Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Due to some of Danny's Utah friends visiting us here in China, we decided to take a 2 day trip to Beijing. And of course we had to visit the infamous Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. We found the square to be, well, just a square with tons of buildings that we couldn't visit. But it was HUGE, in fact the biggest public square in the world. It was cool to see all the soldiers marching together and the awesome view of the heavenly gate which leads to the forbidden city. It is weird seeing it because for years and years I've seen it in text books, studying it, yet never ever imagined being able to see it in person. Once inside, I was so excited to finally see some rich Chinese history and architecture that hasn't been totally rebuilt. My MOST favorite part was seeing the living spaces of the emperor and his wife, as well as the concubine's and servant's. It was exactly how I imagined it to be.

I totally didn't mean to wear my bright red pants to a very red city, but it worked out perfect. I refashioned these pants here! coat: ae   shoes: thrifted   

This was one of 10 pictures taken while we quickly crossed Tiananmen Square

 This is one of the emperor's courts 

This is the servent's or concubine's hallway to the living quarters.

I had to shove my way to the front for this one, so not the best quality, but this was my favorite part of the whole forbidden city. Where the sleeping quarters of the emperor and his wife. All the Chinese tourists were staring at the cool silk fabrics and the embroidered rug.

This is the huge mote around the outside of the forbidden city

 This is the quaint little hotel we stayed in, very very tiny.