physician. I may have shared previously that she calls herself a "Chinese redneck" as she did her residency training in Kentucky.  

I love her.

But I have to say, she is MORE than thorough. She saw my new friend, and got her all fixed up, then she held me captive for an hour.  See, I haven't really been to a family doc in nearly two years. By the time I left, she had checked ALL fluids imaginable, ordered a mammogram, bone density scan, eye exam, and a dental exam.  The dentist appointment was across town in the financial district, and it was for 5:00pm that day.  It was a LONG afternoon.

I got my new friend on the right subway headed back to our
side of town, then I turned and went on to find the clinic where
 the dentist was located.  Luckily, this was a good day for
me to be navigating may way around the city.
As I was walking through the Financial District, I stumbled
across this beautiful temple right in the middle of the CBD.

Marble carvings 700+ years old. Incredible.

The Temple of the God of the Capital

This is the rear chamber (the sleeping shrine) that was first
built in 1270 in the Yuan Dynasty. 

Originally there were several buildings and three courtyards,
but the rear chamber is all that remains. 

It has been beautifully restored :)

The beautiful temple was surrounded by one
bank or securities company after another, hence,
the 'Financial District'.  These beautiful marble
lion statues were outside the China Galaxy
Financial Holding Company Limited. The bases
of the statues read, "A groundswell of wisdom
and a galaxy of wealth."  Hmmmmm.....

As I left the dentist, (more appointments are
scheduled to replace fillings, smh) I sadly hit
Friday afternoon rush hour in the CBD.  This
was the mass of Chinese humanity waiting in
line to enter in to the subway station.  Oh, boy.
There is no way in the world I could make that
kind of commute in the 'jing, day in and day out.

After peeling off the stress of the day, between doctors and traffic, I was so excited to get back to my cozy apartment and begin packing my backpack for a most awesome weekend- camping overnight on the Great Wall of China!  Stay tuned :)

G'nite, y'all!