I saw a picture of a large white stupa in a pond at a presentation in Phoenix on Buddhist art. The view in the image was from a moderate angle above the object, much resembling the snapshot of a child in which the photographer has not knelt to be eye-to-eye with the subject. The image was projected and not really that clear so I assumed the greenery surrounding the stupa were grasses, reeds and garden plants.
When I visited Beijing I felt I had to visit this important monument---it is home to the guardian of Beijing---and set out to look for it. People kept pointing out the direction to me and I kept peering down nooks and crannies to find my destination. Perhaps it was my experience at finding "Manneken Pis" in Brussels...I was expecting something bigger and in a more prominent location considering its national significance to Belgium. Not disappointed...delighted actually and, in fact, somewhat amused by my expectations.
When I finally arrived at the correct park, before me stretched out a lake of some square kilometres and good sized island with an impressive 100 metre or more high edifice.
I had no idea the photo that we were shown at the presentation was taken from a good distance away, and undoubtedly from an aircraft.
At any rate, it was early afternoon as I walked across the bridge to ascend the hill to the stupa, and stopped to record the willows hanging over the water at the island's edge. Yes, that is the sun. The upside of stinging eyes.
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