Beijing, China
39° 55' N 116° 23' E
Jul 21, 2006 09:28
Distance 1774km

Choose another map, showing:


earlier Entry 33 of 39 later
You need to upgrade your Flash Player Click here to start downloading FlashPlayer!

Tianamen Square and Forbidden City

Text written in: Swedish

We were graciously given a beautiful first day in Beijing.  I overheard some guy saying this is the first time he's seen blue skies in 2 weeks.  But first things first... don't stay at the Red Lantern Hostel in Beijing.  There were two toilets for the entire place (about 30 people) and you had to supply your own toilet paper!!  Also, the staff were absolutely clueless and didn't give a rats ass about anything.  Instead we stayed at the Lotus Hostel down the street, which turned out to be fantastic.  But I digress.

Our first day we took the subway to the Qianmen Gate, strolled through Tianamen Square, scaled Tianamen Gate, and toured the Forbidden City.  Afterwards we randomly strolled through downtown Beijing.  You'll see those pics later.

Add to del.icio.us Add to del.icio.us Add to reddit Add to reddit

Photos / videos of "Tianamen Square and Forbidden City":

Qianmen (pronounced Chianmen) Gate. The toursism hub of Beijing. The line up outside Mao's mausoleum. Unlike the queue at Walmart, this one was moving quickly. Tianamen Square, the largest public space in an urban setting. Can you feel Mao watching you? Your humble narrator with Mao's mausoleum in the background. Tianamen Gate. Where Mao and subsequent Chinese leaders watch the military parades and synchronized gymnastics demonstrations. "So were are all the nukes and stuff?" Bejing is very spacious. Walking anywhere takes forever. The mass of Chinese tourists outside the entrance of the Forbidden City. In the ticket queue, I was being constantly poked in the back of the head with an umbrella by a Chinese lady for 20 minutes. Many important tourist sites were under renovation for the 2008 Olympics. Made from one piece of stone that was dragged from miles away. "Sacrilege!" Cute! One of the many Emperor's thrones where the Emperor did Emperory stuff. In the Forbidden City garden. The North Gate and moat. After 4-5 hours we still had things to see but enough is enough.
earlier Entry 33 of 39 later
You need to upgrade your Flash Player Click here to start downloading FlashPlayer!