Saturday

Day 1
Hello China. Ni hao Beijing.
Swept open the curtains this morning to find, between the buildings, a glimpse of the mountains and a section of The Great Wall.
Showers. Breakfast. Packed a day bag & headed down for our first day of seeing.

First stop: Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City.
It's big. It's huge. Designed to be the worlds largest public square, it currently sits second (nth Korea or perhaps Russia have that title). It's a weekend (turns out a long weekend) & therefore you start to see just how many people it is capable of holding. So we join the masses & made our way through the square, around the large recognisable building that hosts Chairman Maos portrait (replaced yearly) and through the wall into the Forbidden City.
The guide gave us 'whispers' - small transceivers & an earpiece so we can hear. A fabulous idea because it means we can wander around nearby & take pics while he talks & miss nothing. Glad I went with the smaller wider lens option this trip.
3hours & some 9700 steps, the bus stopped on a random intersection corner & picked us up.
Lunch was the Peking Banquet. A delicious selection of meats & veggie to enhance our duck experience.

The Heavenly Palace for a quick look. Another large & generous building that has stood in place for more years than some countries have been marked on a map. But we thought we could have stayed much longer to watch the locals enjoying the outdoors - shuttlecock games, Thai chi, poker games, & people just enjoying the spring sunshine.

The (round building) was our last large location for the day. Built like a pagoda the beams inside represent the 4 seasons & 12 months.

Some went to see the Golden Mask Dynasty show. We opted for a wander around the mall & a bad coffee

Behind the walls of The Forbidden City