China Ancient Trip, Day 9: Beijing

I first met Rose.

While we were in Beijing, our daily sightseeing trips were taken care of by 'Maggie Zhang Tour.' I was told by Maggie that it was autumn and the best season to see Beijing. We only stay for 4 days and 3 nights, yet there are so many interesting places to be visited and not to forget the shopping spots. Fortunately, we were able to cover most of the significant tourist spots as suggested by our tour guide.

We were given 8 hours max per day. We may schedule the visit to the Beijing attractions at our own pace. Tasted the local halal/vegetarian cuisine rather than stopping at typical tourist spots and was flexible according to our needs.

Maggie described me as a good husband, as I'll make sure, there were shopping activities each day :)

After breakfast, we met Rose at the lobby and she briefly explained what we will be doing for the next 3 days. We were dropped off at Tiananmen Square as our first stop. The square was surrounded by government buildings, including the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, the Great Hall of the People and the Monument to the People's Heroes, to commemorate the Chinese democracy's struggle. There was also the National Museum of China, but we didn't gain entrance.

Mao's portrait at the Gate of Heavenly Peace, a.k.a. Tiananmen Gate

The second gate before reaching the Forbidden City.

The Tiananmen Square, located south of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, now known as the Palace Museum, was built from 1406 to 1420. The complex is really huge, consisting of dozens of halls.

The U-shape Meridian Gate, entrance to the Palace Museum

Stroked the bulge for luck! As instructed by Rose

There were 5 bridges crossing the Jade River. 

The Gate of Supreme Harmony. Tourists flocked to the entrance.

A male lion with a ball under its paw

There were dozens of halls with 'catchy' names.

A brief description one of the UNESCO world heritage

Once you passed through the Gate of Supreme Harmony, you'll see the Hall of Supreme Harmony

The restored walkway on the left and the original on the right

The Hall of Supreme Harmony is located at the outer court of the Forbidden City.

Imperial roof decoration of the highest status on the roof ridge of the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Source: Wikipedia)

The symbolic sculpture of a dragon

The hall of  Central Harmony

It was actually the room where the emperor changed clothes.

The entrance to the inner court of the Forbidden City

The symbol of the nine dragons

The Imperial Garden

The massive complex ends at the Gate of Divine Prowess

The Hill of Accumulated Elegance is about 10 meters high 

A map of the Forbidden City

It's still early for lunch. We skipped Hutong, which was supposed to be on our itinerary; instead, we went shopping at Yashow market. Goods like clothes, leather bags, and handicrafts can be found here with decent prices. Mind you that this renowned place offers "not-so-original" within a 4-story building. Pretty amazed with my wife's skills, I chose to abstain from the bargaining scene. She managed to chop down a whopping ~80% reduction from the original price!.

On that afternoon, we went to Yonghe Temple, popularly known as Lama Temple, a very important attraction just after the Forbidden City. It's about 6 km from the Yashow market.

The main gate at the Southern end of the central axis

A short walk to the prayer hall

One of the column standing in the middle of a prayer hall

The temple signboard written in Manchu, Tibetan, and, er... I can't recall

A Prayer Wheel.

Two more posts, and I'll be done for this trip. Huhuhu