Tian'anmen Square and the Foribben City

We indulged in a day of shameless tourism--checking out the infamous Tian'anmen Square (which is 63 soccer fields length from end to end, according to my tour guide Echo) and the former residences of Chinese emperors in Forbidden City (which Echo says has 9,999 rooms)

Honestly, I wasn't sure WHAT to expect. The two are located in the historic central part of the city-a 30 minute bus ride from our hotel. (We live in what is called the Academic Northwest--where several major universities are located.)




You might recognize this man. Yep, that's Mao himself. Or rather, this is painting on the outside of the building that contains his body. For many older generations in China, Mao is especially revered, even considered Godly. Many Chinese believ the Chairman was a great man who, in his old age, simply received bad advice from those closest to him. This memorial hall is visible from Tian'anmen Square.




This is just one of the many buildlings in the Forbidden City. I'm not including many picutres because it is just so large I cannot do it justice with my digital camera. I guess you'll just have to Google it.



These are two really neat trees in the garden of the Forbidden City. As you can see, the two branches, over hundreds and hundreds of years eventually wound together.



Quite possibly the cutest thing I've seen in China.