Day 3: Beijing

Began the day early with a stroll through the Forbidden City. SO cold. My fingers were like fish sticks (without breading). Some areas were off limits due to ongoing construction.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace:


Lots of police and military present.

Meridian Gate:




Golden Stream:


It's a huge place. The halls and gates seemed endless.



From there I caught the subway to the Ming City Wall Ruins Park.


At the end of the park there's a watchtower. From the tower you can see the incredible width of the crumbling wall, as well as other sights around the city.


The Red Gate Gallery has a home atop the tower.


Subway back to the Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square/my hostel area. Tiananmen Square exploration. Another massive space.


Zheng Yangmen Gate:


Qianmen Archery Tower:

Three more semi-successful ventures:

1) I found (the well-camouflaged) Beijing Underground City. Unfortunately, when I went in, a staff member showed me a note written in English explaining that the site was closed for renovations over the holiday.

2) Took the subway to see an Ancient Observatory. Closed.

3) Went to the Temple of Heaven Park. It was getting late, but, according to my guide book I would have just enough time to see the park. It turns out that the park was open, but the attractions inside were not. I decided to walk around the park for awhile, but that I most definitely needed to come back another day.

Hutong sampling:


A lot of walking today.