Immediately after breakfast the next morning, we made the decision to head out to the Lama Temple (or YongHeGong) which is the largest Tibetan buddhist temple outside of Tibet. We decided to go there that morning because we didn't have that much time before we were meeting another of my wife's friends for lunch, who was meeting us at our hotel. Since YongHeGong wasn't that far from a subway station on the same line as our hotel (also not far from the station) and we didn't have to change lines, we knew we could get there and back and have enough time to see it without being rushed.
I always like seeing Buddhist temples - they're very different from seeing western religious sites. In the west, you can see a church or cathedral, but the buddhist temples are a whole complex - courtyards, various buildings, etc.
So we get to the exit of the YongHeGong station, and of course, don't know which way to walk - but this time, it was a bit easier... just a couple of sniffs and we knew... it was the scent of incense.
Here's the gate at the entrance - very ornate as usual:
Once inside the temple, we knew right away why we could smell it from several blocks away - this temple (unlike others we've seen in other countries) provides a free bundle of incense sticks with the admission price - and people had no problems seemingly lighting them all at once! Once we got inside, it looked like a scene from a forest fire!
This photo doesn't really even do it justice.. the whole courtyard was smoky!
There are several buildings with their own buddha statues, but by far the most impressive was the last one, with this HUGE statue 3 stories tall!
So, here's a funny story regarding my wife's friend. A few months ago, I was doing my research for the trip, and of course, the first place I look are any Beijing specific threads on eGullet. Unforunately, there hadn't been any active posts in quite a few years (the Beijing Dining thread was started in 2003), but the last active poster was in 2009-2010... This post:
and those around it were a great starting point to my research... one thing that stuck with me was the description of Quanjude peking duck, and how the only one worth going to now was in Science Park...
Anyway, we meet my wife's friend, and pretty soon I start getting the feeling that there's something familiar... She has such a great enthusiasm, and just the speech pattern alone get me thinking, and then, she mentioned something about the duck place in Science Park! Immediately, I think "holy crap - what a coincidence!!!"
What are the odds that my wife would become friends with a woman from Beijing while in Verona, Italy, and that was the same person whose posts I had been reading on eGullet a few months later!
This was the start of a great day, and one of the highlights of the trip, for me. We wound up spending the majority of the afternoon with her - she was so incredibly generous with her time, energy and boundless enthusiasm!
Here's the first place we went:
They had a lot of Beijing specialties here... but this is my favorite - even though we didn't order it:
Then again, maybe we did order the Fried Enema - as we got this plate of fried starch with dipping sauce:
This was lovingly referred to as "Beijing spaghetti" - hand pulled noodles with I think a bean paste sauce... Mixed all together, it was awesome...
This was my wife's favorite:
This is pieces of pancake that have been sliced and stir fried. Absolutely delicious..
Stir fried dough nuggets
Knife-peeled noodles in soup
Cucumber salad
