We started the day in Tiananmen Square. It was amazing to think about the violence that took place here in 1989. Today it is definitely a tourist stop. You can see the Great Hall of the People, Mao's Mausoleum and the entrance to the Forbidden city. In the center of the square is a monument to the People's Heroes.
From there we walked into the Forbidden City which is officially known as the Palace Museum. It was orginally built in 1420 and housed the emperors until 1912 when the last emperor abdicated the throne. Wow, what an amazing place. The scale is immense. There are a number of official buildings where the Emperor signed papers and met officials. The empress had her own house there as well. Off to the side the emperor's concubines lived. All the emperor's buildings are built along a meridian so they all face the same direction. The Forbidden City ends with a beautiful garden that the Emperor would enjoy and maybe his concubines as well if the empress would let them.
From there we went to lunch and had, surprise, surprise, Chinese food. Not at good as yesterday, but still pretty good.
The Temple of Heaven was the next stop. This was completed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is actually a bigger complex than the Forbidden City. This is where the Emperor would go to make sacrifices and pray to heaven and his ancestors. Since the Emperor was the Son of Heaven, he could interceded with the gods and pray for a good harvest here as well. This was a beautiful spot with some amazing temple structures.
From there we went to a 4 story shopping center. This was negotiating central. If I wanted a fake Kate Spade purse, this was the place to get it. I bought a hat for 15 yuan which is $2.50ish in US dollars. Not bad.
The funniest thing is that one of my travel companions, Pilar, is tall and blond. She keeps getting her picture taken by the Chinese. they are fascinated by her.
Finally we went to see a short Beijing Opera performance. Wow, how elaborate the costumes were. They told short stories that are apparently popular stories with the Chinese people. It had been a long day, so we were all ready for dinner and a cold beer. Dinner was not spectacular, but it served it's purpose. Finally back to the hotel.
The weather today was in the 90's. Very hot, but we saw so much. Tomorrow we are off to the Great Wall.
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