Day 8 - Beijing

The Forbidden Palace with surrounding Moat

This morning started with a nice breakfast at the hotel, and a 9:30 am meetup in the lobby for  today's excursions.

Waiting to get on our coach in front of the Hotel

Monument to the People's Hero ( behind)

The first stop of the morning was Tienanmen Square.  As we got off the bus, even though we were dressed for cold weather, we began to feel the chill of the cold winds and Kevin and myself were quickly drawn to the local vendors on the street.  We were soon enchanted by the warm Panda hats and bought two.  Our bargaining skills were minimal and even though we appeared to have started a Panda trend, the other negotiators in our group did much better.

Our guide told us that in order to imagine how big the area was, consider that if people stood shoulder to shoulder in the square, you would be able to hold 1 million people in that space- impressive, but it appeared much bigger than that.

Tienanmen Square

National Museum of China

Tienanmen Tower

From Tienanmen Square we walked across to The Forbidden Palace through Tienanmen Gate.

Soon all our cameras were going wild....there was so much beauty around us.  The Forbidden Palace  is recognized as one of the most important five palaces in the world, and in 1987 it was nominated as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.  The Palace lies right in the heart of Beijing, and is home to the Palace Museum holding many valuable artifacts and collections from past Imperial dynasties of Ming and Qing

The second Courtyard

One of many large Bronze vats

The Palace of Terrestrial Tranquility (Kunninggong) in the Forbidden City.

The large stone sculpture between the 2 stairs was not permitted to anyone.  Only the Emperor could move above it as he was carried in his sedan up or down, while the carriers used the steps on either side to support his Sedan.

Below is a picture of our guide Velma who took patience to a different level with our group.  It was difficult to manage our group of 21, as we ambled off to take pictures, or fall behind as we chatted - we will never forget her words as she marched ahead " Now make like sticky rice and follow me- not like noodles"

Make like Sticky Rice and not noodles

The palace gardens

2 Nice Palace ornaments

We headed out from the exit that illuminated the extensive Moat around the Palace

Across the street was a vendor with skewered candy coated fresh fruit...yummy

The afternoon was dedicated to a rickshaw ride and a tour of the Hutong. Hutongs are familiar to Beijing and refer to alleys and small streets that showcase the old way of life in traditional Beijing.  This was a paid excursion that I had most looked forward to, after seeing the cities and modern living areas of China.  The afternoon included a home-cooked meal by a Chinese housewife in the Hutong and a scenic Rickshaw Ride.

Our lunch host and home

The dining area set up for us

Our hostess welcoming us and telling us a little about her history

Posing with our hostess outside her home

After the delightful ride in the Rickshaw and our private lunch we were ready to go back to the Hotel to rest and find a place to dine on our own.

Since the Posh Hotel was in an industrial area there were no restaurants close by so we decided to eat in the Hotel which boasted 6 dining areas.  After investigating the various options, Emmy our daughter convinced us all to have a Japanese meal.  The best part of the meal was seeing Emmy have a love-fest with her choice of food!

After dinner we had a chance to do a quick look-over of the Hotel's lobby and common areas, which were magnificent and overwhelming in size and beauty.

Off to bed after our Japanese meal to dream about The Great Wall of China ......