Wednesday's Anchovies

Good morning Beijing. Kicked start the day with some home-made energetic breakfast at the homestay and off we go to our destination of the day, Summer Palace ( 颐和园 ) . Breakfast is very important since we are going to consume lots of energy walking around Summer Palace. Or it would be more appropriate if we said that travelling in Beijing or China, food and water is very important to ensure your body’s stamina since almost all tourist spots are HUGE in space, which made you felt like never-ending walking LOL. It was a breezy autumn morning :)  Followed the signboard to get to the entrance. Bought our tickets at the main entrance and here we go! Recommended to buy a map here since the place is too big and lack of direction board in the palace. Summer Palace is the biggest royal garden in China. It is a luxurious royal garden for royal families to rest and have their “holiday”. In the end of the Qing Dynasty, the garden has beco...

The sun was out in morning and we were heading to the Temple of Heaven （天坛公园） today. The park can be reached via Beijing subway Line 5. We got down at TianTanDongMen （天坛东门） and from there on, there are multiple signboards leading you to the East gate of Temple of Heaven. As we prefer to walk on our own path, we entered the East gate, covering Hall of Prayer （祈年殿） , before going south to the Imperial Vault of Heaven （皇穹宇） , Echo Wall （回音壁） and Circular Mound Altar （园丘） . *Note that there were two recommended touring routes available in travelchinaguide , both of them started at South and North Gate respectively and ended at the West side of park. We started the day with very good weather! Not a hazy day but a day with lovely blue sky! The entrance ticket :) Don't forget to get an automatic travel guide! The Temple of Heaven is specifically used by emperors of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty for Heaven Worship Ceremony. The Hall of Prayer...

Today we got a list of places to cover. After breakfast, we started off the journey with a public bus trip (No. 82) down to Qianmen (前门). From there onwards, we will be touring each attraction by foot. *Note: We had almost all of our breakfast in the homestay. The fruits in season, fresh breads and cakes, cookies were something we hunt for each time we went in a convenience store. It was a lazy moment lying on couch while enjoying the Chinese TV show in morning, mouth munching on the signature pork floss cake from Baoshifu bakery （鲍师父糕点） . Welcomed by plum blossom (梅花) once we got down from the bus :) Chairman Mao's Mausoleum (毛泽东纪念堂) , which was built to remember Chairman Mao, the founder and the first chairman of The People's Republic of China. The Monument to the People’s Heroes （人民英雄纪念碑） Followed the signage, we cleared the security check, walked past the Monument to the People’s Heroes （人民英雄纪念碑）  and Tian’anmen Square （天安门广场）  before arriving...