Flag Raising, Forbidden City, Parks and Lama Temple

Beijing Day 2

Our intended plan for this day is to be at Tiananmen Square at sunrise for the flag raising, then to the Forbidden City, next to Bahai Park, The finish at the Lama Temple. 

We arrived at breakfast 15 minutes early and things were almost ready and we were allowed to start breakfast before the 0600 opening, same great breakfast as the day before. We fueled up for the day and were soon on our way to Tiananmen Square. 

Exactly at sunrise, there is a flag raising ceremony conducted by uniformed troops. The entire ceremony lasts only 3 minutes. It takes about 2 minutes and 7 seconds for the entire sun to rise above the horizon, so the flag is raised very slowly in 2 minutes and 7 seconds as well. It is exactly timed to coincide with sunrise. So to watch it, you'll need to get there early as this is a very well attended event. 

A squad of troops emerge from Tiananmen Tower a few minutes before sunrise, and they march to the flag pole in formation across a bridge in front of the tower. All traffic around the square is stopped for this event. The entire event lasts only about three minutes. 

So if you want to get close to see the troops, get there earlier. We were there 35 minutes early and a very large crowd had already formed about 10-15 people deep near the flag pole. We have also attended this during The National Holiday and the crowds were in the 100,000s or more. Today I would guess about 50,000 people were in attendance. 

We staged on the side of the square and a father and daughter soon arrived. I motioned for the daughter to stand in front of us and they were appreciative. After the ceremony the father asked for some of my photos, and we exchanged emails. Fingers crossed for some good pictures and that the email exchange works. 

Lynn realized she had forgotten her phone, so we returned to our hotel to get her phone. In the past we have usually walked to the ceremony as sunrise was before the Metro started operation. Today we took the Metro to save some steps on what is expected tp be a long day.   

After getting Lynn’s phone we returned to Tiananmen Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City. 

Since the last time we were here, there have been some changes to how one get tickets and enters. Some of these changes might be because it is Winter. 

The area purchase tickets is now on the right side and the tickets are not nice picture tickets. Just a piece of paper with a computer code. The cost is 20 Yuan ($3.00).  Also your will need to present your passport to purchase tickets (our passport card worked for this). I wondered if they noted we were frequent visitors? As with all attractions there is a security check point (also one to enter the Metro). I think they must profile. 

Todays visit was the least crowded of any of our previous visits. Lynn and I both noticed some changes and the experience seemed more commercial as there were many more Museum Shops. That goodness no touristy junk  ( what I call Rubber Tomahawk Shops)  being sold.  There was a good bit of preparation starting for the New Year and the 2022 Para-Olympics. 

Now there is a separate 10 Yuan ticket charge to see the treasures and 9 Dragon Screen. Also many of the old stone steps are covered with new steps, probably a good safety improvement as well as a preservation effort. Also now you can not get as close to the interiors of the temples as there are fences set back several feet. 

Considered a divine place, it was certainly forbidden to ordinary people and that is why the Forbidden City is so named.

The Forbidden City covers an area of about 180 acres with a total floor space of approximately 1,600,000 square feet. It consists of more than 90 palaces and courtyards, 980 buildings and over 8,728 rooms. (A common myth states that there are 9,999.5 rooms, but it is not supported by survey evidence.)

On the roofs there are many decorations. 

There is a row of mystical statues placed on the Ridgeline of the halls.  

The animals, like dragons, phoenixes, and lions, have powerful meanings in Chinese culture.

The number of animals is different based on the importance of the buildings. You can see nine animals on the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the most important structure in the Forbidden City, and seven on the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the residence of the Empress.

Also around the Halls are large vats or cauldrons. These are an early fire prevention measure. They were filled with water standing at the ready in the event of a fire. 

We left the Forbidden city and walked to Beihai Park. This is our first visit to Beihai Park in the winter. We found the lake frozen over and many skating activities in progress. The pictures describe best what we found. 

He did not fall 

Need to ID this bird? 

After finding the Nine Dragon Screen, we walked to a nearby metro station and made our way to the Lama Temple. 

For me the main reason to visit this temple is the The statue of Buddha Maitreya. Carved from one precious white sandalwood log from Nepal, it is the largest wooden buddha in the world.  Standing 18 meters high above ground, and 8 meters deep below ground, the Buddha's body is 26 meters high and 8 meters wide. The seventh Dalai Lama gifted Emperor Qianlong with the sandal wood in the 1750s. It is simply amazing. 

After the Llama Temple we made out way back to the Metro and headed to our hotel to repack and prepare for the next days journey to Vietnam. It was a long day as we walked over 11 miles. 

Today was much cooler than yesterday, and the air quality turned a bit hazy.