Kevin and I began our 1st full day in Beijing by going to the Forbidden City and The Temple of Heaven. We had no idea but it was also a national holiday, China National Day. There was security everywhere with baggage checks along the sidewalk at checkpoints and entering the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square was packed with people waiting for the flag raising ceremony. There seemed to be over a million people in the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square most with flags and a miniature flag on their faces. It was a pretty awesome site.
I forgot how big the Forbidden City is. Walking from building to building and into another open square and more buildings beyond that. The only thing that had changed from my last trip there years ago is that you can't go into the buildings. Now you must look through an open door and take your picture. There is a huge moat around the Forbidden City and after seeing the inside we walked around the outside of the moat.
The Temple of Heaven was just as beautiful as when I went there before. The picture of the main temple is what most pamphlets of Beijing have on the cover. Just like the Forbidden City I was disappointed that you can't go into the buildings. The Temple of Heaven is a sacred site and sacrifices were held there for good crops and harvest. Also, it is in the center of a beautiful park so take time to see the ~150 acres.
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| China National Day |
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| Tiananmen Square |
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| Temple of Heaven |
Despite the crowds and the inside of the building being closed I would still recommend seeing these sites as well as the Great Wall on any visit to Beijing.
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