April 5/05 ~ Forbidden City

Sophie had a bit of a rough night due to the teething. Many of the babies are going through the same thing. But once we did get her to sleep, she was out until about 3:00am when she woke for her feeding and then went back to sleep until 7:00am. We boarded the tour bus at 9:00am to see Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City, home of the last Emperor of China. You see these things in books and on television but it doesn’t do it justice. The Square is the largest in the world and there was an incredibly long lineup. Jamie said that it was the try-outs for the next Chinese Idol (re: American Idol). It turns out that they were in line to visit the corpse of Mao Zedong, deceased leader of the Communist Party. His embalmed body is on display. Thankfully this was not on our itinerary. The Forbidden City was incredible and about 1 km long which made it a very long tour, especially with babies in tow. I had to change Sophie’s diaper on one of the steps. The Chinese people kept coming over to our group and wanting to touch the babies. I put my jacket over Sophie’s stroller so they couldn’t see her and therefore wouldn’t touch her. I was concerned about germs. You still see people wearing SARS masks here but I think it could be for the pollution. It was very warm today (t-shirts & shorts) and the sun was shining but the sky was hazy because of the pollution. I don’t think they ever have blue skies here because of the constant smog. Many in the group have sore throats due to the pollution. They also allow smoking everywhere including on elevators. After the tour we had a Chinese lunch at a market place. They brought out this baby food in a large dish. It looked like egg custard with something clear and slimy on top. Jamie said that it was baby drool. I must admit that it did look very unappetizing. We then toured the market area and saw silk rugs being handmade. Our next stop was back to the hotel where Sophie conked out on the bed. Right now she is still sleeping. The time seems to be flying by and we are having a great time, but it will be nice to get Sophie home.
Tianamen Square
This was a tricky photo to take as the soldier did not want his picture taken.
Forbidden City.
Forbidden City.
Forbidden City.