Forbidden City

I had Sunday off (well, sort of), so I ventured out to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. I took a taxi down, but rode the subway back. Both were very easy. The taxi ride was 15-20 minutes and only about 40 yuan ($6 US) and the subway was free for me with my Olympic Credentials (all public transportation is).

Forbidden City. Wow! It's huge and incredibly impressive (wikipedia). As you go deeper into it, you pass through a series of gates that get increasingly elaborate and impressive until you get to the deepest area where the Chinese emperors, their wives and concubines lived.

After that, I headed over to Tiananmen Square. I couldn't see Chairman Mao's preserved body (the mausoleum is only open limited hours), but I walked the square and took a few pictures. There were tons of people, but by this time the heat, humidity and not having eaten all day were taking their toll so I hopped the subway back toward the media housing apartment complex.


More pictures can be found on my Flickr link in the right-hand toolbar.