This is Us

Greetings from Tiananmen Square! A few people in the tour group asked Kathy to take pictures of them here on Tiananmen Square and now it's time for them to return the favor. I always love pictures ofLue lisää
Where is Everyone?

For some reason, I had expected Tiananmen Square to be a lot more crowded. As I understand it, China has a population of more than a billion people and this is supposed to be one of Beijing's mostLue lisää
Ready to See China

Kathy looks all set for us to start seeing Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. That guy behind her was in our tour group but I can't remember his name at the moment. I'm sure that it will come toLue lisää
Let's Start the Tour!

With a few people in this shot, you can really see the scale of that pagoda building. It's so huge! The person holding the fish kite is Lisa, our tour guide. I'm glad that she's using something soLue lisää
The Workers

We had a few minutes to walk around Tiananmen Square before we started the tour and it felt wonderful to walk around in such a famous and historical area. We saw this statue, a tribute to the power ofLue lisää
Red and Gold

I noticed this building as we were leaving Tiananmen Square and headed to the Forbidden City. I must admit, I had expected to see China filled with iconography of this sort but, aside from flyingLue lisää
Tiananmen Square

This building is actually a gateway separating Tiananmen Square from the Forbidden City. The square contains the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National MuseumLue lisää
It's Me!

I hardly ever get my picture taken but I want to be photographed a lot on this trip. I'm not sure that we'll ever make it back to China, although I hope that we will. With this in mind, I want to beLue lisää
Just the Two of Us

Here's another picture of the two of us together. I'm usually the one behind the camera but I'm trying to change that. I'd really like to get some nice pictures of us together in China. This is suchLue lisää
Entrance to the Forbidden City

Although crossing the street in front of this building looked very treacherous and dangerous because of so many cars, it was actually very easy. I'm getting more and more excited as we get closer toLue lisää
It's Me!

Here's me, in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City. I still can't believe that we finally made it here! Everyone in our tour group wanted photos taken here so the guide decided to wait for aLue lisää
Kathy

Taking a photo of Kathy was next, of course. I love taking pictures of her and think that she always photographs very well. Of course, she doesn't think so. Still, she's always a good sport aboutLue lisää
This is Us

Kathy got out her selfie stick and took this picture of us together. On our last shot together, we asked someone from the tour group to take our photo and, when she was finished, she asked us to takeLue lisää
Me Again

This seems to be a very popular spot for taking pictures. I'm glad that we were able to find a spot without other people posing for their shots right next to us. I see that happening in crowded, andLue lisää
One More Selfie

We had time to take one more selfie together before we were ready to enter the Forbidden City. I was so surprised that Nina approached us and asked us if we wanted her to take our picture. We politelyLue lisää
Another Gateway

We entered the gateway to the Forbidden City and immediately came to another gateway. I was surprised, thinking that we would have been inside already, but I guess not. I suppose that, if nothingLue lisää
Checkpoints

This gateway of the Forbidden City was nothing more than a security checkpoint. Lisa, our guide, spoke to the guard and then we were all made to line up together and open up our bags. I'm thinkingLue lisää
Architectural Details

We're almost inside! At this point, we're close enough that we can see some of the architectural details of the buildings. It looks amazing!
Soldiers

Almost as soon as we got inside the Forbidden City we saw a group of soldiers marching across the square. This really surprised us since we didn't expect to see Chinese soldiers inside what hasLue lisää
Marching

The Chinese soldiers marched by us so quickly that I couldn't get any shots of their faces. I'm so glad that I saw them but I think that a photo of them from the front would have been a fantastic, andLue lisää
Chinese Soldiers

The soldiers are all so synchronized! Not only do they all do the same thing at the same time, they all look exactly the same too. It almost makes me think of the Borg, where there is no individualismLue lisää
Off They Go

And there they go, marching off so quickly. It was exciting to see the Chinese military marching through the Forbidden City but I can't help wonder why they were here. Was it just typical exerciseLue lisää
More Gates

I thought that, after the last gate, that we were inside the Forbidden City but apparently not. This is yet another gate for us to pass through. I'm noticing that the gateways are becoming bigger andLue lisää
Details

We aren't even fully inside and I'm already loving this architecture. If everything looks this good already, I can only imagine how great things are going to be inside!
The Imperial Palace

We're finally inside the Forbidden City and it's even better than I had expected. I'm glad that it's not so crowded today. I'm going to go through this place as slowly as possible. I want to see allLue lisää