Beijing 2015: Day 4 (Temple of Heaven) + Dumplings + Qianmen; Day 5: Back Home

Hi everyone! Last post for the Beijing travelogue! If you missed out on any of my previous posts, feel free to click on the links below:

• Planning for the Beijing Trip + Travel Tips
• Day 1: Changi Airport - Beijing International Airport - Hotel Grand Mecure - Bian Yi Fang
• Day 2 Part 1:  Tiananmen Square - Forbidden City
• Day 2 Part 2: Olympic Park - Beijing Bird's Nest
• Day 3 Part 1: Old Summer Palace   
• Day 3 Part 2: Qianmen - Quan Ju De

Our last official day of exploring Beijing was relatively laidback. The final tourist attraction we were going to see was the Temple of Heaven and we went back to Qianmen in the evening. I barely took any pictures in Qianmen since we were busy shopping though 😆

The Temple of Heaven Park is located in the Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is the largest and most representative existing masterpiece among China's ancient sacrificial buildings. Originally, the Temple of Heaven was the place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. It was built in 1420, during the 18th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), the Temple of Heaven was enlarged and rebuilt during the reigns of the Ming emperor Jiajing and the Qing emperor Qianlong. In the year 1988, it was opened to the public as a park.  

Tickets into the Temple of Heaven

Look at how peaceful this park is.

This peaceful park is the first place you will come across when you enter the Temple of Heaven. There'll be families enjoying a leisurely walk and old folk playing chess.

About to enter the main area - can't wait to see the beautiful building.

Passing through the gates. Notice how the golden knobs are here too!

A crazily hot day! With an insane amount of tourists. However, this was much quieter
(I know! Can you believe it?) than the crowd at the Forbidden City.

Managed to block out as many visitors as I could with my head HAHAHAA XD

So surreal that I got to see it in real life.  A lot more crowded than I expected for sure.
But still a really happy kid!

My mum and I walked to the other side and witnessed a photoshoot taking place on the other side.
"Wow! We should just have taken a photo here!" we quipped.

Didn't take too long for the crowd behind to appear.
Also, how amazing is her dress? Freaking queen!

Went up the stairs on another side and realised where most of the people were. Hiding from the sun!

You get to peek through one open door. (Of course, there is a rope barrier
so you're not allowed in to preserve the place.)

Soon, it was time to grab some lunch. With nothing much left on our agenda, we decided to head to this famous dumpling restaurant near our hotel so that after our meal, we could return to the hotel for a nap (and a much-needed shower).

Looks like any typical Chinese restaurant with all that red and gold. Except that their dumplings are exceptional! Wonder if they're still open after all these years.

Dumpling making corner with all the professionals at work. You can watch them and their dexterous fingers at work through the glass (like at Din Tai Fung)!

Pork and Cabbage Dumplings, as well as Pork and Chive Dumplings - YUM
I'm a dumpling queen (also because I'm shaped like one) HAHA

Since my mum and I arrived just an hour before their afternoon break time, the restaurant wasn't too crowded. I would expect that they have a much bigger lunch time crowd to cater to the offices there.

VERDICT? Highly recommended if it is still open. Affordable and delicious dumplings. I don't think one can ask for more when in China! Their dumplings are just so satisfying.


If you're interested to check the place out, here's the address:

Tianjin Bai Jiao Yuan 天津百饺园
12A Xin Wenhua Street新文化街甲12号
Opening Hours: 10am – 2.30pm; 5.30-10pm




After retiring to our hotel for a rest and good afternoon nap and shower, we decided to head out for our final evening to... you guessed it, Qianmen! (Frankly, it is my favourite place in Beijing since it looks a little more unique. Frankly, items sold there were also cheaper than at other tourist spots and non-tourist spots.)

My mum and I wanted to check out the alleys which we missed out on exploring previously so once the sun had set, we set off for Qianmen via the subway.

A very friendly crepe seller who sold such amazing crepes =)

This section was a little less crowded.

The smaller plaque above reads, "The birthplace of Chinese movies"

An amazingly talented candy-shaper? I don't really know what he would be called in English but he shapes hot maltose candy with his hands and his customers' breath while entertaining kids.

Alleys getting more empty as the hours passed.

Lonely duck for the night.

It was a quiet end to our final night in Beijing but we were pretty happy with the trip. Didn't go to the Great Wall because I didn't want to spend hours on a bus ride and not being able to do much else for the day, but I hope there's a next time.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast nearby, it was time to pack our bags and bid this beautiful city goodbye.

