Up again and at the east entrance of the Temple of Heaven Park (Tian tan GongYuan) you will pass tai chi practitioners. I feel like I am in some advert. Head to the northernmost section of the park dominated by the sacrifical altar of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. This three-tiered pagoda is interlocking wood pieces with no nails. It is like my work station indeed and is iconic of the city. Exit from the east and cross Tiyuguan Lu toward Hong Qiao Market. Check out the fresh and salt water pearls on the third floor jewelry section. I like the wooden rice scoops and red & black lacquerware. On weekends only there is Panjia Yuan Dirt Market which is sort of like Boroughs Market and you can sift through rubbish to find communist kitsch, wooden mooncake molds and purple tea pots. Haggle like you mean it down to the mao (cent). It is expected. Insert gratuitous stereotyping joke here. Return to the hotel to drop off the steals and book a quiet booth at the Fortune Garden restaurant for a dim sum lunch. And then some. Share baskets of dumplings, water chestnuts and rice flour crepes.
Re-energeized, walk south of Tiananmen Square to Qian Men Dajie and then turn on Dashi Lan, bordered by pretty dark wood beams and brightly painted lintel doorways. This area produced the glazed tiles used in the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. Today the lane sells traditional calligraphy kits and book binding supplies. I totally loved to bind my books while in school. It was pathological in extremis. Stop in Store 78 for exotic papers and silksm and store 30 for lovely wood block prints and poetic ink paintings. Be sure to have them translated because you know I will ask you the meaning when I visit to take tea. Which you can pick up at Ji Gu Ge Tea House on the second floor of 132-136. Get a window table to people watch. Head to the Silk Alley (Xiu Shi Shi Cang) when the expats flock for great deals on silk under wear, cashmere and brand clothing.
Rush back for the 1915 local time Chinese Acrobat Show at Poly Plaza. Pitch a few extra kuai (dollars) for juhua chua (chrysanthemum tea), sugary walnuts and front-row seats as you check out the 65-child hyperflexible troupe.
Dinner follows at the Green Tea House. Head east on Gongren Tiyu Chang Beilu and turn left to the festive Sanlitun Juiba Lu (Beer Drinking Street) and head for a bar. Cross Dong Zhimenwai Lu and take the side street past the Friendship Store. Tall purple lanterns sentinel the small ten table bistrot where dishes are prepared with tea. Start with the pear, longevity tea and walnut salad with minty dressing. The tofu and chestnuts entree is simmered in Ceylonese tea and Gong Bao JiDing is enhanced with oolong tea.
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