Exhausted from the trip to "the wall", we were unfettered in our desire to see more of Beijing. After a quick visit to the Mongolian Embassy, we set our sights on Tiananmen Square. The square is enormous, but we knew exactly where we were headed. We went straight to see the Mao Zedong mausoleum. It may be a bit macabre, but we were very excited about seeing the preserved remains of the Communist leader; much like we were excited to see Ho Chi Minh, in Hanoi, two years prior. You can imagine our disappointment when we realized that the building that houses the communist icon was closed for remodeling until September. We strolled around the building to make sure that there was not a hole in the fence that we could dart through, or a guard that we could bribe. Much to our dismay, it was locked up like Fort Knox. We then explored the huge square and the many sights that lie along its perimeter. It was only after buying really goofy looking straw sunhats, and posing in a picture with the adorable hat saleslady, that we were ready to go across the street to the Forbidden City.
Unlike the mausoleum, we were not given the cold shoulder; even though it's supposed to be forbidden. The city itself was built in 1420, although it has been maintained and remodeled many times since, leaving it in really fantastic shape. We did not visit the Starbucks inside, although we are a bit bummed because it has since closed; something about cultural insensitivity, whatever that means! (just kidding) The city once housed members of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was incredible to see where and how they lived, before America had even been settled by westerners. Needless to say, the various palaces, temples, living quarters, gardens, and open spaces were beautiful. We walked around for five hours before we were ushered out; two of the last people they shooed out the door. We did not even see all that is opened to the public, and over half of it is closed; so you can imagine how immense it is.
Upon exiting the city, we were right across from the Chinese flag that is ceremoniously lowered every evening for public viewing. We were exhausted and sore, so decided not to wait for the ceremony, as we could catch it another night. We were surprised see how many people had gathered to see the lowering and to see the square having been emptied of people, but we knew no better. After having walked a few blocks away, we heard some deafening cannon blasts. Not thinking that each flag lowering is accompanied by such fanfare each evening, we headed back, not wanting to miss anything important. As it turns out, the empty square and cannons were to celebrate the meeting of Hu Jin Tao (president of China) and Juan Carlos (king of Spain). It was pretty cool to have been so close to both heads of state, even though we were not able to see them. After this full day, we headed back to Me Nu for some tasty Chinese fare.
