The Temple of Heaven 天坛, BeiJing (3)

Bonus film - the Great Wall near Beijing in 4K ...

Nestled on a remote hillside in JiangXi province, it is part of the natural landscape and a haven of a simpler life ... Bonus films ...

The magnificent Temple of Heaven (TianTan) was constructed between 1406 and 1420 (Ming dynasty) during the reign of the emperor YongLe who also oversaw the construction of the Forbidden City.The Temple of Heaven was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for good harvests. The temple complex was extended during the reign of emperor JiaJing during the 16th century (Ming dynasty). JiaJing also constructed three other key temples in Beijing : the Temple of the Sun in the east, the Temple of the Moon in the west, and the Temple of Earth in the north. Emperor QianLong directed a renovation of the Temple of Heaven during the 18th century (Qing dynasty). The architecture and layout of the Temple of Heaven is based on elaborate symbolism and numerology. One example is that the buildings and their settings reflect ancient Chinese religious beliefs that imagine heaven as round and earth as square. Because the Temple of Heaven was to be the place representing Heaven on Earth, it needed to be larger than the Forbidden City; it covers approximately twice the area and is about 2 kilometers from north to south, the primary axis with three main structures; indeed, it is the largest group of constructions for worship in the world. In 1998, the Temple of Heaven was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (6 million USD) renovation that was completed on May 1st, 2006. The Temple of Heaven is a delightful place to spend some time. Arrive in the early morning to watch the Tai Chi experts, although the park is lively all day and into the evening with kite flyers, musicians, singers, dancers and games players (from badminton to Chinese chess).

On a trip to Yunhe Terrace in Lishui, Zhejiang in 2016, mother fell in love with the beautiful views and fresh air there. Recalling that mother sold family house in hometown to raise money for his tuition to study abroad 16 years ago, Tian rent a 2-mu land 1030 meters above the sea level and built his mother a new house surrounded by mountains and clouds. The spare rooms are used to run a guesthouse. 2016年，建築師田景海帶著母親去浙江麗水的雲和梯田旅遊，母親愛上了這兒的好山好水好空氣。想起16年前母親為了籌措自己留學的學費，賣掉老家的房子，田景海便在麗水租下2畝地，在海拔1030米的雲海山間，為媽媽造了一個新宅，空餘房間則用來做民宿。 Ye Hui is a poet. He is passionate about the fate of people, and his poems have been selected many times in the "Chinese Annual Poetry". Meanwhile he is an architect, specializing in old building renovation. In 2014, Ye Hui bought a lakeview villa in Nanjing. Living in a house with 400-square-meter indoor area and an 800-square-meter courtyard, he spends most of his time in a 3-square-meter space. 葉輝是詩人，他的詩作飽含情感地關注著人的命運，多次入選《中國年度詩歌》，同時他也是一位建築師，擅長老建築改造。2014年，葉輝買下南京的一套湖景別墅，室內空間400㎡，內院800㎡，不過他最常待的工作空間，只有3㎡。

Twilight ... See you again ... MV - my hometown, NanJing ... Flowers (one girl band) ... A little flamenco ... Can you feel my love ? - with JoySide ...

ShānDōng lies on the coast in east China, roughly halfway between BeiJing and ShangHai. Provincial capital : JiNan. Also includes the city of QuFu, the birthplace of Confucius. Other well-known cities include QingDao, ZaoZhuang, YanTai, WeiFang, JiNing, LinYi and DeZhou. Among others, ShanDong is known for TaiShan sacred mountain, a large number of natural springs that arise from the mountains to the west (ShanDong means 'East of the Mountains), DaMing Lake formed from the spring waters, LaoShan Scenic Area, Thousand Buddha Mountain, LingYan Temple - one of the 4 most famous temples (四大名刹) from the Tang dynasty, PengLai Pavilion, wine-making and its distinctive cuisine, partly centered on seafood.

Lotus Lane is a charming place to wander and a lively place in the evening to dine and listen to live music ... Often mis-named as HouHai, which is actually another lake immediately to the north, these lakes form part of ShiChaHai, once the docks at the northern end of the Grand Canal from HangZhou. To the south lies BeiHai and JingShan Parks and to the north, the Drum and Bell Towers; east from there lies NanLuoGuXiang, a largely pedestrianized hutong filled with craft and speciality shops and cafes.

Despite its northern location, Beijing, the blue sky city, is one of the sunniest places in China and, in summer, also one of the hottest. Although around 1,000 miles north of Shanghai, and some 2,000 miles north of Hong Kong and tropical Hainan, Beijing is hotter through the summer months (mid-may to mid-September). Generally a dry heat, tropical thunderstorms can appear on occasion, and with night time temperatures in the 70s you'll be dancing in the rain ;) Excursion ideas : the in-the-mountains Buddhist temples of JieTaiSi and TanZheSi (bus, from the western end of metro line 1), the coastal city of TianJin (train), the beach at BeiDaiHe (train) and the nearby eastern end of the Great Wall (QinHuangDao), the imperial summer resort of ChengDe (combine with a visit to Simatai / JinShanLing Great Wall; coach or train), LongQing Gorge (LongQing Xia), the Spirit Way and general countryside at the Ming Tombs. TianJin can be a day trip as it is connected by high-speed rail, but two days would be great too. For ChengDe or BeiDaiHe, two or three days is best. Remember to take your passport in order to check in to a hotel. Or (more locally) visit the beach / pool at ChaoYang Park. Also, consider the Summer Palace (YiHeYuan), YuanMingYuan (the 'old' / original Summer Palace), BeiHai and JingShan Parks, the Ethic Culture Park (MinZu), the Olympic Forest Park, and these places in the Western Hills: XiangShan Park, Beijing Botanical Garden, BaDaChu (Eight Great (Buddhist) Sites area).

A beautiful region of wonderful landscapes and with a part Tibetan population in north west YunNan province ...

Take time to relax ...