We started the day with Beijing subway rush hour as we took a line to the Temple of Heaven. At the Temple of Heaven we got a sense for the grand scale which the emperor prayed for the continuation of prosperity to fulfill his Mandate of Heaven.
The emperor would at most visit the Temple of Heaven three times a year to pray, and the array of blue roofs mirrors the heavenly setting that was meant for the Emperor.
Afterwards we visited the Forbidden City, and ate lunch there. The Forbidden City was filled with buildings with yellow roofs and many galleries and gift stores as well as buildings set up to more closely resemble how past emperors, empresses, concubines, and children would use spaces.
We also saw the gardens and even a slightly disappointing “five star bathroom” (other non-five-star-bathrooms were much more impressive). From there, we crossed to see the hill behind the Forbidden City.
We then went to the Drum Tower to see the Hutongs of Beijing. The alley-like houses were lined with alleys of stores and vendors and many of the traditional houses I walked by had been bought as status symbols and had been renovated. We tried different kinds of tanghulu and walked by the school area of the Hutong, finally making our way to one final dinner that Professor Zhou had personally ordered with some alums!
The dinner was the perfect final communal meal. Then with the help of one of the Alums (Doudou) the students all went to karaoke in a mall near our hotel! We shalala’ed for “Yesterday Once More,” and that was our last full day together in China!