More of Beijing

Temple of Heaven: Built in 1420 AD and used by the Ming and Qing dynasties as they prayed to Heaven for a good harvest. It was renovated and expanded in the 1700's and restored in the early 1900's.





Here are some pictures of the Olympic Venues: The Water Cube, Birds Nest, and Olympic Torch (sorry its sideways. I couldn't get it to rotate.). I couldn't get any closer because they are locked down for security right now...and the area is still under construction.

The Sacred Way. Huge stone statues. They have 4 of each animal, 2 on each side. The first set is standing and the next set is kneeling. It was really cool to see. I'm thinking of bringing one home for a pet.

This is one of the Ming Tombs. There are about 15 of them. Tombs built for the Emperors during the Ming Dynasty. I forgot which emperor this was. He was buried with an Emperess on each side of him and then 26 boxes full of gifts or items they would need in the next life. We walked down about 4 flights of stairs to get to the tombs. The coffins and boxes would be in one room and just outside the room would have a throne for the emperor and each emperess.