Blogs from Forbidden City, Beijing, China, Asia - page 6

Having read about the Beijing Natural History Mueseum in the guidebook with it's wonderful dinosaur exhibition the boys and I decided to go on an outing to find it. I consulted the map and decided we could take the subway and walk to 1.5km to the mueseum. So off we went - big mistake - first of all the map was lousy we wandered around in circles at the top end of Tienamen square trying to find the right street to walk down and then when we were pretty sure we had the right one off we went. We walked and walked and walked fending off guys with their rickshaws trying to get us to take a ride to the forbidden city. After walking for 15mins or so we were feeling rather lost so after visiting ... read more

On Tuesday, we went out towards Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We had thought that they were across the road from each other, rather than the Forbidden City being located behind Tian'anmen Square. What we thought was Tian'anmen Square was actually the People's Monument and the National Flag. Tian'anmen Square was a large open space. At the front of it was several flags, and a gigantic portrait of Chairman Mao. I don't think I've ever seen a larger portrait of someone in my life. I don't think I'd want a portrait of myself shown like that! Behind the square was the Palace Museum. The Palace Museum is actually the formal name for the Forbidden City now. It reminded me of how the Skydome is now technically Rogers Centre. Did you know that there were originally ... read more

Our first full day in China, we decided to head to the Forbidden City. Our hotel was right on Donganmen street about 3 blocks from the Forbidden City. We did this by ourselves, without a tour. Beijing in the winter time is very cold and windy. Luckily I read up on the weather before we got there. A good winter jacket, lined boots, hats, scarf, gloves, and thermal underwear are a must if you go to Beijing in the winter time. From Dongamen you can either enter from the main entrance (south) or the rear entrance (north). We decided to take a left and go to the main entrance. Even though it was a bitterly cold day, the sun was shining. The walk to the main entrance is very serene and peaceful. On side the main ... read more

Approximately a mile from our hotel room, we could see the roofs of the buildings within The Forbidden City. On the day we visited the city, we decided to hire our own tour guide for 200 Yuan ($31.50) for the six of us. After a four hour tour with our English speaking guide named "Linda", we knew it was worth it! (I have her contact information should anyone plan to visit Beijing and need a guide for any of the major attractions.) Grace and Faith enjoyed learning about the city and enjoyed having 72 hectors of space to stretch their legs. Since we visited on a weekday during the off-season, the site was not crowded. After we completed the tour, we decided to walk back to the hotel. We walked for quite a while until we ... read more

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