孔子寺庙 Confucious Temple

Confucious Temple, 30 Feb, 07
Today the Confucious Temple is under construction. However, there were some parts which were not.

Chinese gardens, temples definitely affect ones state of mind.

They are not just about destination

The grand big temples have such a dramatic effect. As sense of history is felt viewing the ancient stone tablets. There were many lined up in rows causing shadows and sunlight to hit the ground.

Delicate about birds fly about and land on the ancient rooftops. .

The sculpture of Confucious' captures the presence of a real person, the details in the clothes, body language and expression all speak volumes.


Beijing is an old city as well as a modern high paced city. The 10 lane highways are testament that this is a city brimming with life. They stretch out far into the distance. On many street corner in Beijing so many cars woosh past.

Beijing is famous for its bicycles. You can see on every street hordes of cyclists or at least a lone cyclist. There is something so simple about a lone cyclist riding along in this modern high tech city.

Dust abounds in Beijing. There is a greyness that covers cars, clothes and shoes. Just touch any hand rail and your palm will turn grey. This is in contrast to advertisements on bus stops that show a nuclear family with one child all dressed in white sitting on a clean white couch.

The beauty of chinese characters can be striking. Whether neon red or black caligraphy strokes, characters carved into trees - such as common surname 张 Zhang scratched into a tree, a hand painted crude sign painted in front of a shop, or gold embosed massive sign on a grand ancient traditonal chinese temple.

Hand made items and DIY fixit jobs give Beijing character and a rustic feel. a back alley with a broom just resting against the wall. hand made. straw put together and tied with another piece of straw. While China mass produces many plastic products for the west in a factory. Some of the products locally used - look less processed, there is more evidence of things being made by a person, not by machines in a factory line. And China has the population to make things by hand.

The big population ensures that all the shops and restaurants are amply staffed. Sometimes staff are in such ambudences they prevent one from trying to get to the shelf to buy items. There seem to be many security guards at the front of residential areas, schools etc. While the western media seems to photography many of these looking quite stern. They are actually very friendly and laid back.

Fresh fruit is in abudance on every street corner. With the hussle and bussle of people gathering around.


Something about the way certain spaces effect the way you move. You move through things - there are always gates, doors, walls around gardens, so you move from small spaces, to wide spaces, grand spaces, to delicate spaces. you can't see what is coming next, it is hidden, then you walk up stairs, through a doorway and as you exit on the other side you are greeted by

- a winding path
- a magnificent temple on a hill
- a row of temples
- a choice of 3 archways to go through
etc etc

but you never know what is around the corner. the use of perspective is amazing.

also windows and things to peer through


it is just magnificent design. what was person who designed it was trying to express? there is definitely a feeling they were looking at just creating something for practical purposes. it seems to be created to really engage and astound.