Beijing - Tian'anmen Square & the Forbidden City

Ahh, Beijing.....it felt like a foreign city, not just an international one like Singapore & Hong Kong.  Lots of Chinese (duh, Carol!)  Not nearly as many signs in English.  During our days there and in Xian our lunches were provided; they were Chinese, served family style with a big lazy Susan to circulate around the big table.....everything looked and was edible but I referred to it as "mystery Chinese food;" yes, it was a chicken dish and nothing looked yucky but somehow it just wasn't right - and I like Chinese food.  Between our lunches and the immense walking we did in Beijing, any weight I had gained on the ship virtually melted right off.  Long days of sightseeing which ended in luxury hotels where we collapsed in our beds.  And most intimately foreign of all - western toilets were near onto impossible to find outside the hotels and the lunch restaurants (which catered to western tour groups).
This is the part of the trip where I complained the most.....and saw the most exciting sights of all, well worth the entire vacation

We left our ship (goodbye, wonderful vacation home for over 4 weeks) at 9 in the morning, Sat. March 24.  It was a 3 hour bus ride to Beijing (as usual I dozed), where we had a Chinese lunch (see above) and then went to Tian'anmen Square & the Forbidden City for a tour.  Tian'anmen Square is the largest public square in the world, dominated by a huge picture of Mao Tse Tung, and site of many historic events.  Huge & filled with Chinese.....not in the dowdy clothes that I expected but dressed quite fashionably and trendy.  Impressive...it dwarfed Red Square which we saw about 2 years ago. 

Right behind Tian'anmen Square is the Forbidden City, home to many Chinese emperors & their courts.  Huge....& filled with Chinese tourists (are you picking up a theme here?)  It's a 250 acre complex with pavilions, hall, courtyards and gates; we walked through just a tiny portion of it and we walked forever!  Up steps, down steps, across massive courtyards.  Couldn't quite believe that I was actually there & seeing such a storied place!  I tried to imagine it in all its glory, filled with sights and people at the imperial time; we need to rewatch "The Last Emperor."

Cameras had technical difficulties...Bill hadn't take his because we were nursing along the last set of batteries and mine died shortly as our sightseeing began (oops....forgot to charge it up on ths ship).  I'll share the few shots we have of Tian'anmen Square.

Next posting: Xian and the Terracotta Army.