The Temple of Heaven

Beijing's Temple of Heaven is surrounded by a huge park. As we walked up to the Temple, we caught a glimpse of Beijing's people visiting a place beautiful to both them and outsiders. They practiced tai chi. They strolled hand in hand. They danced to the sounds of traditional music vibrating from speakers. They played dominoes. They kicked feathered hacky sacks. It was amazing to see such vibrant and colorful life surrounding me.


The Temple it's self was beautiful. Three tiers of elaborately painted blue, red, and gold, the Temple was surviving from the fifteenth century, a place where farmers would come to pray for a good harvest.



In the park, we were given a tai chi lesson. Tai chi was different than I thought it would be--often it's confused with Kung Fu. However, although tai chi was about self defense, it stressed slower, fluid motions and control over one's body. At first glimpse it seemed easy, but I discovered that truly mastering the intricacies of the poses would take years. Our tour guide, Jacky (not Chan) was a tai chi master in several of the different styles.



Our tai chi lesson in the middle of the bustling park contributed to what seemed to me to be a separation between modern China and traditional China. It felt as though the country was caught between progressing forward through new technologies and celebrating its past. Cities like Shanghai were focused on building the tallest and brightest skyscrapers, the most fantastic World's Fair, the most affluent citizens. I wondered if China's push to be a modern world power was at the expense of its traditions.