In which we arrive belatedly and explore the Forbidden City

After a day-long delay, we've finally arrived in China. Delta Airlines' flight out of Detroit Metro Airport was delayed for more than three hours, meaning we failed to get to Tokyo Narita Airport in time to make our connecting flight to Beijing. However, thanks to a transfer of our flight the next day by Air China (Which, by the way, has fantastic planes) we arrived in Beijing at noon on the 11th.

Yesterday, as our first full free day in Beijing began, we ate a quick breakfast featuring a variety of interesting breakfast dishes. The featured picture is youtiao (油条), a strip of fried bread often referred to as the Chinese donut. They look like churros to me. Common practice is to tear up the youtiao into small pieces and then dip it in soymilk. The bun-looking things next to it are baozi (包子), steamed buns filled with a variety of fillings like beef or pork.

Following breakfast we began our tour of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen (天安门）translates loosely as "Gate of Heavenly Peace" and is the first of nine gates going deeper and deeper into the Forbidden City. The square itself is massive, featuring several beautifully arranged gardens:

The square also contains the memorial and tomb of Mao Zedong (毛泽东), and the Monument to the People's Heroes (人民英雄纪念碑), which celebrates the soldiers who died during China's revolution struggles during the last two centuries. Behind the monument you can see the Great Hall of the People, the building housing all the official legislative bodies of the People's Republic of China.

Across the street from the Great Hall of the People is the National Museum of China, bordering Tiananmen Square across a road.

Tiananmen itself, the gate into the Forbidden City, is quite large and festooned with a picture of Mao Zedong himself.

Join me next time as I update with pictures from inside the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, my camera died and I had to borrow a classmate's to continue taking pictures.