Since my last post we have been to the Beijing and visited the Tian' anmen Square, Temple of Heaven,the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. Also everyone but Greg is sick or at this point recovering.I am on my second cold in ten days. Denice is finally getting close to 100%, Max is not well, and Li Bei is recovering.
The Temple of Heaven is where the Emperor went to offer sacrifices and pray for good harvest. The Forbidden Palace is where the Emperor lived. You enter a gate and walk through a football field length courtyard then enter a gate and walk through a football field length courtyard then enter a gate to get into the Forbidden City. After that it is a series of long courtyards and buildings where the Emperor held sway with visiting dignitaries, changed clothes, rested, etc. At the very back of the city are the gardens with varies statues etc and around 800 year old trees and various other plants. It is a rather long walk from front to back. Worth the visit as it is a very impressive place originally dating back to about 1420.
Tian' anmen Square is just that, a big brick paved square. Some statures and two of the biggest tv screens I have ever seen. Unfortunately they do not show the NFL on them. It is also heavily policed as they don't want any demonstrations in the square. All bags are x-rayed upon entering.
The Great Wall is quite impressive. Highly commercialized with vendors actually on the wall. The part we went to was hilly requiring climbing a lot of stairs. Whew! It was interesting to be able to walk on the wall, something you have read about and never expect to see.
Over all the trip to Beijing was very enjoyable. We took the over night train to Beijing and the fast train back. We had a sleeper compartment that was very comfortable with two bunks on each side. The fast train, going about 200 miles miles per hour was set up like an airplane but with more space between seats. Very comfortable and the trip took about 7 hours, 15 hours by the slow train.
We are spending the next couple of days just hanging out while we all recover. I'll talk about food on my next post.
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