I'm picking up my narrative on the second half of the first full day in which we visited the Great Wall. It was absolutely breathtaking and the pictures don't do it justice. You could see the wall winding through the mountains for miles standing dark against the new fallen snow.The next morning, we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was extremely cold when the wind picked up, but the sights were impressive. The Forbidden city is quite a palace, and the bold colors and detailing have been recently restored in preparation for the Olympics. One of the largest buildings was still under wraps. I was struck by the size of the palace. As I walked through the last few corridors I thought I was nearing the end only to walk into a massive courtyard. I think it was about seven courtyards, but don't quote me on it. (Check out the satellite image on Google Maps.) In my next post, I'll write about our rickshaw ride through Beijing and our visit to the Temple of Heaven.
