The Temple of Heaven, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Beijing, is surrounded by a huge park - appropriately named the Temple of Heaven Park.  However, most tourists skip the park, which is unfortunate because the sights they would find the most interesting are there.  The park is where the daily life of older generations in Beijing can be observed up close.  Here, a man in the park plays an erhu, a traditional two-stringed instrument with the bow running between the strings.

Many hundreds of locals visit the park every day - to exercise, gossip with friends, play games and musical instruments, and fly kites.  The corridor here is just outside the east entrance to the Temple of Heaven.

Another old Beijinger plays erhu.  Often the songs played are from traditional Chinese operas, and it is not unusual for strangers in the park to walk up and begin singing the words to the opera while someone is playing.

The erhu may be the instrument of choice at the park - I counted half a dozen players on my walk through the corridor - but players of the flute and other instruments can be found, and singers join in with them as well.

What the tourists see: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a globally recognized icon for Beijing.  Originally built during the Ming dynasty nearly six hundred years ago, it was struck by lightning over a hundred years ago and quickly rebuilt.  This is just one of the structures that make up the entire Temple of Heaven, but it’s the most important one.  The temple rests on a circular white marble terrace, which rests on a large square base called the Altar of Prayer for Grain.  Circles and squares play a major role in the architecture here; temples are round, symbolizing heaven, while their bases are square, symbolizing the earth.  Even the surrounding park adopts this philosophy; the northern end is semicircular, while the southern end is squared off.

Roof edge ceramics of one of the side halls on the Altar of Prayer for Grain.  The blue tiles represent heaven; in other parts of the temple complex, green tiles represent earth.  From the time it was first built, the emperor - the Son of Heaven - would hold a ceremony at the temple each spring to pray for a good harvest that year.

The Red Stairway Bridge, a long path connecting the southern structures of the Temple of Heaven to the northern structures.  This view looks north toward the gates of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.  The walkway inclines slightly throughout the approach from south to north - from earth to heaven.

Detail of a temple wall, with dragons in the ceramic tiles.

Back out in the park.  While the park is full of nature, it isn’t exactly natural; trees are lined up precisely throughout.

I stumbled upon this pavilion in the northwest part of the park by chance, and it was quite a find.  This is Shuanghuan Pavilion, also known as the Double Ring Longevity Pavilion, ordered built by Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong for his mother’s fiftieth birthday over 270 years ago.  The pavilion was originally built near the Forbidden City, and was moved to this location in 1977.

Roof detail of Shuanghuan Pavilion.  The two sets of rings intersect; from the top, the roof would look somewhat like a Mastercard logo.

A group of students, all wearing the same outfits, sit on the grass near the pavilion drawing sketches of the view.

The pavilion has corridors leading off either side, and Beijing locals gather here just as they do in the larger corridors near the Temple of Heaven.  This artwork appears over the entrance to one of the corridors.  Again, this sight is something most tourists don’t get to see when they visit the Temple of Heaven, and why it’s good to sometimes break away from tour groups.