Walking Around Beijing....Yeah, Like THAT's Really Trying Something Different

On Fridays, I only have one class that goes from 1:30 - 4:15, leaving my mornings free, basically. So, once I awoke and saw that we had been blessed with yet another almost unusually clear day, I figured to myself, what's the harm in a little bit of early-morning exploring?

Thus, I took the #5 line subway and transferred to the #1 line to take me to Wangfujing, home of majestic St. Joseph's Cathedral, still standing after all these years (at least still standing since it was last destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion, where most of the old churches in the city met a similar fate, and thus had to be rebuilt). 

There was a cluster of folks doing their morning Tai-chi exercises there, which I find a tad ironic. 
Anyway, at that point, I finally saw just how almost freakishly smog-free the day was. Once this all sunk in, I immediately realized where I had to go - Jingshan Park, located just behind the Forbidden City (where I snapped these pictures of one of the arrow towers standing at the corner of the imperial palace complex.)

As some of you may recall, I had already visited the former Imperial Park before out of hopes of enjoying a fine view of the city. Unfortunately, the smog that day had other plans in mind, as can be seen with one of the pictures I took that day from the highest naturally elevated point in the city. 

Yes, definitely not a pretty sight....or really much of a sight, period. It's really quite amazing what a little bit of pollution can do, and even more amazing what a difference clear skies can make. 

Feeling energized, I then scurried off next door to Beihai park to pay it another visit as well, where I was able to take a pleasant lakeside stroll. 

This was literally the only tree in the whole park whose leaves had changed color. 

While there, I discovered the delightful historical relic that is Nine-Dragon Screen, which is a wall displaying nine dragons on either side (don't ask me why, that's just what the imperial family wanted for some reason at the time). 

Here you see some of the pavilions, which were being used that morning for an amateur musical act.
This is a temple, I think. I'll be honest, all the buildings were all starting to look alike to me at that point in my stroll.

Not only can you see Jingshan Park on the right here, but you can also see the tallest building in Beijing, which truthfully isn't much to look at when compared to the Empire State Building or Chrysler Tower back home. 

Before heading home for class, I stopped by quickly at the  National Center for the Performing Arts, known by many simply as "The Egg" for obvious reasons. 

While it's quite an interesting spectacle in the daytime, what you'll see then doesn't compare at all to the beauty that you'll witness when viewed in the fading light of the setting sun, which is what I did as soon as my history class let out. 

The Egg is literally right behind the Great Hall of the People, one of the buildings luckily facing Tiananmen Square, for once I was through looking at the Egg, I turned a corner and managed to catch the tail-end of the daily national flag-lowering ceremony. 

I've read that the flag in Tiananmen is raised at sunrise every day, and likewise lowered at sunset, where it's then folded, then escorted by armed guard across the street into the Forbidden City.
No joke, they actually temporarily block off traffic for this, every day. 

It would seem like I already had a full day at that point, but I wasn't through yet. According to my China travel guide, St. Jospeh's Cathedral is apparently quite a sight when it's lit up at night....and let me tell you, that book was not exaggerating one bit at all. 

 

Finally though, after enjoying the scenery, at last I decided that I was through, and wearily hopped aboard the subway back to my current home at UIBE, where my bed awaited me.