Beijing, China - Day 23 (2nd day in Beijing)

After a terrific buffet breakfast at our hotel, we were ready to start our day.  We checked out of the Beijing Peninsula Hotel and headed to the Temple of Heaven. 

We immediately encountered traffic but since it was still early, we were not too delayed. Our bus dropped us off at the entrance and we discovered lots of retirees playing badminton, doing tai chi, playing cards and musical instruments. It seems that this temple is a gathering place for older folks.

The Temple of Heaven is comprised of several beautiful buildings where the Emperors of the Ming dynasty offered an annual prayer to Heaven for a good harvest. It is dated at around 1420 and was built by the same emperor that had the Forbidden City built. The incredible Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests commands your attention the moment you enter the temple’s courtyard.

Back on the bus, we headed over to Tian Anmen Square (Square of Heavenly Peace) which is the world’s largest public square at more than a half a square mile.Tian Anmen Gate last restored in 1651 leads into the Forbidden City. From the gate’s balcony, Imperial edicts were read out until Chairman Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China there on October 1, 1949. We unfortunately, did not get to wander much of the square since a marathon was in process and just navigating the sidewalk was next to impossible.But we made it to the Tian Anmen Gate, walked through the viaducts under it and came out on the other side in the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City is unbelievably huge.It was constructed over 500 years ago and is encircled be a 33 foot wall enclosed by a wide moat.Nobody was allowed inside the walls except the Emperor, his wives, concubines, eunuchs and diplomats or citizens invited for official business.It covers 250 acres and there are more than 9,000 rooms in various buildings.We spent only an hour walking around and probably actually saw only a fraction of what there is to see.You would walk through a huge square with a palace at one end.Once at the palace, you’d notice a large gate to go through and on the other side would be another huge square with another palace at the other end.It is a truly remarkable complex.Jeff took a break in the Imperial Gardens before heading back to our tour bus.