Sometimes I wish that I wasen’t so stingy… this day, I decided to get another bus-experience in Beijing by going to Temple of Heaven… a mere 14 km. away from my hotel – and line 826 going directly there. So I took the bus…
An hour later! the bus broke down at the XiDan district, which is a major shopping area (pictures in the Beijing gallery):
So I decided that I would continue using the subway. After all, this must be very effective and another true Chinese experience. So I ventured down the subway to realize that there was nowhere I could find out, which station was close to the Temple of Heaven, and that even though I had a map with stations AND temple of heaven on it…
So I asked at the ticket counter and to my surprise, she spoke a bit english and simply said: Change to line 5 at Dongshan. Beijing has 5 subway lines now, but another 9 is on their way.
After app. 30 minutes I arrived at Temple of heaven, to find that it is a major park and the place, where the emperors would pray for a great harvest.
Lovely… And thoug I spend the better of 3 hours there, still not enough time to enjoy the park fully… I could spend a day here if not in a rush.
