Saturday, February 14, 2009

Beijing Pictures



The veiw from our hotel room

Our VERY hard beds
The old city wall from the Ming Dynasty
Tian an Men Square in front of The Monument to the People's Hero

There are five bridges into the first gate into the Forbidden City. The middle bridge was for the emperor. The emperess was only allowed to use the middle bridge on her wedding day. The other bridges were for used by others according to rank.
Inside the massive Forbidden City
One example of why you need to watch your step!
Tai He Dan- Hall of Supreme Harmony. "Tai He" means harmonious operation of all things on earth. This is the first of three main halls. It was first constructed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty but rebuilt several times because of fires caused by lightening. The present building was built in 1695. During the Ming and Qing dynasties important ceremonies were held here such as the emperor's birthday, the lunar New Year, and enthronement of the emperor.
The emperor's throne
The more animals that decorate the corners of the building's roof, the more important the building
With our Beijing tour guide Grace
This tree, in the Imperial Garden, is the Tree of Love. The interlocked branches of this cypress symbolize loyal love. An appropriate Valentine's Day picture!

At the silk factory the girls give a try at stretching the silk. We were not very successful!
Our first Chinese meal! Everything was very delicious.
The AWESOME Great Wall of China
Not soon after we began climbing the wall we heard a loud crash. This car somehow lost control and was stuck hanging over this wall! Brian went down to help pull people out of the 10 foot ditch below the car!
Just a glimpse of how steep the stairs are on the Great Wall
Taking a little rest with Rebecca and Heidi from our travel group
Up atop the Great Wall
Brian made it all the way up !

I made it up to that tower after all of those steps and decided that was good enough for me! Brian kept going and made it all the way to the fourth tower-the last one on the right side of the picture.


We drive past the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest for a quick picture

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great pictures! I am on pins and needles for you thinking about meeting Owen. Will be with you spirit and sole!

Love, Mom

Joanne said...

What a great post! Love the photos and so glad you are enjoying all of these moments! Way to go Brian!!! Do your legs hurt yet?! I remember those beds....hope you didn't trip over the edge, like someone we know did :)

Michelle said...

Wonderful pictures! I especially love the photo with the Tree of Love. I am glad you have some travel buddies. You will always remember this time. Did Brian get his "hero" award for getting to the top of the GW?

Rebecca Lily said...

Oh, this brings back such memories!!!! I love all the pictures. We saw so many of the same things!!

Enjoy every moment... it goes SO fast!

Blessings,
Rebecca