What better way to start off Beijing than by visiting the Forbidden City? It was the home of Chinese emperors for over 500 years and is, uhh, really awesome. I forget what some of the signs said, but I think I remember that it has over 9000 rooms and required over one million laborers to build. But, in order to reach the Forbidden City, we first had to walk through Tiananmen Square.

Chinese National Day, aka Communist Party Victory Day, is October 1st. Everyone in China receives a week of vacation, and Beijing is a popular destination during the holidays. A lot of people from outside Beijing travel to the city to participate in the festivities and see the sights. Thus, security around the city, and particularly in places in Tiananmen Square, is strengthened. On the ground, this means that Cindy and I have to travel with our passports and pass through security checks.

Cindy introduces herself to the People’s Monument

And the People’s Hall

Standing with swag in front of Tiananmen

We discovered this the hard way when we were in line to purchase tickets to enter the Forbidden City. I had my backpack, which held my passport, but Cindy was packless. In my friendliest Chinese, I explained to the ticket attendant that Cindy did not have her passport and asked if I could purchase a ticket for her. He looked at her and agreed without complaint. Meanwhile, the Chinese woman next to me, who did not have her ID card, was denied. I made fun of Cindy for being a privileged foreigner.

Forbidden City is big, note the dude in the foreground performing a very Chinese squat

It’s always funny how ridiculously amazing things become commonplace after just a few moments. After we walked through two courtyards and three halls, we just stopped gawking at everything. The grounds are so enormous that it would take years to properly examine every little (yet amazing) detail. We saw the treasury and the clock museum, and then headed towards the exit, which was still miles away. We walked past living quarters, thrones, gardens, statues, and barely glanced at them.

The exit of the Forbidden City is also the entrance to a popular park. The park itself is actually artificial. Around the Forbidden City is a sizable moat, and the laborers dumped the dirt they excavated to create the moat into one area until they created a hill hundreds of meters tall. That hill is now the park, and there’s a Buddhist temple at the top that offers spectacular views of the Forbidden City.

Cindy enjoys spectacular view