Local traditions and culture in Beijing Shi

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The most impressive and famous structure in the Temple of Heaven must surely be the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. This is one of the most famous temple in China as well as a national icon which is commonly seen on travel brochures. If you look at the internal architecture, it is very impressive and consists of very high ceiling supported by curved wooden beams which are very colourful.

After passing through the Chengzhen Gate, there is a wide and open walkway as you head towards the famous Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Somewhere in the middle distance is a bridge called the Danbi Bridge.

After visiting the Imperior Vault of Heaven and the Echo Wall, you will need to pass by the Chengzhen Gate as you head north towards the Danbi Bridge and the Hall of Prayer of Good Harvests (which is the most impressive building in the Temple of Heaven).

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The Echo Wall is the famous circular surrounding the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is said that if you stand on one side of the walk and talk softly, a person from the other side of the wall can hear it due to the design and material used to make this wall. So be careful of what you talk when you are here :)

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After entering the Zhaoheng Gate (south gate), you will reach the big and open Circular Mound Altar. This was where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties pray to the heaven for protection and prosperity. In the centre is a raised round marble stone called the Heavenly Center Stone (see photo) where there is supposed to be a strong resonance when one speaks while standing there, thus enhancing the prayers. Many tourists like to take photos standing on this stone and there is usually a long queue, so you have to line up and wait :)

The Zhaoheng Gate is the south gate of the Temple of Heaven and this is where most tourists start their visit by working their way northwards through all the major monuments and finally reaching the north gate. The whole trip takes about 3 hours at a leisurely place and cost RMB$35 entrance fee.

Just read my other local customs tip 'The wolves...the wolves' and it made me laugh as I was talking about the moon festival two years ago and how I had been given a box of mooncakes by my work, but that they looked too nice to just eat myself and how I would take them home to my mum at Christmas!!! Well they never went back to Gibraltar thats for sure and I stuck to my word and didnt eat them myself. In fact theyre still sitting on my balcony...oh dear..no-one got to eat them in the end!

The Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, around the time of the autumn equinox. In the Western calendar, the day of the festival usually occurs sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October. This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival.

There is a story about the mooncake. During the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set out to coordinate a rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Baked into each mooncake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.

First of all, is it a cock, a cockerel or a rooster....are the only differences the American and British ways of saying it, or are they different animals? I don't think i've ever called a cock a rooster?Hhhmmm....Anyway, moving on....

This year is the year of the Rooster (let's call it that for the sake of it) and I shall tell you a little bit about this particular year...

Courtesy of http://www.taichicenter-chicago.com/rooster.html

The optimism of the Monkey year overlaps the year of the Rooster, but the Rooster tends to be overconfident and is prone to come up with nonsensical plans. While the colorful Rooster brings bright and happy days, he also dissipates energy. Better stick to practical and well-proven paths. Forget about that controversial best seller you were going to write. No get rich quick schemes this year, please! It may require a great deal of effort this year to resist going off on wild goose chases. Refrain from making speculative ventures. Disappointments and conflicts will result. The Rooster likes to flaunt his authority and a lot of trouble can come from his domineering attitude. But since he also symbolizes the good administrator and conscientious overseer of justice in the barnyard, the peace will still be kept. This will be a buoyant year in spite of the Rooster¹s knack for making simple things complicated. We should all get by without too much hardship. Our packets will not be empty although our nerves may be a bit frayed.