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 ofEn savoir plus
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 mostEn savoir plus
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 toEn savoir plus
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 soEn savoir plus
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 ofEn savoir plus
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 flyingEn savoir plus
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 MuseumEn savoir plus
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 beEn savoir plus
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 suchEn savoir plus
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 toEn savoir plus
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 aEn savoir plus
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 aboutEn savoir plus
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 takeEn savoir plus
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, andEn savoir plus
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 politelyEn savoir plus
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 nothingEn savoir plus
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 thinkingEn savoir plus
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 hasEn savoir plus
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, andEn savoir plus
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 individualismEn savoir plus
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 exerciseEn savoir plus
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 andEn savoir plus
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 allEn savoir plus