We visited Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City in the morning. Again, it was extremely hot. There were many thousands of people touring that day – it was summer vacation, and July 1 was the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist party.
The Forbidden City contains a palace with 9,999 rooms. Only the Emperor, his family (many hundreds of children by various wives and concubines), eunnichs (servants) and concubines were allowed in to the inner sanctum of the palace. Mr. Wu, our guide explained all the various rituals and the importance of certain numbers- (“9th” means everlasting, as it represents the largest single number; “8” means infinity, and it is very auspicious, etc.)
After the tour, we had a quick lunch, and then visited the Temple of Heaven. This was my first visit here, and it is exquisite. It is situated in a beautiful forested park. We then went to another park, where the children all went on rides in a children’s playground. Then to another great dinner, and on to the train station in west Beijing, to take an overnight train to Xian. The accommodations were tight, but nice enough. The girls loved being in close proximity and a big play group developed, as the girls hung out in one of the train cabins. This trip also allowed the adults to get to know each other better. The train trip was 12 hours long. In the very early morning, it was wonderful to see the very lush countryside. The train is a joint venture between the Canadian Railway and China, so the train was quite nice.
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| 90th Year of Chinese Communist Party |
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| Our Lotus Tour Group - Tianamen Square |
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| Rebecca, Hannah, Elizabeth, Olivia in Tianamen Square |
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| Forbidden City - Main Courtyard |
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| Elizabeth and Rebecca inside Forbidden City |
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| Temple of Heaven |
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| All But Two of the Homeland Returnees |
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| Train Sleeping Cabin Gathering |
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