Alan N' Heidi : Waking Up in Beijing (Day 2)

Our first full day in China was packed full with Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jiangshan Park, Dinner and the Acrobat Show.

First China Breakfast!

We started early to try and beat the jet leg. We grabbed breakfast from a local store. It was some type of jelly filled pastry. Surprisingly, it was pretty good! After we met as a group we were guided to a local street market were we found fruit and other similar pastries and fried treats.

A very common sight on the sidewalks

A cool little car we saw on the street

The windows of a little store by our hotel lined with goods.
There are only two isles large enough to squeeze sideways through.

The little store's sign. Apparently it's open 24 hours?
All we know is the lady behind the desk speaks no english but is very nice.

A restaurant east of the hotel we're staying in.

The street opposite to the photo above looking into the intersection.

An indoor market with vendors selling fruits, rice, vegetables, and meat.

The first stop of the day was Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is the world's largest public square measuring around 1,500,000 square feet. There are tons of police, guards and plain-clothed policemen that patrol the square every day. They reminded me of the European guards that aren’t allowed to talk to anyone and can’t even smile for a picture.

We both found it very interesting to walk around such a large area wide open in the middle of Beijing. The Tiananmen square gained it’s fame from the student protest of 1989.

A street sweeper cleaning the square. There are people everywhere sweeping
and cleaning the streets of Beijing.

Tiananmen square center with Jon and Jessica

One of many vendors selling Jon a hat. The lady with the fan is part of our group and she helped him barter.

One of the large government buildings (we assume) surrounding the square.

A policeman on a segway patrolling the square

One of many Chinese people staring at us.
One guy was staring at Alan so long while walking he plowed over a little Chinese family. No one was hurt
but Alan and I had a good laugh.

One of many statue like guards surrounding the square.

Leaving the Tiananmen Square through a underpass leading to the Forbidden City. We didn't go by ourselves as you can tell. It felt like everyone for miles around had the same inclination when to leave.

After Tiananmen Square we walked over to the Forbidden City. The city is huge and full of great history. The original city was completed in 1420 AD and took over 15 years to complete. Over 100,000 skilled craftsmen and almost one million slave labors had a part in constructing the building. When the city was completed Emperor Zhur Di of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital from Nanjing (South Capital) to Beijing (North Capital).

The Forbidden City is the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Originally the Palace was constructed out of the wood, there were many fires caused from lighting strikes. To help prevent fires they placed giant water holding tanks throughout the palace. The water tanks were heated or covered in the winter to prevent freezing. The palace is huge, it is the world largest surviving palace complex and is made up of over 12 million bricks.

The buildings of the Forbidden city have intricate decorations and painting everywhere. Even the building eves are painted to perfection.

The Chinese believe that numbers are extremely important so there are supposedly 999 rooms in the forbidden city. We were skeptical even though it is huge.

It took several hours to walk through all of the courts/sections of the forbidden city. This court with the water flowing through it was probably the most beautiful.

Jon and Alan

The official "Shi" of the Forbidden City

These little figurines are on the corner of every building in the Forbidden City. They are water creatures that are supposed to provide protection from fire. Alan thinks the wire running over their heads is a lightening rod.

At one point in the Forbidden city a person can rent a costume for photos. We took some photos of some people all dressed up. Aren't the kids cute!

There has been millions of people through the city and you can tell by the worn bricks. The pot on the right is a water barrel they used to put out fire. There are hundreds throughout the forbidden city. They are roughly 6 feet in diameter.

There are several cool statues in the city including this dragon turtle and a sundial.

These girls found us looking at a museum display and had to get a photo.

At the North end of the Forbidden city is a garden and a manmade rock hill. The photo below describes it.

A large Coy fishing (10"-14" long) swimming in the garden pool

Once we finished at the city we headed across the street to Jiangshan Park. It is one of the only hills in Beijing. The hill was created from excavated dirt to make the Forbidden City moat. The park is also said to protect the palace from evil spirits (dust storms from the north.)

Looking at a pavilion structure in the Jingshan Park that houses a large Buda statue

Flowers in the Jinshan Park

Alan posing in front of a Chinese sign.

We had a pretty steep hike to the pavilion on the hill. There were beautiful rock walls and lookout spots. The picture of us sitting on the wall is looking at the Forbidden City about half-way up the hill.

The City of Beijing and forbidden city from the pavilion (looking south).

Looking North West of the pavilion at a water way. We thought the boats and buildings were pretty cool.

When we were finished with the park we headed back to our motel for an afternoon nap and to freshen up for dinner.

On our way home Alan found his comfort food... Oreos.

We ate dinner at a restaurant next to our motel. The food was amazing. We ate lots of different types of stir-fry toppings and of course white rice. Alan and I left the meal with our tummies happy and full. Also with the idea of getting a giant lazy susan for our dinner table someday.

After dinner we took the Subway to the Chinese Acrobat Show. When we got off the subway our dear friend misjudged his step and landed in something soft and squishy.

Going to the subway.

There were a "few" people on the subway

Waiting for the subway train.

Jon aka "pu-shoe"

The history of the Chinese acrobatics goes back more then 2000 years. It started out, as tricks people would teach themselves to do during free time. As popularity increased acrobats became known as one of the highest forms of entertainment. Modern acts today have added more feats of balance, coordination, agility and skill. Our favorites were the motorcycle cage and the ballet on shoulders act.