Part II: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Rickshaw/Pedicab Ride, Temple of Heaven

Yup. We did all of this in ONE day. We woke up early, ate breakfast in our hotel, and were out of there by 7:30am. On today's agenda was visiting Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, experienced a rickshaw/pedicab ride in Hutong, and visited the Temple of Heaven. This was day one of many jam packed restless days of nonstop traveling and sightseeing. It was wonderful in that we got to do and see a lot of things, and it was well worth it, however, it was all done at the expense of our comfort and rest. We spent many hours napping on the bus traveling to and from places. 

Tiananmen Square was a big, wide, open area. My understanding was that's where their officials would meet, and when they do, the area is shut down. This is also where they do a flag raising and takedown ceremony every day. It was just another touristy area to see. The tour guide was saying how important this area was to new China, as this was where Chairman Mao founded "new China." I don't think my students really understood what the tour guide was saying. This topic isn't usually covered in world history classes, and perhaps it should be.  I'll write more on the Chinese later.

The Forbidden City was amazing. I watch a lot of Chinese movies and have always wanted to see this place. Just like in the films, this area is huge. Not only was it huge, but it was heavily fortified to keep anyone from entering or leaving, with its walls and canals on the exterior and heavily guarded gates on the inside. However, in the movies, they only show the hero having to fight through two or three gates to get to the Emperor, but in reality, I don't think the hero would have ever made it to the Emperor. It was such a long walk to get to the main building of the Emperor's palace where he resided, not only that, we had to go through about seven gates just to get to the palace. I'm thinking there's no way the hero makes it that far. The place was amazingly beautiful. I would definitely come back to China just to explore more of the Forbidden City, I also felt we could have explored more, but it was such a huge area that our tour guide only showed us the highlights and said it would take years to visit every single room and building of the Forbidden City. Many students enjoyed the Forbidden City and were in awe of how beautiful and the size of it. One even commented on how it makes sense now and understood why the characters were always riding horses in the Forbidden City in Chinese movies. The students really liked this area and was fascinated with everything.

What an experience this was! The pedicab/rickshaw ride was about as bad as it could get. All of the bikers were skinny little guys. Two of us got onto the back of each, and they proceeded to take us on a tour of Houhai and the nicer Hutong area. These guys are strong and courageous bikers. They do not fear other vehicles, as we rode along cars and trucks. These guys also don't know how to use their brakes, as they would bump into each other, especially into the one in front of them if they were a little slow. However, when we came to a stop, that was the only time they utilized their brakes. Luckily, this was not a very populated area, compared to Beijing. While many enjoyed the "relaxation" from walking, some were scared of the ride.

Temple of Heaven was very interesting. Walking into the area, on our way to see the temple, there were a lot of elders loitering around and gambling. Some of us thought it was very strange, and felt it was a bit ironic, of all places, come gamble by the Temple of Heaven. It was not until the Chinese teacher mentioned that it was widely accepted there, as they think it brings them good luck and fortune to come gamble nearby. I had to laugh it off. The Temple itself was a very beautiful building with smaller buildings nearby. The architect and extremely detailed designs and engravings on these building are amazing.

This was a very long and exhausting day. We were all pooped out by the end of the day. We spent the majority of the day walking and exploring. It was great exercise, and thankfully the weather in Beijing was perfect for this. Little did we know, today was just the beginning of many long, exhausting days of walking and touring. Again, there were complaints of too much walking.

Photo from Tiananmen Square

Group tour guide in the middle, holding the red flower up so we can easily spot him and see him when he's leading the group.

The Chinese flag in the middle of the square that is ceremoniously raised and taken down each day by the military.

My group of Hmong students from my class, with another staff/chaperone in the back.

The entrance into the Forbidden City.

A wide view of the front entrance into the Forbidden City.

Selfie time inside the Forbidden City.

The many gates we had to go through once inside. 

Selfie and look at the details on the building. 

This was in the middle of the stairs. Highly detailed engravings. 

The Emperor's Palace inside the Forbidden City.

Finally made it inside, past the 7 gates to get into the palace. 

A peek inside the palace where the Emperor sat. These buildings are closed off.

Look at the details of these buildings. Spot the small dragons on the corner, they range from 1 through 9, a status ranking system they had.

The outside of the city, with its wall and canal to prevent intruders.

Mark and I, we initially planned on riding together but eventually split up. We felt bad for our skinny biker.

The rest of the group, waiting to leave.

Riding through Hutong with these scary bikers, riding alongside traffic.

Temple of Heaven. This place was like Tiananmen Square, just another touristy area.

Group photo in front of the Temple of Heaven.