When we woke up at 8am it felt like it was 3am — that's what happens when the hotel room has no window. The hotel breakfast was ok, except that the only drink was hot milk — surely not normal even in northern China! There were lots of bicycles and three-wheelers outside the hotel but few cars.
 songbirds |
 it's been a hard day's night |
 on three wheels |
There were huge crowds in the Forbidden City, almost all of them Chinese, and I wonder if the weekend isn't the best time to visit. Inside everything is monumental, with courtyards and gateways and pavilions and statues. There was building work in progress and some areas weren't open to the public.
 everyone was taking photos |
 reading the map |
 the crowd photographing a palace interior |
The park at the northern end was probably the nicest section of the City.
 it was a hot and sleepy day |
 dragon detail |
Having left the Forbidden City, we walked around it to the west. We noticed a little eatery on the other side of the road, and the people there called out to us, so we went over and had lunch. 60 yuan got us stir-fried vegies and chicken with rice — excellent food, as pretty much everything we ate in Beijing was.
Next: Zhongshan Park, Tiananmen, National Museum
Previous: Jingshan Park + Donganmen market
Up: Beijing