Day 5 - Tiananmen Sq & Forbidden City

We got a bit of a lie in this morning before meeting Sean at 9am to visit the Hutong District, walking around a very pretty lake with bars and restaurants and saw many locals going about their day. We saw many old style quadrangle shaped buildings, where multi generational families still lived communally, sharing the facilities. Many still had their original features - square or round door features if the occupant worked in administration or the military respectively (book / drum shaped). Many doorways were guarded by pair of lions - always the lioness on the left, holding down a cub, and the male on the right, holding down a ball.

We came across a square with people playing Hackey Sack - a new experience for us! We joined in for a while and bought a Hackey (Sack?) to introduce to the UK!

We visited many of the gift shops including of course the chocolate one where we sampled some chocolate delights and some very good hot chocolate. The large displays were very impressive which are preserved with a special coating every couple of months, and monthly in the summer time. After a wander around the shops we arrived at our calligraphy lesson which was held in a local home; Phil was pretty good, whereas Catherine took a bit of practice! The Calligraphy we finished represented home, peace and happiness.

We then had lunch made for us in a typical middle class Chinese home - an all in one kitchen/dining area which was very modest. The food was delicious and plentiful. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming 🥰

Leaving Hutong, we headed for Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. By arriving at around 12pm, we were able to avoid the usual hour long queues through security (one of the many ways in which our guides have improved our experience here) and were soon enjoying the sunshine, walking around the vast square which holds up to one million people!

The Square is in the city center of Beijing, named after the Tiananmen ("Gate of Heavenly Peace").

The chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in the square on October 1, 1949.

The large floral display represents the 56 ethnic groups of China. The largest is the Han Chinese, numbering 900 million people, who reside in every region of the country. The smallest group is the Hezhen, living in the far northeast, with fewer than 2,000 people.

A subway tunnel linked the Square, symbol of the Republic, to the Forbidden City, home of the Emperors, and soon we were mingling with the dressed up Concubines (many), Emperors and Empresses queuing to enter. After a bag and passport check we were through and into one of the many outer courtyards, where we were able to move at our own pace and learn about the history of the various Dynasties and the construction of the city - the stones were laid 15 bricks deep, to discourage tunnelling.

Within The Forbidden City were museums displaying ancient clocks (many from the UK!) and many other priceless ornaments dating from the reign of the Emperors, with many Jade, Jadeite (a mottled form of Jade) and White Jade items present.

Afterwards, our heads spinning with all our new knowledge, we headed back to the hotel for a celebratory cocktail for Phil and glass of wine for Catherine 🥂

PS - we found out the slightly worrying hotel gas masks were to wear in case of smog and sand storms!

Thank you Beijing for wonderful experiences - Next stop Xian…Read more