Day Three: Now I see why they call it the "Forbidden City"

Today was definitely an unforgettable one. After such an amazing day, I am really thankful that the group of people I am here with is so adventurous and open to trying and exploring anything and everything like I am. We have been having such a great time together and everyone gets along so well.

Our morning started off like yesterday, with my group, the media group, heading over to the tennis center. The players group was not required to work today, so they were lucky enough to spend the day exploring Tea Street and the fashion district (hopefully our group will find another day to do this). At the tennis center, Cynthia # 1, as we so endearingly call her since two of our bosses are named Cynthia, was ready with assignments for us. My assignment was to head to the main gate of the China Open complex and assist two Chinese girls with passing out credentials to the media. Although 75 percent of the media that will attend the China Open are Chinese reporters, 25 percent come from all around the world, so they were in need of someone to speak English to these foreign reporters when they came to get their credentials for the tournament. I spent a few hours with Jennifer and Syn, the two Chinese girls, who both spoke choppy English as they were currently learning the language in college in Beijing. They were very friendly and welcoming to me, and we had a good time chatting and playing games while we waited for the media.

After grabbing a quick lunch in the canteen, where we are allowed to eat two meals a day, Cynthia # 1 told us that if we wanted to leave early to go sightseeing that it was okay. We were all ecstatic because we wanted to make it to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square before they closed. The seven of us headed back to the hotel and quickly jumped on the subway to the Forbidden City. The subway was absolutely PACKED. Growing up in Chicago and traveling to New York City several times in my life, I am pretty used to crowded public transportation, but this was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. We were packed in like little sardines and had to fight our way off when we reached our stop (see first picture).

As soon as we got off the subway we could already see the giant portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong on the Gate of Heavenly Peace that leads to the Forbidden City. I have seen hundreds of pictures of this portrait before, but seeing it up close and in person was an irreplaceable experience. There were thousands upon thousands of Chinese people taking pictures and walking around. As we walked, the Forbidden City was on our right and to our left was Tiananmen Square, which was bigger and more crowded than I could have ever imagined. We really wanted to go into the Forbidden City first since it closed at 5 p.m., but after wandering around trying to find the entrance for twenty minutes, we were finally informed by a rare English speaking Chinese man that the Forbidden City was closed to the public until October 2nd because of the holiday. Since October 1st marks National Day and the 60th anniversary of the formation of the People’s Republic of China, many things in the city are closed down for a few days and the people are given a great deal of time off of work. On every single pole in the city there is a banner flying announcing National Day. Almost all of the streets in Beijing will be closed down on this day, and millions of people will flock to Tiananmen Square for a parade and other ceremonies.

Though we were very disappointed by this discovery, we were still able to head into Tiananmen Square to take a look around. Before we entered, we first walked by the Great Hall of the People, which is the Chinese parliament and government building. It was one of the largest buildings I have ever seen in my life and was made much more interesting by the fact that hundreds of soldiers were arriving by bus in anticipation of the holiday and the streets were lined with army tanks. Also, we stood for several minutes watching several politicians pull up in their Rolls Royce’s and shake hands with other government officials before entering the building. There were a lot of locals standing around and watching, waving Chinese flags, so we knew how important this event really was.

Known as the largest public square in the world, Tiananmen Square was overwhelmingly breathtaking. Thousands of people strolled around in awe of the monuments and surrounding buildings. We first went over and took a look at the Mao Zedong Mausoleum where long lines of people still file in each day to pay their respects. The Mausoleum was closed for the day when we arrived, so we just marveled at it from the outside. Next, we moved to the center of the square, where the Monument to the People’s Heroes sits. This monument was built to honor all of the people that gave their lives for the communist revolution. We had to ask several people to take our picture by the monument, since there were very few who spoke English in the square, but the Chinese continued to be excited by our presence there, snapping pictures of us when they thought we weren’t looking. Just as we were about to take a closer look at the National Museum of China which is found on one of the sides of the Square, a police van started moving through the square shouting in Chinese. People started flocking towards exits, as we stood around in confusion, wondering what they had said. Finally, they made an announcement in English: “Please take all of your belongings and evacuate the square immediately.” Though we weren’t sure if this was something to be worried about or not, we all started laughing as we walked towards the exit…I mean who really goes to China and is evacuated from Tiananmen Square, one of the most famous sites and tourist attractions in China. Anyway, it turns out that they were shutting it down early in preparation for the 60th anniversary festivities, but it was a crazy experience nonetheless.

After that adventure, we headed home on the subway and got ready for dinner. Emily, Matt, and I decided to look for a local restaurant to eat at, and ended up finding an amazing place with the best noodles I have ever eaten. We were the only people that spoke any English there, but it was really exciting to be at a very authentic, non-tourist restaurant.

There is so much in Beijing to explore and that I want to do before heading home that I feel like two weeks won’t be nearly enough. Either way, I can’t wait to see what else is in store for me tomorrow.

SO- I don't have an account on Flickr to post all of my pictures, but I want you to be able to see all of them while I'm gone, not just the few I post on my blog. Emily has so graciously uploaded all of my photos, as well as hers, to her Flickr account, so check it out to see more of our beautiful faces: http://www.flickr.com/photos/egc432/sets/72157622341379095/