Beijing - Part 2

Gray and gloomy today. Just a typical day in Beijing. We got down to breakfast and were slapped in the face with a Chinese buffet feast! Won Ton station, congi, breads filled with meat, fried egg rolls, fresh fruit, eggs, pastries...a flat out feast!

The bus ride to Tien An Men Square was easy and just as we stepped off the bus, it began to snow. To give you an idea, Tien An Men Square is the largest city square in the word with an area equal to 90 football fields. It can easily fit 1,000,000 people!

We slid across the vast marble and slate ground covering and felt awfully insignificant. The expanse is so overwhelming. In the center is a memorial of the students who were slain during that tumultuous time. In the foreground stands a traditional double tiered roofed building which contains the tomb of Mao Tse Tung. Also on these grounds is a massive conference center donated by the Russian government. But the greatest structure of all, is the main gate to The Forbidden City.

The ship has been running the movie "The Last Emperor" since we left Kobe. It was largely filmed inside The Forbidden City and I was so impressed by the scenic shots that I could not wait to see it for myself. If "A picture is worth a thousand words", then actually being present among such grandeur is worth all the stars in the sky.

The Forbidden City was the residence and office of 24 Chinese Emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the Ching Dynasty. It dates back more than 600 years. By the time we reached the main gate, the snow had been falling fast for about an hour and had blanketed much of the ground. We entered the gigantic red double doors adorned with rows of gold knobs and followed a marble tunnel. As I stepped out of the tunnel it truly felt as if I entered an entirely different world. Its vastness is equivalent to 160 football fields and feels like so much more! Red, gold green, drums, dragons, pagodas, marble stairs and hand rails, slate covered grounds...I'm trying but I can't find the words to describe is beauty and sheer awesomeness. It is, hands down the grandest man-made place that I have ever seen. Everything is larger than life and seemingly infinite. The government placed great restrictions on development outside the city so that when you are inside, there are no other buildings, structures or other eyesores visible even beyond the walls of the city. The view of Beijing from inside The Forbidden City is the same as when the emperors were in residence making this the highlight of the trip for me so far.

Continuing on with the tourist attractions, we were taken to a local silk factory and actually saw silk threads being extracted from silk worms. Crazy! Who was it that decided to use worm goo to make linens?!!

Then we were thrown into the lion's den...China's Black Market. The boys loved it and haggled their own deals. Both got a pair of Beats and Jeremy even got a pair of Air Jordan's. All counterfeit, of course but for what we paid, it's all still worth it if they only last a couple of weeks!

At dinner, we were treated to Beijing's very own Peking Duck. (Beijing was first called Peking) The food so far has been fantastic and this was no different. We sat with 4 girls and I complimented them all on their healthy portions. One girl had never eaten sea food before taking this trip and the other had never eaten pork! Both aimed to be picky eaters at home but this experience has changed them.

Just as we were concluding our meal, a waiter tapped Jeremy on the shoulder, "Hey boy, this girl would like to take a picture with you. Ok?" Jeremy blushed but happily obliged ; ) He got the same request from a group of teenage girls while we were at The Forbidden City. "Click!" and they all ran off giggling ; ) the girls seated at our dinner table curious of all the commotion asked, "Who are you!!" My guess is that he is an Asian oddity. But a handsome oddity, of course! Ben received similar attention from Mr. Cu and several Chinese ladies at the Black Market. They asked, "This boy yours? He is so beautiful! Other son very tall!"

The Great Wall tomorrow!