First stop was the "Forbidden City" where the Chinese Emperor used to live. These pictures don't do justice for how impressive, ornate, and expansive this area is. It was amazing!
All the doorways (like the one behind me) require you to step up and over. Our tour guide says it is because the ancient Chinese believed that the devil and evil spirits didn't have knees and they couldn't follow through a doorway that required stepping over.
The guide books say that there are 9,999 rooms total in the Forbidden City. Our tour guide said that the number of actual, usable rooms is little less because that count includes some rooms that just consist of four pillars without walls. Regardless which way you count it. . there are a ton of them!
The level of detail on everything including pillars, doors, and roofs was incredible!
Next stop was Tian'anmen Square, China's main government building area and location of the famous protest/tank incident.
The soldiers were doing some sort of formation or ceremony with a crowd of Chinese people watching.
This little guy was more interested in peeking at us than watching the ceremony. :)
So glad that you are able to see so much of the world. I'm a little jealous. Keep the pictures coming. Loving them.
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