The kids had Friday and Monday off from school, so we planned a trip to see Beijing - our first time as a family to see the city and the sights. We went together with our friends and neighbors - Michael, Paige, and Caroline - and stayed for three days and four nights in the Lee Garden Serviced Apartments. We gave the hotel two thumbs up.
On the morning of our first day we visited Tiananmen square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen is, of course, the infamous public space where large gatherings and major political events take place. Tiananmen is a huge space with mammoth government buildings surrounding it. There is a tower in the center which was installed by Mao Zedong to demonstrate his power over the "Dragon Line" of China. Mao still lies today in a crystal casket in the Mao mausoleum in the square - 30 years after his death. Unfortunately, the line was too long for us to wait and pay a visit to Mao.
Directly across the street is the Forbidden City which was the home of the emperor and the seat of government during the most recent Chinese dynasties. It is a massive complex of buildings built in the style of a Chinese temple. Our guide, George, shared with us some interesting stories about the emporer's staff of concubines and eunichs. Strange stuff.
Third agenda item for the day was a visit to a traditional Bejing hutong neighborhood. The hutong is a style of residential housing where four or more families live in a brick compound with a central courtyard and shared bathroom. George took us to lunch in a hutong family's home. We traveled to the house by bicycle rickshaw. The food was great, but the experience was a bit overpriced at $110 USD for our family of six.
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