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A typical feature of Chinese Spring Festival celebrations are the temple fairs. At this one, in Chaoyang park I won this big stuffed Doraemon for Carina by throwing some softballs into a peach basket. Viewed: 133 times.
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This Spring Festival fair on a historic street in the south of Beijing had a different feeling from others. Instead of rides and games, this one was all about the vendors selling traditional old Beijing food and crafts. Viewed: 129 times.
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For our own Spring Festival dinner, me and Carina made our own dumplings (jiaozi) from scratch. She made the pretty half-moon pillows on the left. I made the angry ridged dinosaurs on the right. Viewed: 130 times.
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During spring festival many locals visit the Lama Temple to pray for luck in the coming year. I hadn't been there for a few years, and it was great to see the place alive and bustling with worshipers, instead of tourists. Viewed: 129 times.
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Some amazing statues inside the Lama Temple. Viewed: 127 times.
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I'm standing in a courtyard of the Lama Temple. Viewed: 132 times.
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Here's Carina putting incense into one of the temple's burners. Viewed: 118 times.
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Here's Carina ringing the good for good luck. Viewed: 129 times.
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After our visit to the Lama temple we decided to explore the historic area around the temple. Here there are old streets, a Confucius temple, and the original university which prepared students for the ancient imperial exam. Viewed: 120 times.
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Confucius stands watch over the courtyard of his temple. The Confucius temple has a much different feel from the Lama Temple, which is a Buddhist temple. Its much more open and austere. No buildings filled with statues, or crowds of worshipers burning incense. Viewed: 154 times.
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At another temple fair, this time in the Temple of Earth (Ditan) Park we saw Chairman Mao. I'm guessing he might not be the real thing. Viewed: 134 times.
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I'm not exactly sure how pleasant it is to roll around in a giant inflated ball over a pool of half frozen ice and water. But anyway, these kids seem to be having fun. Viewed: 139 times.
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After the weather had warmed up a bit, me and Carina took a day trip out the eastern outskirts of Beijing to visit the Fahai Temple. This is a pretty low key place, and it was nice to get outside the city, see the local suburbs, and enjoy a bit more of a natural environment than we get in downtown Beijing. Viewed: 130 times.
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We're climbing our way up the hill through the courtyards of the temple. Viewed: 144 times.
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This temple was constructed in 1443 and boasts some amazing and apparently famous, murals depicting Buddhist beliefs. Sadly, the original murals are closed to the public. But we learned all about them, and saw the exact reproductions that have been created for tourists to view. Viewed: 134 times.
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One of the temple's residents was this really dirty old cat. It looked like it had a hard life and was not really friendly to visitors. Viewed: 143 times.
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Just a short walk from the Fahai Temple is the Tomb of Eunuch Tian Yi, which has some great stone statues in the courtyard. Viewed: 147 times.
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Me and Carina go down to explore the depths of the tomb. Viewed: 127 times.
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The Eunuch Tian Yi must have been rather short and thin. His tomb doesn't have much room to stretch out and get comfortable. Viewed: 131 times.
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This was not an easy picture to take. I had to press the camera button and then jump up on that horse before the 10 second timer ran out. It took a few attempts before I made it just in time. Viewed: 151 times.
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Carina relaxes on a statue. Viewed: 132 times.
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Who can resist the temptation of putting their own head on top of a famous statue? Viewed: 131 times.
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In summer time me and Carina decided to visit Houhai for a day of bike riding and boating around the lake. Viewed: 135 times.
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After we rode around for an hour or so we took a rest on a bench by the lake. Then we both got up the energy for another trip around the lake on the hot sunny day. Viewed: 142 times.
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After a whole afternoon of bike riding we rented a paddle boat and drifted lazily around the lake watching people and dogs enjoy the water. Viewed: 133 times.
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These dogs had an amazing amount of energy, swimming out to fetch balls, following their owners on pretty long swims, and then bounding out of the water to play on shore. It was a non-stop show. Viewed: 137 times.
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