After the Lama temple we returned to the hotel for lunch and one of the girls, Jess, wanted to go to the Forbidden City which was on my list of things I wanted to see so we jumped in a taxi and headed there. I cannot begin to give the Forbidden City justice as it is overwhelmingly huge. We arrived at 2pm and it closes at 5pm by which time we still hadn't done it all (although I was ready to leave by then as I was so tired). First we got a tourist bus which is like a golf buggy which takes you around the walla of the city, which is now called the Palace Museum. Apparently the Forbidden City is 720,00 square metres and is surrounded by a 10 metre high wall. What struck me the most about it was just how huge and beautiful it is. It's hard to imagine that the city is 600 years old and is still in such good condition, I think it was my favorite day out so far. There were lots of statues of tortoises and cranes which are spiritual animals in Chinese culture and symbolise luck and longevity. As you enter the Forbidden City the is a huge courtyard with a river running through it and the gate of heavenly purity which connects you to where the Emperor lived and 6 western and 6 eastern palaces, surrounding the imperial gardens which were beautiful. Throughout the Forbidden City traditional Chinese music is played and it is really is amazing, I may have been converted to a culture lover after all !
While we were there lots of Chinese people kept asking Jess and I to have out photos taken with them which we thought was really weird, after a few times we decided to start asking them for their photos which they were really surprised at but we found quite funny. I was sat on a bench while Jess was taking some photos and parents were pushing their children next to me to take photos, or making sure I was in the background of their photos which was a bit weird.
We had been warned that there was an art scam going on where a young Chinese person would pretend to be a poor art student needing money to pay for their course and trying to make you buy art which they would say is an original for outrageous prices and won't let you leave until you do. As we were walking around the Forbidden City a young woman approached us asking if we would like to see some Chinese art, I told Jess it was the scam we had been told about but Jess wanted to see the art which was through an archway and in a building away from the main touristy bit so she followed the lady while I bought a bottle of water from a stall next to the archway. Jess said that when she walked in the woman tried selling her a tiny A5 sized piece of paper with a squiggle on it for 100 Yuan (only £10 but a lot of money in Beijing) Jess said there were a few men at the back of the room so she just walked out which is lucky really that she wasn't forced to buy any of it. We carried on around the Forbidden City until it close but had a really nice day, the weather has been gorgeous and even though I had suncream on I have ended up with sun burn (and a white circle where my necklace was). I have another free day tomorrow so I am hoping to explore some other places and take lots more photos!
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