In and out of Beijing

Our first full day in Beijing, we walked to the drum and bell towers,
which originally date back to the days when Ghengis Khan took over,
although they've burnt down and been rebuilt several times since then.
We were told the drum tower was closed, but couldn't figure out why
other people were being let in. A security guard said something about
"studying." We were allowed up the bell tower though, and got a decent
view of the nearby one-story hutongs and taller buildings further
away. We also got an up close view of the giant bell - probably the
biggest we've ever seen. There were some explanatory signs, and one
said there's a legend that the bell makers, on a deadline, kept
failing to successfully cast the giant bell until the head bell-
maker's daughter threw herself in the molten metal. Whether the
subsequent successful casting was due to some weird chemical reaction,
or due to the gods being pleased by the sacrifice, you can decide.

Then we went to the Lama temple, which the guidebooks describe as
where "happy (Tibetan) monks" are shown off to the public as a type of
propaganda. But we only saw tourists and some praying Chinese
buddhists visitors. It was originally a palace which was converted to
a temple in 1744 to symbolize national unity with regions that
practiced that kind of Buddhism (Tibet and Mongolia). The signs seemed
to imply that this was a magnanimous and respectful gesture, but I
would bet that at the time it was more out of a sentiment of imperial
domination.

We then went to the Confucius Temple and Imperial College. It was
amazing to realize the influence Confiucian philosophy has had for
2,500 years. The picture below is a central building at the college
from which scholars and emperors would make speeches. since they
didn't have amplification, there were people appointed to relay the
speech to the audience by word of mouth, like an ancient game of
"telephone."