On the first day of our tour, we headed to the center of Beijing for a visit to the Forbidden City. This was the palace for China's emperors from the 1400s until 1912 when the last emperor abdicated. The palace is massive and has 9,999 rooms. The palace was called the Forbidden City because no one could enter or leave without the emperor's permission.
Directly south of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. The square is surrounded by buildings and statues celebrating China and its revolutionaries.
From the center of Beijing, we headed to its outskirts to visit the Summer Palace where emperors would go to "get away from it all". It's now a park covering 3 square kilometres. We were there on a freezing spring day so the Summer Palace wasn't too summery.
This was the end of our first day on tour and we were happy to get back to the hotel and warm up our frozen fingers and toes.
More to come from Beijing!
Vanessa and Blake
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| Us at the entrance to the Forbidden City |
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| Guards at the entrance to the Forbidden City |
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| A huge portrait of Mao Zedong, leader of the 1949 Chinese Revolution, hangs over the entrance |
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| You cross the Inner Golden Water River (still frozen from winter) after the entrance |
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| The Gate of Supreme Harmony is the entry to the Forbidden City's main square |
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| This square and the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the background were used for ceremonies |
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| Hall of Supreme Harmony |
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| Dragons on the entry to the hall; dragons are used as decoration throughout the Forbidden City |
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| Russ takes tons of photos just like Vanessa |
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| Entrance to the inner court that was reserved for the emperor and his family |
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| Another dragon decoration |
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| One of the living areas for the emperor's family |
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| Another impressive building in the Inner Court |
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| Jingshan Park is one of the three gardens that surround the Forbidden City |
Directly south of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. The square is surrounded by buildings and statues celebrating China and its revolutionaries.
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| Monument to the People's Heroes |
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| The Great Hall of the People is the political centre of China |
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| Sculpture in front of mausoleum of Mao Zedong |
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| Toilets weren't nearly as luxurious as those in Japan but they were a good thigh workout |
From the center of Beijing, we headed to its outskirts to visit the Summer Palace where emperors would go to "get away from it all". It's now a park covering 3 square kilometres. We were there on a freezing spring day so the Summer Palace wasn't too summery.
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| A hall and temple at the Summer Palace |
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| The Long Corridor is 750 metres long with beautiful paintings on its entire length |
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| When the lake thaws, you can take a ride in one of these boats |
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| A cool looking bridge on the grounds |
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| This is called the "Marble Boat" but it's made of wood |
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| The ducks are ready for spring |
This was the end of our first day on tour and we were happy to get back to the hotel and warm up our frozen fingers and toes.
More to come from Beijing!
Vanessa and Blake