Passing Tiananmen Square on our way to the airport. The queue to get in was still crazy.

At the airport. Goodbye, Beijing!

Till then,

(Don't fly for now - COVID-19 duh) and eat happy (at home) 🍴,
V

Beijing 2015: Day 2 Part 2 (Beijing Zha Jiang Mian - Olympic Park - Bird's Nest)

Hi all, I'm back after a long hiatus again! 2018 was, well, a year of pretty drastic changes for me. There was quite a bit going on in my personal life so I had to take a bit of a break.

Here to continue with the Beijing travelogue. This post will be substantially shorter than the Forbidden City entry. In case you missed it, you can read the previous entries of my Beijing trip here:

• Planning for the Beijing Trip + Travel Tips
• Day 1: Changi Airport - Beijing International Airport - Hotel Grand Mecure - Bian Yi Fang
• Day 2 Part 1:  Tiananmen Square - Forbidden City

 Back to the travel diary!

After exiting the Forbidden City, we went in search of some food to fill our tummies. We practically wandered around the palace for hours having eaten nothing but steamed buns. 

We followed the crowd out and chanced upon this traditional street selling tourist memorabilia and souvenirs. There were also a couple of food stalls there so we headed into a random noodle shop in one of the alleys. 

Some souvenirs and shoes that we bought as we strolled down the alley. You might think that all the stores there are tourist traps but you'll be surprised that some were actually quite affordable.

We went in and ordered a Zha Jiang Mian (thinking it would be something familiar) and some tomato noodle thing. When they arrived, we were quite stunned. For one, the tomato noodle looked more like a mixed-vegetable dish (even though it tasted really good). The Zha Jiang Mian was more of a culture shock? It was a cold dish and this was different from what we expected. We've only ever eaten hot Zha Jiang Mian (Black Bean Noodle). I guess the temperature of the noodle would help to make one feel refreshed in the sweltering heat of summer but it was a little too unique for my tastebuds. 

You have a little black bean topping above the cold noodles, and some freshly sliced vegetables are served on the side.

The meal left us slightly unsatisfied (wasn't that much either) and we started looking for drinks. This cute snacks and drinks stall was just around the corner. It was really clean and I do miss some of the unique drinks I managed to try out in Beijing.

This souvenir shop is along Dafosi East Street 大佛寺东街, which is where we did our shopping. You can head towards that street if you are interested!

We spent most of our afternoon there and headed back to the hotel to dump off our loot. Souvenirs and shoes can be pretty heavy too! After resting for a short while, it was time to make our way to the Olympic Park (from the Olympics in 2008) where the popular "Bird's Nest" is.

Directions: 

Take Subway Line 2 heading towards Jishuitan 积水潭, and alight at Gulou Street Station 鼓楼大街站. Transfer at Gulou Street Station 鼓楼大街站 and take Subway Line 8 heading towards Zhuxinzhuang and alight at Olympic Sports Center Station 奥体中心体育场站. Take Exit C to head to the Olympic Park. 

It was already evening time when we arrived. The weather was pretty cool and great for an evening stroll since the grounds were HUGE.

 

The building where the swimming competitions were held, also nicknamed "The Aquarium".

View of the Bird's Nest up close

This was some kind of transmission/viewing tower I think.

There is a mall created in the area so my mum and I headed over to grab a quick dinner. We found a food court and shared this beef dish. We weren't super hungry but just didn't want to starve.

Black Pepper Beef Rice on a hot plate. If you know me personally, you'll know that I hate black pepper but this was pretty decent so I just bore with it and tried to think of it as pepper lunch? >.<

When we were done with cooling down with the air-conditioning and headed out again, the view was completely different. With coloured lights moving around, it was quite beautiful. 

Verdict? If it is your first time in Beijing, I'd definitely recommend you give it a whirl and go once. One particularly eye-opening experience I had here was how massive every building was. I'd recommend going in the evening so it is cooler and that will also give you a chance to see the buildings light up at night. If you're going in summer and the weather is too hot, you can duck into the shopping mall for some respite.


Olympic Sports Center 
Chaoyang, Beijing, China



And.... that's the end of Day 2! Thank you for sticking with me and I hope you enjoyed reading this post. In the next entry, I'll cover Day 3 where my mum and I went to the Old Summer Palace (where the 12 zodiac heads were stolen). That'll be another picture-heavy post because there was just so much to see! Stay tuned!


Till then,

Fly Safe and Eat Happy, 
V