My Second Day in Beijing

I just arrived yesterday in Beijing and met up with a couple of high school friends who are also studying in China this summer. Today we went together to visit the Forbidden City and get a glimpse at Tian'anmen Square. After walking through the large gates with Chairman Mao looking over us we walked around several courtyards until we came to the entrance of the Forbidden City. After stepping inside the walls, it felt much larger than I had ever imagined. It truly was a city in itself (as overly simplistic and redundant this sounds) and I remarked to my friends that I thought it would be so easy to get lost. The whole city is laid out symmetrically with hundreds of buildings, as well as courtyards and gardens, each displaying quite well traditional Chinese architechture. In many of the buildings, the space had been converted into gallery space highlighting everything from calligraphy to dress and weapons from throughout Chinese history. It took us about 4 hours to walk around it, and even after that we only left because our feet were getting tired, not because we had seen it all. We had thought about going to another site, but I decided that I would see it tomorrow.