The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, and The Summer Palace

I would have included Ti'anamen Square in the title but even though it was advertised, we only had a cursory, drive by glance at what we would discover two days later is an absolute gem.

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I can put things in perspective. As I stated earlier, my goal was to avoid being herded into a factory shopping situation as often happens on cruise ship excursions. I went online and found a full day Beijing Tour that included all of the places in the title plus lunch at a reasonable price, just under forty dollars US per person. We came to find out that what you read isn't always true but in the end, except for Ti'anamen Square, everything was as advertised. There was just some extra stuff.

After a leisurely breakfast, Dong picked us up and we were off to The Forbidden City. We could have walked as it was that close to our hotel. If I had turned another direction the previous day, we would have been there in about five minutes but there is no way one could do it without a guide. Before we left I purchased Fodor's China and I have to admit, its description and directions for the area would have worked once I had figured out where to buy a ticket. I also have to admit that I left that book in a trash can in China as it was out of date and very inaccurate about many things as it had not been updated since 2007.

This is the outer gate, of five, to the Forbidden City, and the flowers were still in full bloom.

 Ti'anamen Square. That is Mao's mausoleum in the background. That was it. Look now and keep walking. But really, they did us a favor as it made us want to spend more time there and we would and did. But that is another story for later.

 One of the many inner courtyards.

 An incense burner.

 A bronze crane. The crane is an auspicious symbol in China.

 The turtle dragon is another important symbol.

 More of the inner city.

 A guardian. This one is a male as he has a ball. NPI.

 The Temple of Heaven. Our time there was short compared to The Forbidden City but given its size was probably just about right.

 The Summer Palace. a duplicate built by slave labor right down to the manmade mountain and a favorite spot of the Chinese. It was crowded but not unbearably so.

Our guide, Dong was very knowledgeable and kept the group moving. She only omitted one important detail; the street vendors are not to be trusted, and often give change in counterfeit or foreign currencies that look Chinese. Chairman Mao is on every bill in China. Every bill.

We ate next door, again, and then went to the night market. This is all that is left of a $2.58 bowl on Noodle Soup with Beef.

The statue of Saint Joseph at the Cathedral. The crowds were there, again, dancing, tai chiing, and generally just enjoying life in the city. Throughout the entire trip we marveled at the life and activity on the streets into the late hours of the evening. Granted there are more people in China (and Korea and Japan) but it seemed that they weren't in their homes watching television. They were out and about.