I had the opportunity this Thanksgiving to go to China with a tour group from Misawa. My friend, Alison, joined me; then she got her friend, Brooke, to join us too.
We took a bus from Misawa to Narita Airport in Tokyo (an extremely long 9.5 hour bus ride), then hopped a plane for a quick 4 hour flight to Beijing. That took all of Wednesday, and we were exhausted by the time we reached our hotel that night.
Thursday morning, we started out in Tian an men Square, just a few minutes from our hotel.
Tian an men Square, looking towards the Forbidden City.
I learned almost all I know about China from the new Karate Kid movie. It's sad, I know. This is on the way to the Forbidden City, which you would know too, if you had seen the movie. 
Apparently, red hair isn't very common in China. I got asked for pictures at least once or twice each day. Weird. 
I love these brooms. Everywhere you go in Japan or China they use these stick brooms. You never see synthetic ones. 
Forbidden City. Can you believe that this place has been around for over 600 years? Looks like it's in pretty good shape to me. It was used to house emperors for over 500 years. Now it's just a fun place to visit.
Forbidden City. So, the Forbidden City is HUGE! There are something like 10,000 rooms. I guess that's why they call it a city and not a palace. 
These giant iron and copper vats used to always be filled with water and placed all around the Forbidden City for fire protection.
Earthy Tranquility... Supreme Harmony... Heavenly Purity... Aren't these names the best?
More of the Forbidden City... Like I said, it's huge.
Beijing skyline from the Forbidden City
Imperial garden
This is an overlook of the Forbidden City. We walked from the very top of this photograph (Tian an men Square) all the way through the Forbidden City and out that large gate. The picture is taken from coal hill, made famous when the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty committed suicide here. 
This is supposedly where the emperor hanged himself in 1644 after being chased out of the Forbidden City by a peasant uprising. And now it's a tourist attraction.
DId you like the ITT tour? Would you reccomend going through them or would you do it on your own if you had the choice? I deperately want to go to China before we leave! I'm so jealous! : )
ReplyDeleteI loved the ITT tour, and since it was just me, I felt like it was a great deal. I've heard though that you can get cheaper prices (especially if you have a family) if you plan your own trip. I thought it was nice not to have to worry about anything.
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