Beijing, China: The Temple of Heaven (a must see)

The Temple of Heaven is a sizable temple complex in Beijing.  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Like many attractions in China, you do not get a map when entering, so be sure to print one at home and bring it with you. You should plan on spending a couple to several hours here as it is a sizeable complex.

Inconveniently, my (pre-tested at home) remote selfie button wouldn’t work at the Hall of Good Harvests, but luckily a couple from Colombia that I had met the previous day on a Great Wall tour walked up and asked me if I could use someone to take my picture.   A surprise reunion occurred and I got a decent picture. So, non-selfie picture above.
 
One of my favorite things there is a long covered walkway that goes from near the entrance to the temples.  The entire length is lined with locals playing card games, knitting, and playing music, among other activities. It’s nice to see that the locals enjoy all these parks and use them as living rooms.  Often there are special tickets to the areas that the tourists want to see, but the locals can get into the park itself for free or cheap and use it as a meeting place for friends and family.

Here is a saxophone player in a park near the Forbidden City.

A third attraction is the beautiful Circular Mound Altar.  It is 3 levels of circular white marble platforms with carvings of dragons on them.  At the top, you can stand on the small circle where the emperor made decrees but there is nearly always a long line to get a picture there.