some great views of the Forbidden City and traditional structures mixed in
with the modern buildings as the sun was coming up. In addition to the
promise of a warmer day, the storm seemed to have washed the typical Beijing
pollution away.
Got an early start this morning with a visit to Tiananmen Square, where the
ceremony for the founding of the People's Republic of China was held in
1949. It is massive in size, it is said to be able to accommodate over a
million people. Thankfully, due to the winter season and cold weather, most
of them stayed home today! One could actually get shots of the buildings
without crowds of people in front.
From here we entered the Forbidden City through the Gate of Heavenly Peace.
Twenty-four emperors ruled from here over a 500 year period. "In ancient
times, the emperor was said to be a son of heaven...such a divine place as
the emperor's residence was certainly forbidden to ordinary people", hence
the name: Forbidden City. It's 178 acres and 980 buildings are surrounded by
a moat. It is considered the largest ancient palatial grounds in the world.
The next stop was over to the Summer Palace. Built in 1750 around a large
lake, it was originally a retreat from the hot summer weather in the city
for the emperors. It is now open to the public and considered one of the
best parks in the city. Even on this cold day there were numerous families
and children out and about today.
Prior to starting the long journey back to the ship we made one last
"tourist" stop - Starbucks!
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