Beijing
South
Shopping streets - South of Tiananmen Square, there are shopping streets and it's an easy area to find lunch for kids. Lilulichang St. (near Hepingmen Gate, off Nanxinhua Jie) is a re-creation of a Qing dynasty village street, with shops where you can buy calligraphy materials, pottery, scrolls, and name chops. At 29 Liulichang St., stop in to the Beijing Shadow Puppet Theater to watch artisans at work making shadow puppets.
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Park) - Circles and squares never looked more beautiful than they do at the Temple of Heaven complex. Shapes and numbers have cosmological meanings - circles symbolize heaven, squares symbolize earth, four columns represent the four seasons, twelve columns represent the months of the year, the number nine is divine (heaven has nine levels). Each year at the winter solstice, the emperor visited the Hall of Prayer for a Good Harvest and sacrificed at the Altar of Heaven to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Kids can stand on the round stone in the middle of the Altar of Heaven (Circular Mound Altar). Look down at the concentric circles around the stone, 9x9. Each circle is the number nine multiplied, out to nine circles. The round Altar of Heaven sits on a square base, which has four different entrances (and each with has nine steps).
In the Hall of Prayer for a Good Harvest, count the columns. There are 28 columns, 4 big ones +12+12 = four seasons, plus twelve months, plus twelve Shichen hours (the day was divided into 12 hours).
Temple of Heaven Park - The Temple of Heaven complex is bigger than the Forbidden City, so take time to explore the park. There are other exquisite pavilions to discover, grassy areas and flowering tree, bring kites to fly, and you might hear people playing flutes and the erhu (traditional Chinese stringed instrument). Ancient Observatory (Jianguomen Neidajie) - For millennia, the Chinese have been very interested in astronomy (as well as astrology). The Ancient Observatory (Beijing Ancient Instruments Astronomical Instruments Display Hall) was originally a 15th century Ming dynasty observatory. On the roof are eight huge bronze astronomical instruments - a celestial globe and other instruments to measure the position of the sun, moon and planets, all fantastically decorated with flying dragons and other motifs. One the oldest observatories in the world, these instruments are fascinating for kids. Closed Mon. and Tues.
Beijing Amusement Park - Situated on an island in the middle of a lake, the giant ferris wheel ride will give you a panoramic view of Beijing. Older kids will get a gasp out of the bumper cars, go-karts, roller coasters and water rides. Everyone in the family can have fun with mini-golf. This is a great place to relax, when you need a break from temples and palaces.
