6:45am - Breakfast!
Early start to our first morning in China! Gotta eat and be ready to hop on the bus by 8am. It seems they have "Americanized" breakfast for our tour group! Coffee. Hash Browns. Fruit. Omelettes. A great way to start the day....we don't have to eat any rice yet!
9:00am - Tiananman Square
We begin today visiting the largest public plaza in the world. It gained world-wide attention in April 1989, when a series of nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations culminated in the occupation of the square by protesters. Hundreds of thousands of citizens joined in the demonstrations. On June 4, 1989, tanks and troops stormed the square. Official casualties were put at more than 200 demonstrators and dozens of soldiers. Eyewitness reports suggest thousands of deaths. The government imposed a year-long martial law and executed several student leaders. Jenesa and I were not going to risk our lives.....but we were ready to protest all the umbrellas marching on the rainy plaza today! Mass chaos!
10:15am - The Forbidden City (Imperial Palace)
Just ahead of us at Tiananman Square, we arrive at the ceremonial gateway to the Forbidden City. Greeting us above the entrance is a large picture of Mao Zedong, the late Chinese communist leader and founder of the People's Republic of China. Known today as the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is a construction comparable to the Pyramids in Egypt.....comprised of over 800 buildings with more than 9,000 rooms. The emperor certainly had quite the "crib" back in the day!
1:45pm - Lunch
This ain't your ordinary lunch, folks! I hate Chinese food to begin with....but it also comes with a twist. Meals are served "family-style" over here. In the middle of the table a large lazy susan wheel sits for the diners to rotate. Food is served on the wheel, and rotated around to each person at the table to share. Wait a minute......Corbett Leonard.....sharing his food? And, look at the size of my plate!!! A total of 8 courses are served in the center of the table and then divided amongst the group. I'm glad they served beer to go along with this fiasco!
3:30pm - The Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is a World Heritage site. It is "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.
During our visit, Jenesa and I attempted to tackle the Long Corridor. The corridor is a covered walkway with over 14,000 Chinese paintings on the wooden beams and ceiling. We had 45 minutes to tackle this 1 mile roundtrip adventure around the lake. Sounds easy enough, right? We're realizing quickly that nothing is ever going to be easy in China. It seems everywhere you go there are a BILLION PEOPLE. Ever try to walk down a crowded hallway? Multiply it times a billion.....and you get the point! Jenesa and I survived that little adventure.....but we know there will be plenty more to come!
We finished our day at the Summer Palace with a relaxing ride across the lake on a dragon boat!
6:30pm - Welcome Dinner
Our Gate1 Travel company hosted a welcome dinner for us tonight. Our tour guide dispelled the myth that Chinese people will eat anything with four legs....except tables. The big item on tonight's menu would be Peking duck.....and, that would be just the appetizer! Next came the fish with its head and tail proudly displayed at both ends of the plate. Somebody please send us a pizza!!!
