Posts

Showing posts with the label Forbidden City

Where are we today? The East China Sea, Bejing memories

Image
 Yesterday, we awakened at 4:30 to meet for our trip to Beijing at 5:30.  Beijing is about 2 1/2 hours inland from the Tianjin port.  Our first stop was Tiananmen Square, where so much related to Chinese history and government has happened.   I don’t have a picture of the exact building, but one of the modern buildings around the square is Mao’s Mausoleum. Though Chairman Mao wanted to be cremated, his body was embalmed and is kept in a specially cooled room.  Our tour didn’t include a visit, for which I am thankful. All around the Square is modern China.  When we passed through the Tiananmen Gate (The Gate of Heaven Sent Peace), we passed into China of the 1400’s.  Since the Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976 destroyed a lot of China’s traditional beauty, this massive complex of buildings from the Middle Ages is a treasure. I didn’t know before going was that The Forbidden City was just part of the old Imperial City, which must have been huge for tha...