A little sightseeing in Beijing

I am beginning to think that every single local came out to wish us well on our first day of sightseeing in Beijing. There were just swarms of people. Actually, is there a word that signifies something larger than a swarm of bees all buzzing around? Luckily Chuck is about a head taller than most, so I was able to pick him out of the crowd on the few occasions where we were separated.

First up on our sightseeing list was Tiananmen Square. The line to see Mao's tomb snaked around the square and had about a 3 hour wait, so we just walked around and then proceeded to the Forbidden City.

Our next stop was the Forbidden City. We pushed and shoved (no, not really) our way through the south gate, a court yard, another gate and then we were snagged by Dina, a tour guide. She was willing to be our 'friend' for a few hours as we toured the sight. Ok, we relented, why not? In the end, it was a good deal. She quickly got us tickets, by sneaking her way to the front of the line, so her rather minimal fee was worth it not to have to stand in yet another queue!

While at the Forbidden City, our tour guide took us to an art gallery where the nephew of the Last Emporer was located. We were 'lucky because he's not always in.' Ok, so my defenses went up, thinking that this was a scam. After some research, it appears to be legit. We bought a wall hanging that has the Chinese symbol for Harmony and then had Aisin Gioro Yuining (nephew of Last Emporer Puyi), add Romenesko and Happiness forever in caligraphy. The picture below shows him writing Romenesko.

This is the entrance to Forbidden City, by crossing one of the five bridges, which signify the five Confucian virtues of humanity, sense of duty, wisdom, reliability and ceremonial propriety.

Chuck and Dina, our guide...who, by the way, quickly pulled me aside to tell me how handsome my husband is...after she asked if we were married...and then proceded to tell me that 13 and 4 are unlucky numbers in Chinese culture. Note: We were married for 13 years on the 13th day of the 4th month this year. Hmmm, is she trying to tell me something????