Ni Hao! Jan 7/10, Beijing

The last two days have gone by in a whirl wind! We've been doing our duty as tourists and cramming way too much sight-seeing into each day. One our first day, Kelsea and I went to visit Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City. What a sight! There's definitely a certain feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when you get to see such an iconic part of the world and history. I'm sure we'll feel the same next week when we visit the Great Wall.

Entering the square, at first, was a little on the confusing side. Amidst the hoards of tourists and locals hawking their wares, we managed to make our way through. Once out in the open, we were able to take in the sheer vastness of the complex. Tian An Mean Square is the biggest public square in the world. The thousands of tourists looked like little ants in comparison. The size of it is almost too much to comprehend.

Another noticeable element was the police presence, which seemed to be in full force. I swear there was one policeman for every two tourists, and those were just the ones that you could see. Apparently, there are even more who are undercover in plain clothes. This high security has been in place since the 1989 pro-democracy student demonstrations that took place in the square.

At the head of the square is the entrence to the Forbidden City, crowned by an enormous portrait of Chairman Mao. Walking through the entrence gates led us into the pristine and palatial palace grounds, which was covered in beautiful sparkling snow. The Palace was first built between 1406 and 1420, contains over 800 buildings, and served as the residence to 24 Chinese emperors. Needless to say, it's pretty impressive. With history seeping from every corner, we wound our way through the imperial stomping grounds.

Being winter, there were very few tourists. The snow was an excellent backdrop to the elaborately tiled roofs and colourfully painted columns. What a wonderful and mystic place: walking in the footsteps of Chinese emperors.

On the second day we were able to check off a few other major sights. In the morning we climbed to the top of a small mountain in Jingshan Park. The mountain was dotted with several Buddist temples and offered and excellent bird's-eye-view of the rooftops of the Forbidden City as well as the rest of Beijing. We were tempted to join in with the many tai chi groups that were scattered through out the park.

Later we took a gamble on the subway that paid off and went to the Temple of Heaven. This is where the emperors came to worship their ancestors. It was equally as beautiful as the Forbidden City and nearly as big.

And finally, to cap off this wonderful day we decided to participate in a true Beijing tradition: Pekking Duck. We went to the best restaurant for duck in the city. Greeted by finely dressed maitridees, we were led to a glamourous dinning hall. We felt a little out of place in our grubby backpacker clothes; the wait staff definitely gave us the once over. However the duck was incredible and well worth the embarassment. The flesh was juicy and suculent and the skin was crispy and salty-sweet. Roll it up in a pancake with some cucumber, green onion, and sauce! Yum-oh! Duck must be like turkey because by the time we were finished this elaborate four course meal we were exhausted.

Back at the hostel, we fell asleep almost instantly. Our bellies were content as we dreamt about luxurious palaces and mystic temples.

(Please note: we are having difficulty gaining access to our blog in Beijing. Internet access in China is censored. Our updates may not be regular while we are here. However, we will do our best to keep you posted.)