Day Fourteen

Our morning began with a trip to Tiananmen Square - the largest public square in the world and an internationally renowned location. The square itself was truly massive - spanning farther than the eye (or camera for that matter) could see. In fact, even buildings that should have been in plain sight were obscured by a mist (possibly pollution related) that shrouded nearly the entire city. Nonetheless, we were able to capture a pretty solid picture of ourselves in front of Mao's portrait, possibly the most famous location in Tiananmen Square.

While the square houses Mao's tomb, which displays his actual body, it was unfortunately closed for renovation during our visit due to China's preparation for the 2008 Olympics. I was somewhat disappointed by this fact because I wanted to check Mao off the list of long dead communist leaders whose tombs I have visited (I've seen both Ho Chi Min and Vladamir Lenin in the flesh).

Following our trek around Tiananmen we ventured into the ominous Forbidden City. Completely closed to the public until 1949, the Forbidden City is one of China's other hallmark tourist attractions. No photographs or descriptions could possibly convey the size and scope of the Forbidden city. We spent nearly two hours in an almost linear journey through the complex, traversing dozens of passage ways, massive courtyards, and, yes, even stopping at a Starbucks (they have on near the inner courtyard... it was a bitter-sweet experience for me to see one of my favorite shops inside such an ancient historical landmark).

We spent almost the entire morning in the Forbidden City and I can safely say that we all felt as if we had barely seen any of it! One of the most interesting sights that we witnessed within the Forbidden City was the changing of the guard at one of the early outer courtyards.
Following a tasty lunch at a local Beijing restaurant near the rear of the Forbidden City, we ventured to the Summer Palace, where the imperial family spent the hotter months of each year. The palace itself is even larger than the Forbidden City - boasting over 1,000 individual buildings and two lakes (one complete with a giant marble boat built inside of it). The lakes are so large that our guide told us the Emperor once had his entire navy engage in training exercises on the lake for his entertainment. Unfortunately, my camera died soon after arriving and I was only able to snap a few shots of the Summer Palace. Check out the one of my mom walking along a massive corridor that spanned the edge of one of the lakes.

In the evening we watched a dazzling and well choreographed Kung Fu performance at one of Beijing's local theaters. While I had managed to charge my camera by that time, they were very strict about enforcing their "intellectual property rights" that prevented me from taking any pictures (ironic?). Some of the highlights included epic battles, a man laying on top of a bed of swords, and people breaking blades on top of each other's heads. We then headed off to sleep, tomorrow we have even more exciting adventures planned!