October 26th, 2008

天坛 The Temple of Heaven, a Taoist complex in Beijing, where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties came (some more than others) for annual prayers to heaven for a good harvest.  The other part of the encyclopedia entry from which I stole this description considered it a supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture, but (1) that is obvious and (2) I think it’s funny what Chinese people choose to be modest about and what to lavishly overpraise.  This being said, it was very impressive.  I think I might just be winking to you and/or our readership here.  This is my attempt to introduce myself to our readers and engrain the fact that I’m in China into their brains.  Also, note the very nerdy audio guide hanging around my neck.

天坛 The Temple of Heaven, a Taoist complex in Beijing, where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties came (some more than others) for annual prayers to heaven for a good harvest.  The other part of the encyclopedia entry from which I stole this description considered it a supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture, but (1) that is obvious and (2) I think it’s funny what Chinese people choose to be modest about and what to lavishly overpraise.  This being said, it was very impressive.  I think I might just be winking to you and/or our readership here.  This is my attempt to introduce myself to our readers and engrain the fact that I’m in China into their brains.  Also, note the very nerdy audio guide hanging around my neck.