This is Mrs. Hubbard just trying to catch up a little on posting. Things have been so busy the last few days that I haven't had a chance to sit and type. Last Tuesday, we went to Tian An Men Square (which means Gate of Heavenly Peace). This is a large open square which is the entrance to the Forbidden City and the place where many ceremonial parades are held. Chairman Mao Zedong is buried here in a crystal coffin (he was the first leader of the People's Republic of China established after their Civil War in 1949).
The Forbidden City was the site of the Imperial Palace for 500 years and is the largest surviving palace complex in the world. It has 980 buildings with 8,707 rooms. Our guide told us that it has been said that when a baby was born, if that baby spent one or two days in each of the rooms, he would be 30 years old before he had visited each room. It is rectangular in shape and is 961 metres (3153 feet) north to south and 753 metres (2470 feet) east to west. Just inside the gates, there is a large courtyard paved with bricks. They built 20 layers of bricks below the surface to prevent anyone from tunneling into the Forbidden City. The whole thing is surrounded by a moat.
Although very important in Chinese history, it was a lot of walking for the kids (and the adults as well) in very hot weather. Afterwards, we went to a very traditional Chinese restaurant, famous in Beijing for it's noodles. The kids perked up after that.
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