Entertainment at the Temple of Heaven

From Temple of Heaven

When we went to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, it was on a Sunday. There were many local folks there entertaining each other. I thought at first that they were entertaining as a money-making enterprise, but Tom told us that this is just a place they go to express themselves. I never saw a hat out or anything - of course, I'm not sure if this would be allowed anyway in a communist country?

This young couple was dancing -

From Temple of Heaven

This man was singing in very high voice -

From Temple of Heaven

When I asked our guide what the man was singing about he told me, "Long ago in China it was illegal for a girl to be an actor. Men played the girl part. After doing this a long time, men forget that they are men and think they are women. This is what has happened to this man." Not really what I was asking, but it did give me some insight into a few other things we saw.

An accordion player -

From Temple of Heaven

Some sort of martial arts -

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A game between father and son -

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And what was the most entertaining to me - the children -

From Temple of Heaven

And I'm sure we foreigners were a bit entertaining to them, too -

From Temple of Heaven