Built in 1530, Ditan Park is smaller version of Tiantan Park in the south and, in past times, sacrifices were made here to the Earth gods. However, this time I wasn’t here to see temples and altars. I had come in search of the Beijing Wax Museum - Beijing’s answer to Madame Tussaud’s. Because of time constraints, I wasn’t going to be able to see the real Mao, so I thought I’d make do with the wax one instead. However, while the park was open and quite busy, the Wax Museum was closed. I visited during its advertised opening hours (9 - 4 pm, Saturday - Wednesday) and so I can only assume that the closure was due the National Day public holiday.
Still, the shady trees and benches made it a nice place to eat lunch and walking through the park was very pleasant. I avoided the halls and temples, and instead watched the activity around me. In one pagoda, a group played and sang a traditional (and very shrill!) Chinese Opera. There were families everywhere and, while there was modern children’s playground, most of the kids were more interested in fishing for goldfish in one of the ponds!