Friday, March 15,
2013
We had to
change hotels today. Going just couple
blocks away from the Hilton to Peninsular Hotel. Regent is paying for the hotel for all
passengers who will be doing the full 78 day cruise to London. In evening there will be “gala dinner” so we
can meet those people. Our driver hauled
bags and us over to the new hotel at 9am.
Normal check in time was not until 3pm but luckily they had a room ready
for us. Got to take our luggage up and
put money and jewelry in room safe.
Then we were
off for our day of touring. First stop
was Temple of Heaven in southern part of Beijing. It was built in 1420 during Ming Dynasty and
was place where the emperors would worship god of heaven and pray for a good
harvest. The place was huge and covered
674 acres and is 4 times larger than the Forbidden City. Now in the morning locals use it as place to
exercise. There were quite a few ladies
dancing while we were there.
Entrance to Temple of Heaven
Women dancing in morning for exercise
We are standing where Emperors stood to pray for good harvest.
From there we
drove to the Pearl Market. There were 5
stories of little shops selling electronics, clothes, watches, and lots of
jewelry, mainly pearls. We walked around
for about 30 minutes but was not at all interested in buying so told Jenny we
had had enough. Next door was a
McDonald’s and it was time for lunch.
Jenny was planning on another local Chinese restaurant but we told her
we wanted to eat here.
After lunch we
drove back north to the Summer Palace.
It is the largest garden in China at over 700 acres and was built in
1750. It is where the emperor and
emperoress would spend summer. A large
man-made lake was also built there.
Interesting tree
Marble boat
There was no line here!
We arrived
back at the hotel at 3pm and said our goodbyes to jenny and Mr Fang. Jenny was an excellent guide and we became
very close to her so was hard time. We
found the Regent help desk and got information about dinner that night. I went for walk as wanted to get some photos
of the “night food” street. It was a
long block along street with hundreds of food stalls. They would cook squid, scorpion, and god
knows what else for you. It is just open
from 4pm to 9pm.
Dinner was in
grand ball room scheduled for 7:30pm. We
went down a little early and they were already serving wine outside of the
room. At 7:30 we were seated and there
was 3 very attractive young ladies on stage playing ancient Chinese instruments
during the whole dinner. Very nice
touch! Regent always does things in
first class manner however. We saw
several couples who we knew from our 2010 world cruise and last year’s Circle
South America cruise. It was like a
reunion! The dinner was fantastic.
Entertainers at "gala dinner"
BEIJING BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Located in northern China, Beijing is the capital of the
“ People’s Republic of China”. With a population of nearly 21 million it is
one of the most populous cities in the world, however it is the second largest
Chinese city by urban population after Shanghai. Beijing is known for its grand palaces,
temples, gardens, tombs, walls, and gates.
It is the country’s political, cultural, and educational center. The international airport here is the second
busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
Its history dates back over 3000 years. Over time many dynasties or emperors ruled
China but that history fills many books so better not get into it on the
blog. Today the country is ruled by the
Communist Party of China.
Beijing is the home to the headquarters of most of
China’s largest state-owned companies and is a major transportation hub. Finance is one of the most important
industries. In recent years real estate
and automotive sectors have boomed.
Outside of the city, corn and wheat are the main agricultural crops
grown. Beijing is known for its smog
problem but Capital Steel Company, the largest polluter, has been moved out of
the city. In preparation for the 2008
Summer Olympics, the city spent $17 billion USD to try and clean up the air quality.
Port of Tianjin is the port for Beijing and where our
cruise ship will be located. It is
about 100 miles east of Beijing city, and is one of the largest ports by size
in the world. The port is the 4th
largest port in the world by tonnage of cargo coming through it.
China’s main religions are Buddhism and Taoism, although
some scholars doubt the term “religion” and suggest “cultural practices” or
“philosophies” as more appropriate.
"Night Food" Street
Not sure I would eat any of this.
https://goo.gl/photos/i1hT3PSr9mzUduvd9
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