July 18th – Sight Seeing Day 1

Today we had a sight seeing day. We went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Pearl Market and an acrobatic show.

The day started with a breakfast buffet. The buffet was very different than an American breakfast, but the food was good. There were hard boiled eggs, which was a positive, along with lots of dumpling type items. There was juice, but no coffee. Bummer for me since I usually have cup of coffee in the morning.

Next we were off to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was previously the Emperor’s Palace. Tiananmen Square is massive. It is nearly impossible to convey the scale of the Tiananmen Square. Forbidden City was beautiful. There are three rings in the Forbidden City. The common area, the outer ring and the inner ring. The outer area was where the Emperor would meet visitors. The inner area was where the Emperor lived and worked. The beauty of this area is tough to relate. We learned that the court area of the inner ring has no trees in it due to the idea that there should be nothing above the head of the Emperor.

Next we went over to the Pearl Market. This is essentially an indoor shopping mall. Instead of being filled with large name brand stores, the entire building is populated with booths of various sellers. We started on the fourth floor. First up was a view of a Taoist Temple. Next, the stores on the fourth floor. These are the most authentic. These include stores to buy real ocean pearls (which are apparently very expensive). We were free to roam after that. It was explained to us that the third floor was more pearls, but a lot less expensive (thus, lower quality). The second floor was filled with watches, handbags and wallets. It is very widely acknowledged that the materials aren’t genuine. The first floor is filled with electronics and toys.

Lastely, we headed over to see an acrobatic show. The show was incredible. The amount of power, balance and movement was extremely impressive. I lost count of the number of times the audience audibly gasped. The show was so good that it kept me awake even though I was sitting in a comfortable chair in a dark room.