I'm sorry to say this but, the forbidden city resembles disneyland...there were tourists everywhere, lines, street venders, and pretty much everything you would expect from an amusements park but the rollercoasters. the chinese have got to be the only civilization that refurbishes their historical architecture (not to say that that is a bad thing). the entire forbidden city looked as if it was built only last year. we entered the northern gate of the city and worked our way south which is actually the exact opposite of how the city is meant to be experienced. this forced us to exit the city into Tienanmen square, the largest public space i have ever seen. apparently this space is meant to house a populous of about 600, 000 people not including the street which can accommodate 6 tanks driving abreast. we walked across the square in hopes of seeing the encased body of mao but where disappointingly turned away. heres a picture of the group in front of the entrance to the forbidden city.
monday morning we decided to get out of the city. we first stopped at a cluster of ming tombs. i wont talk much about this because i wasn't thoroughly impressed by the site. the tomb was in great condition but frankly, it looked just like the tomb we saw last week. let just say that the historical chinese architectural style, while extremely interesting, has become somewhat repetitive. we then made our way to the great wall of china. For those of you who have not experienced this monumental wall, it is by far the most spectacular sight i have seen since i have been in china. after a short gondola ride up a steep mountain we were left to explore. two hours later we had walked many miles along the wall, my legs where shaking, and i could barely breath, but i could have stayed longer. the wall is, for lack of a better word, was amazing.
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