Forbidden City

Nick's parents came to visit us for a week and I finally got to do all the touristy Beijing things I'd been putting off til we had visitors. The day we went to the Forbidden City was pretty murky, but it kept it cooler so it was nice.

We spent a few hours here and I really enjoyed it. The signs are always fun to read. The English is better than most signs, but still pretty funny and flowery.

It was fun to walk around the City and imagine what it must have been like when it was first built in the 1400s. It is so big it must have taken ages for servants to run between all the rooms.

Here's a few pictures in a completely random order:

I really liked these gutters. I thought they made a cool picture.

You can see how bad the air was in this picture.

At the entrance to the Forbidden City. You can see the famous picture of Chairman Mao in the background.

The Imperial Garden

A Throne.

The lake on the back side of the Forbidden City.