Final Frontier: Beijing - Forbidden City

Arriving in Beijing an hour later than planned, due to being held on the ground in Guangzhou for an hour by air traffic control then waiting another hour for another couple to arrive from Newark, we arrived at our hotel about two hours later than planned.

A gentleman I had spoken to by phone previously, friend to our orphanage director, greeted us as we checked in. After dumping the bags and freshening up, we met our new friend in the lobby. A 1.25 mile walk ensued to our place for dinner reservations. It was the first windy day in Beijing for this season, so it was a brisk walk.

Next came a three hour meal of roast duck and other items - fish soup, a plate of duck bones, ie the leftover after the meat had been cut off for all practical purposes, eggplant, fried rice, pancakes (paper thin to put duck portions, onion and cucumber shreds and sauce in), diced potatoes, fried tofu, and other things I either can't remember or identify.

Jiejun, Leon, Tian

The next day began our whirlwind tour of Beijing starting with Tiananmen Square. This is one of the two buildings on the south side of the square, the largest open square in the world.