Entrance to the Harmony Lama Temple
(otherwise known as Yonghe Lamasery or Palace of Peace)
On Saturday January 2nd, 2010, Jenni and I made our way over to the Lama Temple located in the northeast area of Beijing. The Lama temple began being built in 1694 and became the residence of Yongzheng Emperor. When he died in 1735, the temple became the residence for many Tibetan Buddhist Monks. This beautiful palace is one of the most important and largest Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries in the world. It's blend of Tibetan and Han Chinese styles of art truly makes the temple unique.
The artwork inside and out was gorgeous and there were well-crafted statues of Buddha everywhere. My favorite Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, was located in the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses. This phenomenal 18m (59 feet) Buddha was carved from a single piece of White Sandalwood. The colors were brilliant and their were long pieces of bright silk flowing from its fingertips. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside this building.
We weren't allowed to take pictures in the building, but I found this picture off the internet. This is the Maitreya Buddha we saw! Isn't it beautiful and ginormous!
Since it was off tourist season Jenni and I were able to wander throughout the temple without a huge crowd. It was so neat being able to observe the peaceful temple in the early morning hours. The weather brought us snow, which made the temple even more enchanting. There were many other foreigners, but that didn't stop people from worshipping. Monks were seen casually walking around amongst the visitors. Many people brought their own incense and were burning them and bowing before Buddhas inside several buildings. It was such a neat place!
It was neat because, Jenni and I participated a bit during worship bowing and burning our own incense.
Lanterns outside one of the several stores selling incense outside of the Lama Temple
Visitors worshipping
One of the many Buddhas. He looks so happy!
Before entering on of the temple halls, worshippers burned incense and bowed several times.
Those Pandas are EVERYWHERE! (Just outside the Lama Temple)
A monk quietly observing the visitors
Banging of the bell
Spinning for good fortune!
After the Lama temple, Laura, Jenni, Linsey, and I made our way over to the Panjiayuan or Dirt (cheap) Market. You could find nearly everything at this outdoor market! It was amazing! I was told to bargain before buying anything, otherwise, you might get jipped! I heard that the price is sometimes ten times higher than what the item is truly worth!
Well....
To start with, I have never bargained before this trip and I quickly found out why! I don't like getting into confrontations with people and if they show any emotion I crumble! On the other hand, Jenni flourished and truly enjoyed playfully disputing with some of the sellers and they seemed to enjoy her as well. It is such a psychological game! A few things I learned along the way when it comes to bargaining are:
1) Never tell the price you are willing to pay even when they ask so that you can get an idea of what the item is really worth.
2) Don't show a lot of interest in whatever it is you want to buy, otherwise, they WON'T let you walk away (a lady even yanked my arm!) or lower the price.
3) Walk away when you feel like the price is too high and they aren't working with you (most of the time the sellers dropped the price when I did that).
Well, I am no expert, I promise, but it was an interesting experience! I'm proud to say, I only left with a pretty pair of earrings! Wow!
After the Pankiayuan Market, we made our way over to Silk Street. The Silk Market is a shopping center with over 1,700 retail vendors. It is very famous, although a lot of things there are counterfeit and very low quality. Since we were in Beijing, we thought we would check it out! Now, I thought the Dirt Market was intimidating, little did I know what I was getting into! I just wanted to experience the market and didn't plan on buying anything, but most of the time, I was running away from vendors who were chasing me. They were telling me things like, "Lady, I got boots!", "Lady, wanna purse?!", "shoes, good price!", "You like that, Lady?". It was humerous for awhile!
If you express any interest, they would show you something inside their vendor area where they would corner you and you couldn't escape! Laura was told, "Lady, you need a doctor!" when she refused a price from a woman and Jenni was told, "You're crazy!" We were at one counter for awhile and a woman kept saying over and over, "You killing me! You killing me!" ha ha. Overall, there were a lot of overboard sales people, but we did manage to laugh and make friends with some of the workers. It was a great place to people watch; I caught myself laughing a lot! Laura, our beautician, did help me pick out some make-up. That was fun!
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