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Monday we visited Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. There were lots and lots of people there and the tour guide said we were lucky to see the fountains on in front because they aren't on very often. The painting of Chairman Mao that's on the front is six meters high and is replaced once a year to keep it looking new. There are also two stone "Criticism Columns" that the emperor had placed outside on which common people could write things they were unhappy with. This is thought of as the birth of Chinese Democracy. (I told Jordan I am going to put criticism columns outside her bedroom door so I can write on it when she needs to clean her room, etc!)
All of the steps and railings and decoration inside the square are made of marble. There are 1024 gargoyles surrounding the entrance to the Forbidden City. Each one has a hole for the mouth so that when it rains, they all "spit" water. I'll bet it's a site to see...we haven't had any rain here yet.
The floor of the square is made up of 15 layers of bricks laid in alternating directions to make it impossible for anyone to tunnel underneath to get inside. You will also notice there are no trees for an enemy to hide behind.
The roofs of the buildings in the Foridden City are all yellow. Only the emporer was allowed to have yellow roofs. Also on the roofs, there are creatures on each corner to indicate the importance of the building. Three creatures indicates a less important building, up to 9 for the most important, but always in odd numbers. The main hall in the Forbidden City actually has 10 now, because one emporer ordered that an extra one be added for him because he was the "most perfect emporer". The 10th creature was a flying monkey and is still there today.
Please be sure to check out our photo album here at Off Exploring to see lots of pictures from each day.
After that we went to a place where they produce fresh water pearls and then had a rickshaw tour of an old "hutong" (neighborhood) where people still live much like they did many years ago.
In the evening we walked two miles to find a geocache and were so exhausted after all the walking all day that we took a cab back to the hotel! It was dark by then too.
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