We started Day 2 with a trip to Tiananmen Square, the site of Chairman Mao’s mausoleum. On the negative side, we happened to be visiting on a national holiday (The Dragon Boat Festival) and on the anniversary of the 1989 political protesters’ massacre, so it was extremely crowded. On the positive side, I got my 299th geocache. Luckily, it was a virtual.
Next stop was the Forbidden City, the location of the Chinese Imperial Palace during the Ming Dynasty. I don’t remember a lot about it, because it too was packed with people. I thought it ironic that 3 of its most prominent structures were the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony – tough to do with so much noise, heat, and smog.
The Lama Temple that we visited afterwards was much more enjoyable and peaceful, and their landscaping had not been trampled to the ground by tourists. This temple is called the Palace of Peace and Harmony, and is one of the most important monasteries in the world. The worshippers buy large packs of incense, and then light 3 sticks at a time to pay homage to Buddha at many different altars. The Buddha statues get progressively larger as you go from altar to altar. I think the final Buddha was over 3 stories tall.
