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I have learned that my hotel is in a good location although not the nicest one in the area....room is clean and bed is decent so I can’t complain!
My tour guide Lucy picked me up from the hotel at 8am and we made our way over to Tiananmen Square. I thought that an early start would mean less people. However as my day progressed I learned less people is just not likely around here! We walked around the square to the far side and saw the arrow tower and the first gate. In the middle of the Square is a mausoleum that thousands and thousands of people were line up snaking all around the Square. Lucy seemed quite relieved when I said I was alright not to go in and pay my respects. As we left the square and were headed to the Tiananmen Gate I asked about the events that happened there in more recents times. Without skipping a beat she promptly told me it is forbidden to talk about...and we carried on. In order to get to the Tiananmen Gate you have to cross a bridge, we crossed over on the bridge that was for the royals. We entered in to the Forbidden City and passed through Gate after Gate. I was in awe of the detail put into each building. There was a building for everything! A building for tea, for changing, for meetings, for weddings and so on....there was even a room with 27 beds so that if the enemies did get in they wouldn’t know which bed the Emperor was in! We wandered through where the thousands of concubine lived. We visited the Imperial Garden which was beautiful.
There is so much history and so many buildings I will not get into such detail. I did not take as many pictures as I thought I would. Lucy kept telling me that today is not busy like the summer, and even still she was pushing me through the crowd to get pictures as I was apparently not pushy enough!
We hopped on a public bus and made our way to the Old Hutongs area. The Hutongs are neighbourhoods made of alleys or very narrow streets that are part of the Old Beijing. Many were demolished to create new roads etc however the ones that are left are now protected. We wandered through the area and had a steamed beef dumpling. Lucy took me in back where the people live. There was a man on a bike pulling a cart calling out selling rice. We had lunch in a local Muslim restaurant. I had a beef dish that had these little yellow bean squares wraps and made my own kind of dumpling. Was very good.
Next up was the Temple of Heaven also built by the Emperor. Considered to the the most holiest of temples in Beijing. We visited two main buildings here, the Hall of prayer and the Imperial Vault of Heaven. We also visited the Circular Mound Alter. There is a huge park area that surrounds, many elders visit this area and there is work out equipment in the park for them to get exercise and socialize. I even tried out a few pieces including a massager for my back! The Circular Mound Alter is surrounded by 9 blocks, the number 9 represents the Emperor which also is my number so technically I should of been able to cross the Emperors bridge and not the Royals!
Lucy dropped me back at my hotel and I decided to go back to Tiananmen Square at the end of the day. Hoping that it would be quieter. Everyday they raise the flag at sunrise and it comes down at sunset. I was there for sunset and the flag coming down.
I had been told that a hot pot dinner is a must, so I found a fairly good rated one on TripAdvisor called Haidilao Hot Pot. Was an interesting experience and not really meant for one but I did alright. When they look at you and smile and tell you something is really really spicy then you should head their warnings! I had a very very spicy hot pot!
I made my way back to my hotel and fell into bed! Lots of walking!
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