The Temple of Heaven

- Taken from our Travel Journal - June 27, 2008

"Oh boy - only a few days to go and we're both pretty nervous. We prayed this morning and cried a bit. We're full of joy, yet reality hasn't quite sunk in. The thing is - the other adoptive parents we're traveling with feel just the same. This morning we met with all the other parents-to-be at a unique breakfast here at the hotel. We were up at 4:00 a.m. because of the jet lag, but aside from going to bed really early much later, the lag had little other effect.

Breakfast was good. My parents are really enjoying the trip - but things soon got better for us all. Today we toured Beijing and it was really foggy. But we actually prefer this weather over direct sunlight and the potential of 100 degree summer heat. The first stop on our tour was the Beijing Zoo, where we went to see the pandas.

I've never seen a panda before - but I made up for that today. There were plenty of pandas - all very close and most active, and we've enjoyed it greatly. We got you a panda umbrella and some panda nesting dolls as souvenirs. The recent earthquake has severely affected the region where the pandas are from, so many of them were shipped for their safety to the Beijing Zoo. This explains why we saw so many today - and it was quiet at the zoo too.

After that we journeyed to the Summer Palace, which was beautiful. The architecture and the natural scenery by the lakeside were spectacular. It was an interesting and peaceful walk through history - we saw the marble boat, walked the long walkway and even road on a dragon boat across the lake.

I took some nice photos of the rocks (except the "bad luck" rock) and the temples, especially the largest one there.

Next, we ate a delicious Chinese meal with our group. There was another stop along the way today though - and this was the one I was waiting for: the Temple of Heaven.

It was a lengthy walk, but the views were dramatic and iconic. It was great to stand "at the center of the universe" and walk along the Echo Wall - and eventually go to the tallest building there, positioned high over the entire area.

The location reminded me of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem - large stone courtyards and a large circular building in the center. The hushed reverence at the sight for some added to the atmosphere. We left along a long walkway filled with festive performers, and staggered to the bus, quite exhausted from a full day. We got back to the hotel and fell asleep almost immediately. Big day!"