Emperors, Temples, and Palaces

Wow, it is hard to believe that my time here is coming to a close.  Therefore, I am going to pack everything that I can into the next few blog posts.  The past several weeks have been exceptionally busy from a work standpoint and have left me little time to update all of you on the happenings here…and there have been several…

First, let’s start with the final two installations of my visit(s) to Beijing.  As stated in previous posts, I have had the opportunity to tour Beijing on a couple of occasions.  I have posted previously regarding the visit to the Olympic Park and Great Wall, however that is only half the story.  While in Beijing, I was able to tour the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Summer Palace. 

The Forbidden City is absolutely amazing.  The sheer scale of the property is hard to comprehend even as you walk through it.  It was built in the 15^th century and occupies nearly 8 million square feet of property.  It consists of almost 10,000 buildings, a fraction of which are open to the public.  Tiananmen Square sits just in front of the Forbidden City.  It is massive in its own right and occupies almost 110 acres in the center of Beijing.  Put together, they are a magnificent sight to behold.  Lets take a photographic stroll through both…

Much to my surprise, there were these types of welcoming committees all over Tiananmen Square.  My tour guide told me that if I were to decide to reenact the 1989 protests or sport my “Free Tibet” t-shirt, these gentlemen would be happy to provide an all-expenses-paid trip to the Beijing International Airport, cancel my visa, and wish me a nice life abroad.

Here are a few photos from Tiananmen Square.

And just in case I had decided to wear that t-shirt…

The entrance to the Forbidden City lies at the north end of the Square.  Now, it is called the Forbidden City because for hundreds of years only the emporer and his cozy group of family and friends were allowed access.  This cozy group typically included the emperor, his wife, and his 3000 concubines.  The reason that it is referred to as a “city” is that all these girls needed places to shop so there were many storefronts that catered only to the emperor’s harem.  On the advice of my counsel, I will forego any concubine jokes for the duration of this post.  The following is a photo tour of the city.

At the entrace, we are graced with a large photo of a very robust-looking Mao Tse Tung.  Every three years this photo is repainted, including some modifications to his likeness.  My tour guide suggested that each time he appears to be “younger and lighter”.

Various photos of the tour of the city

I took a few moments to run some interactive workshops in the hall below…

Also, I spent some time at the Temple of Heaven.  This is a temple that the emperor used to pray for good harvest.  It was absolutely magnificent.

Oh, and if you get too hot during your day at the temple, feel free to use the method of the man below.  This was a routine sighting throughout the day.

All in all, the sights were terrific and I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to see them. 

As you can see, there are a few spots that are still forbidden!

The day following the visit to the Forbidden City, I visited the Summer Palace.  It was my favorite place in Beijing – second only to the Great Wall.  Again, it was restricted to the emperor and his…well…group of friends for years.  I will skip any additional commentary and let the pictures speak for themselves.