Entering the Forbidden City, Beijing, China

It was our second day in Beijing and it was the perfect time to truly discover this fascinating city. Fortunately, for most visitors, the seat of China’s cultural (imperial past) and political(revolution) history, is within walking distance of each other. It’s easy to plan a day of exhaustive walking and cultural assimilation. Although, it would be wise to bear in mind – that the sights are scattered (linearly) and it will not be possible to cover everything in a day.

As we walked from Tiananmen West Subway station towards the Tiananmen Tower, we saw a huge crowd of tourists trying to enter – what seemed like – a check point. The borders were heavily guarded with army and police officers. Many domestic tourists scurried to find identification proof. There seemed to be a state of confusion and yet, people didn’t seem to let it bother them. As we inched slowly, bit-by-bit, the jostling increased. Surprisingly, we were let quite easily through and the guards were polite. Unfortunately, some domestic tourists weren’t half as lucky. Glad to be out of the crowds and into free space and air – we walked towards Tiananmen Tower. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).