Tiananmen Square
September 04, 2006

Queen's Cottage.

Today the first thing we visited was an old cottage like area where the empress many years ago used to relax.  On the way there I started to get a sense of of Beijing and life there.  There are always TONS of people on bikes.  I think I read somewhere that for about every 2 people, there's one bike.  Also, the buildings were kind of odd.  There all seemed to be about 20 years or older but very inventive and interestingly designed for their age.  There's also a new building being built on what seems like every block.  They are preparing for the upcoming Olympics.

Next up was lunch, then visiting a silk factory.  China is historically well known for their silk and it was interesting to see the process.  Who knew it all started with a bunch of worms! (errr...probably everyone but me)

Tiananmen Square.

Another one of my favorite parts of visiting China was our next stop.  We visited Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City.  It was pretty breathtaking to see an area so grandiose and large that represented, in my mind, anti-democracy.  It was also fascinating to see an ancient city mostly still in tact after all these years.

What I learned today about Korea:  1)  I think all of China's money went into Tiananmen Square and not to it's people.