1800What? Beijing Windows

Quieltly located in the southwest part of Beijing, Pagoda of Heavenly Peace or Tianningsita according to the locals used to be the tallest man-made structure in Beijing. The first temple was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty of China at late 5th century, and a 13 stories stone pagoda was added to the spot during the Liao Dynasty. Since the Ming Dynasty, the temple and pagoda was called Tianningsi.

The 57.8 meters high Tianningsi Pagoda is one of the masterpieces of traditional Chinese architecture. Temple of Heavenly Peace is quite small compared with major temples in Beijing. A 20-minute-tour should be sufficient for most of ordinary tourists. The Tianningsi Pagoda is the most precious treasure in this temple. Due to its small size and kinds of isolated location, Tianningsi is usually very quiet and peaceful, just likes its name “Temple of Heavenly Peace”. The octagonal Tianningsi Pagoda rests on a large square platform, and it is divided into three sections: the base, the body and the 13-story tower. Wonderful relief sculptures adorn the eight sides of the pagoda’s body, above layers of enormous lotus petals. Unfortunately, a large part of the relief sculptures has been destroied either by the elapse of time or by the “Red guards” during the culture revolution period.

Tianningsi is situated on a quiet lane of Beijing.

The entrance of Tianningsi Temple

The front yard of the Tianningsi Temple

Chinese and English Introduction about the Tianningsi Pagoda

The base and body of Tianingsi Pagoda

Look up the Tianningsi Pagoda from the front side

Seriously damaged relief sculptures

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures on the back side which faces the north. I guess the harsh wind from the north during the winter is responsible for the distruction.

Almost totally damaged relief sculptures

The front side of the body is relatively well protected.

A full view of the front side. If you want to circle around the pagoda, you should start here and walk in a clockwise direction around the pagoda to show your respect to the ancient spirit.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Closing Ceremony will be held in the Beijing National Stadium (The Bird’s Nest) from 20:00 to 23:00 on August 24, 2008. The opening ceremony was splendid and received glorification from media at home and abroad. We have a good reason to expect a spectacular closing ceremony on 24 August.

Unlike the highly confidential opening ceremony before the real show, press release some details about the closing ceremony.

Famous Chinese soprano Song Zuying and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo will sing the theme song of the closing ceremony together. The Chinese Kungfu show by 199 young Shaolin monks will be an important episode during on Sunday night. The closing ceremony will be another “fireworks feast” for the Beijingers and all the audiences who watch the show on TV.

London, as the successor to Beijing, has prepared an eight-minute performance presented by the Royal Opera House, Zoo Nation Dance Company and the Candoco Dance Company on Sunday night.

Olympic flame will be extinguished and the Olympic Flag will be handed over to London at the closing ceremony on 24 August. Prime Minister of UK Gordon Brown, London Mayor Boris Johnson, singer Leona Lewis, football star David Beckham will represent London at Sunday’s closing ceremony in Beijing.

To celebrate the success of 2008 Beijing Olympic, Royal Mail of UK and China Post will jointly issue A special set of four stamps to mark Olympics handover on August 24.

Night view of the Bird’s Nest

Ms. Song Zuying

The Stamps

How to decipher a Chineese menu is absolutely a challenge for those tourists pay their first visit to China. The good news is that many restaurants in Beijing have English menu available and the Chinese government just implanted a regulation to ensure the English dish names on any menu are standardized and correct. The bad news is that even though foreigners still need to put some efforts to make sure what they really want to order is the same dish served on their table.

Dining at a real Chinese restaurant is still an adventure in eating. The names may be unfamiliar, but here are some of the most common dishes on a Chinese menu.

A Chinese-English Menu

回锅肉 Sautéed Sliced Pork with Pepper and Chili

京酱肉丝 Sautéed Shredded Pork in Sweet Bean Sauce

木须肉 Sautéed Sliced Pork, Eggs and Black Fungus

糖醋排骨 Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

四喜丸子 Four-Joy Meatballs (Meat Balls Braised with Brown Sauce

宫保鸡丁 Kung Pao Chicken

口水鸡 Steamed Chicken with Chili Sauce

酸菜鱼 Boiled Fish with Pickled Cabbageand Chili

咕咾肉 Sweet and Sour Pork

干烧带鱼 Braised fish with brown sauce

麻婆豆腐 pipa shaped bean curd balls

番茄炒蛋 Stir-fried egg with tomato

酱烧茄子 Eggplants with sweet soybean paste

扬州炒饭Yang Chow Fried Rice

北京烤鸭 Beijing Roast Duck

老北京炸酱面 Beijing Noodles with soybean paste