Temple of Heaven

At this point we were running late for the Temple of Heaven. We needed to skip lunch to get there in time to enter before they stopped selling tickets. This is where we stopped at the 7/11. I didn't mind skipping the restaurant meal as by this time I was having a pretty severe headache reaction to the MSG which was prevalent in all the restaurant food.

The walkway to the Temple of Heaven (pic. 1) was an interesting social area. Lots of card playing, hacky sack kicking, singing groups, musicians etc. Apparently now that it is open to the public it has become a gathering place for local residents to unwind and relax.

Pic. 2 shows the first of three round temple areas. The standard central ramp carving featured phoenixes (pic. 3). There were two buildings in this area with displays showing the ceremonial activities of the temple along with a description of the history and architecture. This added a nice overview of the temple to my experience.