Day 1 - Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Okay, so it's maybe going to take a while to get the sleep thing sorted out.  I woke at midnight convinced that it must be morning only to discover I'd been asleep for just a couple of hours.  The beds are comfortable though which was a bit of a surprise as I'd read somewhere that they'd be a bit hard.

This morning we got on the bus and headed for Tiananmen Square.  The sun shone gloriously for us as we soaked up the atmosphere round about us.  Outside Chairman Mao's Mausoleum were long queues of people waiting to go in.  We didn't as time was of a premium and we'd a busy schedule arranged for the morning.

One thing I have noticed is how clean the city is.  It is a busy, bustling city with over 16 million of a population and there isn't a scrap of litter to be seen anywhere!

After a wander round Tiananmen Square and a group photo taken with a suitable touristy backdrop we entered the famous Forbidden City.  I've come to the conclusion that people writing for travel guides must get privileged access when there's no one else around because it was positively heaving with visitors when we were there although not very many western faces could be spotted.

The Forbidden City was the sacred centre of the empire for some 500 years and was home to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.  Rectangular in shape, the city is surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall and is said to house 9,999 buildings over an area of 74 hectares... according to our intinerary that is.