Beijing tour

Yesterday we spent the day touring the sites, sounds, and, unfortunately, the smells of China. We began the day at Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City. It is hard to describe just how large the square is and then the never-ending doorways of the Forbidden City. It kept going on and on. It was a long day with little sleep last night. But we enjoyed all China had to offer with it's rich history and culture. Here is a sampling of the photos from today!!

Approaching Tianamen Square

Michael, our tour guide

The ever precious green flag, don't want to lose track of this in the sea of people

Chinese official guard

Some old man selling Chinese flags

In front of the many temples of Tianamen square and The Forbidden City

A monument to all the men who lost their lives building the Great Wall

A couple of cuties posing for their mom

China's largest flag

One of the vendors trying to sell us a panda hat

The Forbidden City

A little boy playing with an army guy

More temples

My beautiful princess

A group of Chinese people on a tour

Thought this was a great photo opt

Hoards of people at the Forbidden City

These ladies became local celebrities as they posed for photographers

Another cute little girl

Architectural detail is unmatched

Chinese kids where these pants with a hole in between their legs for using the bathroom

A large piece of jade outside a temple

More details of the artwork

The number of animals on the temple reveals the importance of each. The more animals the more important the structure.

Listening in on the history of the temple

Lady Dragon's throne

Amy and Zoe, our new friend's

Clean up

Had to get this guys sweatshirt. It says, "I climbed the Great Wall". He has to be in his 80's, at least!!!

Imperial Garden

The Great Wall

We drove by Olympic Village and saw the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube

The view outside our hotel room