We Built This (Forbidden) City

On Saturday the group trudged off for our first official sightseeing excursion in Beijing. I say "official" there because everyone has visited a lot of sites separately (especially the Silk Market), but this was the first outing as a group. We started at Tiananmen Square, the largest outdoor public square in the world and then entered the adjacent Forbidden City. We walked through with our guide, Lee, for the next two hours and learned about the history of the palace, which dates back to the Yongle Period of the Ming Dyansty in the fifteenth century...those of you who are up on your Chinese history might have an idea of what I'm talking about. After the Forbidden City we had lunch and then made our way over to the Summer Palace. It's a shame that we were there on a weekend because it was very crowded. This is normally my favorite place in Beijing because it is so peaceful and relaxing. Thousands of visitors tend to put a damper on that, though. I think the students were able to understand my description of how it can be so peaceful anyway, even if they didn't get to experience it that way.

Stay tuned for details of Day Two....something about a wall that is kind of big and famous?

Best,
Professor Drake