This is Us
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 ofЧитать далее
Where is Everyone?
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 mostЧитать далее
Ready to See China
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 toЧитать далее
Let's Start the Tour!
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 soЧитать далее
The Workers
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 ofЧитать далее
Red and Gold
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 flyingЧитать далее
Tiananmen Square
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 MuseumЧитать далее
It's Me!
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
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 beЧитать далее
Just the Two of Us
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
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 suchЧитать далее
Entrance to the Forbidden City
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
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 toЧитать далее
It's Me!
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
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 aЧитать далее
Kathy
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
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 aboutЧитать далее
This is Us
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 takeЧитать далее
Me Again
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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, andЧитать далее
One More Selfie
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 politelyЧитать далее
Another Gateway
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 nothingЧитать далее
Checkpoints
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 thinkingЧитать далее
Architectural Details
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 hasЧитать далее
Marching
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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, andЧитать далее
Chinese Soldiers
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 individualismЧитать далее
Off They Go
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 exerciseЧитать далее
More Gates
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 andЧитать далее
Details
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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
27 сентября 2018 г., Китай ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
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 allЧитать далее