Thursday, 14 August 2008
Forbidden City 14.8
(please right-click foto and open in new window for more fotos)
I have a day off today so I decided to finally visit the Forbidden City and the Tiananmen Square.
I got up around 9am, took breakfast and worked out in the Gym before leaving the hotel.
Having learnt my lessons, I took the subway this time.
Travelling with the subway in Beijing is a hassle.
First of all, security is tight and each person is screened and scanned before entering the subway platforms. Passengers waiting to board never wait for the ones getting off. As soon as the subway arrives the scramble begins. I really dont like this behavior.
In any case, I got to the other side of the Forbidden City and realized that I had to walk for about 1,5 Km to get to the main entrance.
Fortunately, a rickshaw just approached me and I hurriedly jumped in. The trip turned into a nightmare after we arrived at the entrance. The driver, an elderly lady, wanted to have 300 RMB, about 30 Euros from me. This drove me nuts! We finally settled for 20 RMB!!!
My accreditations allow me to visit all tourist attractions for free.
The forbidden City is simply magnificent. It is called forbidden because I learnt it was off limits to commoners for 500 years.
This gargantuan palace complex - Chinas largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings - sheltered 2 dynasties of emperors, the Ming and the Qing, who didn't stray away from their pleasure domes unless they absolutely had to. The emperors governed China from here.
The weather was a big blow to me to today since it rained cats and dogs for some hours. I had to wait in the underground leading to the Square for the rains to stop because the cheap 10 RMB umbrella I bought was already dismantled after the first rains came.
My trip to the Square was therefore not too good since the rains practically stopped.
I took the subway and visited the Silk market and Silk street.
The line-up of imitated and faked designer wear really shocked me!
Personally, I just thought this is awful....
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