Beijing Sightseeing Day 1

We made it!  After 21+ hours of traveling we made it to Beijing.  By the time we checked in to our hotel it was almost midnight here and boy were we feeling the 12-hour time difference. After a good night sleep, we ate a big breakfast at our hotel and met our guide to start our day. 

We started out at Tian 'anmen Square. It was quite impressive in size. Then we toured the Forbidden City.  It is massive. It seems like it goes on forever. There are so many rooms it would take you about twenty years to spend one night in each one. We learned a lot of history about it, and I will never remember it all, but it was very interesting.  The prettiest part was the gardens, but by the time we got there we were very hot and ready to move on. 

Next we took a rickshaw ride and ate lunch at a local family's house.  Then we got back in the rickshaw and visited another family just to see how they lived. This was a much older home than the home where we ate lunch. The couple who owned this home was retired. We learned that in China you pass your home down through your family for generations. This family had owned this home more than 150 years. They were very nice, but I think their entire home would fit in my family room back home. The husband was an artist and we were shown many of his beautiful paintings.

Once we finished the rickshaw ride, we went to a tea room.  We both really enjoyed our tea ceremony getting to sample six different types of tea. I know my kids would like the tiny teacups we used and the jasmine flowering tea. 

We finished the day watching a Chinese acrobat show. That was a nice way to end our day.  

Tomorrow should be much more relaxing, but also exciting. We will be doing final preparations for Monday...Gotcha Day!