We have very little time left in Beijing, so we are trying to catch up on some final site-seeing.  The one place on our list that we had not yet visited was the Lama Temple, so we set out on Saturday to visit one of the largest and oldest Buddhist lamaseries in Beijing.  Built in 1694, this Temple was actually home of a Qing Emperor, but was given to the Buddhist monks in 1723.  Hundreds of Buddhists come to the  Temple every day and offer their incense and prayers.  The biggest attraction (literally) is the approximately 60 foot tall Buddha that was carved from a single tree trunk.  It is huge!  In fact, it is so big and in such a confined space I couldn't even get a photo of the whole thing -- well, the gaurds who said "no photos" didn't help either. (see slide show below).

After the Lama Temple, we went to the Chaoyang Theater and enjoyed a fabulous Acrobatics show.  It was truly amazing.  The photos cannot capture the incredible tricks the acrobats performed.  You really need to see the show for yourself.  But, skip the Peking Opera after the Acrobatics show.  We didn't, and we wished we had.  Our ears are still trying to recover!

We hope all of you have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving!!