Beijing

On to City #2 of our incredible China trip... Beijing!

We had an easy 2.5 hour direct flight from Shanghai to Beijing. We got in, took a bus to our hotel, checked in, then headed to an acrobat show. The show was very impressive - we were amazed by their flexibility and strength! In this picture, the guy at the very top was balancing on a rolling board while flipping bowls onto the top of his head.

We started our 2nd day off at the Forbidden City. Apparently it's named this because it was literally off limits for 500 years. It's the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China, and was home to two dynasties of emperors. This picture is right outside of the entrance.

The grounds were huge, you could probably spend a couple of days exploring everything inside. There were many ancient buildings, paths, as well as a variety of museums. The only real downfall was that there was no shade anywhere! We were roasting!

After visiting the Forbidden City we ventured on to Jingshan Park to get an aerial view of the Forbidden City. We climbed all the way to the top - and were surprised to see a buddha in the top building. The shape of this hill supposedly protects the palace from the evil spirits.

Aerial view of the Forbidden City from the top of Jingshan Park - I wasn't kidding when I said the grounds were huge.

The Bird's Nest at Olympic Park. This entire area was very touristy, but neat to see. We paid to go inside the stadium - it's very nice, wish we could have seen an event there.

We couldn't go to Beijing without trying the famous Peking Duck. We went to the most popular restaurant in town, known for their "lean" duck. Even though it was lean, it was still pretty greasy. But the flavor was good, and we really enjoyed it. We bought the entire duck for about $30, then they bring it out and carve it in front of you. They even bring you the head, but no - we didn't try this part.

We started the next day at the Summer Palace. It was a huge area filled with temples, gardens, pavilions, and lakes. Very beautiful! Apparently this area was originally a "royal playground" for the emperors and royal court living at the Forbidden City. It was their summer vacation spot to escape the heat at the Forbidden City.

Next we went to Beijing's most famous Buddhist temple, the Lama Temple. The buildings were beautiful, each with it's own buddha or statues and worship area. Inside this building holds the largest indoor buddha in the world... carved from a single block of sandalwood, he stands 26 meters (85 feet) tall! Unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture inside.

Here is a picture of one of the statues inside one of the many buildings on the Lama Temple grounds. It was hard to keep track because there were so many buildings and statues.

We ended our trip to Beijing at a Kung-Fu show. It was a really neat experience. See the "statue" behind us? It's actually a real boy!

I didn't post pictures from The Great Wall, I thought this deserved it's own blog post... stay tuned :)

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