Sunday, February 22, 2009

Day 4 - Sunday



















Today we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the large plaza that sits in the center of Beijing. Government buildings border it. It also holds the mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong, who was the founder of the People's Republic of China which ended the reign of emperors in China. The lines of people waiting to see the tomb stretched on for as far as you could see, and it is like that every day.

From Tiananmen Square we walked into the Forbidden City. This was the home of 24 different emperors (one at a time) and housed over 3,000 people who supported the emperor on a daily basis. The complex was forbidden to anyone but royalty, and therefore the name was derived. The complex was absolutely huge and we walked 2/3 of a mile from one end to the other.

Next we rode in rickshaws through the hutong. The hutong is the 'old' city of narrow streets and courtyard residences. Some of these houses date back 300+ years. We were fortunate enough to be invited into the home of a 290 year-old residence. It housed 3 families - the grandfather, daughter and son. The daughter gave us a talk about her family and the history of the house. The hutong area is very poor, with communal toilets and not very many amenities. The government owns a lot of the property and rents houses out very inexpensively to poor families. However the few people that own their own properties are very lucky - if they were to sell the property they could get $8,000 per square meter. The land is quite valuable as it is the center of Beijing.

Finally we ended the day with a tea ceremony. It was just what we needed to end the cold and blustery day!

For more pictures of our day, click on the More Pictures link at the top right of this page. Then click on Day 4 - Sunday.

I probably won't get a chance to post tomorrow. We leave for the airport at 5:30am to fly to Nanning. At 3:00pm we get Ella! I'm sure we'll be in a for a long night. The next post you will be able to see us with our daughter!

5 comments:

The Cooks said...

We are so happy and excited for you. We can't wait to see the all of you finally together!

Sherry H. said...

What an amazing trip! The pictures are beautiful and soon Ella will be with you, words cannot describe the joy I feel for your family.

I'm sorry I wasn't at the Ground Round for your send off, but we didn't bet back from Milwaukee until Saturday afternoon.

I'm sure Ian is going crazy at home in anticipation. His Bella Bunny is the cutest and I'm sure it will be Ella's favorite!

The Cooks plus 4 said...

It is now 2:09 am your time and you have Ella!!! Are you sleeping, is she sleeping, or is she breaking in her mommy to get up at night. We can not wait to hear from you guys!!! I'm sure you are all very tired and hopefully the mattresses are more comfortable at this hotel. Love you guys. Candy, Dan and kids

debress said...

Post again! Now! Or soon! I can't wait to hear how it went getting Ella! How wonderful and happy and overwhelming for you all! We're all thinking of you!
Deb

The Cooks said...

I just looked at the pictures posted by one of the people in your travel book and saw the group picture and it was so precious. Debbie, you look so amazingly happy. Ella is so goregous. We send our love!!!!

Dale, Danielle and Carson