M-whY

We were on our way to the Forbidden City, a sight I could've visited earlier, but had been saving until Jon arrived. The downside to putting it off was I'd now have to deal with tens of thousands of tourists. The bright side was that Jon had brought with him blue skies and good weather, a bit ironic if you've ever been in Pittsburgh this time of year.

The number of people passing through must've reached hundreds of thousands today, though lines for tickets weren't as bad as I had imagined. The complex was certainly big enough to hold the crowds. If felt like we were walking through courtyard after courtyard. Beyond each gate would be another hall. By the time we had reached the inner court, I had already snapped the equivalent of a roll of pictures.

Several structures were under restoration, in effort to make them bright and shiny as they had when first built. I sort of preferred the peeling paint, plants growing on top of the roofs, look. Walls were mostly bare, save for a few green and yellow motifs scattered throughout. Crowds filed past the doorways for a look at the interiors, while guards reminded people to keep moving. A gentle but firm push in the back awaited anyone who stood still for too long.

We made a counter clockwise circuit through the satellite courtyards of the inner court, of which there were too many for me to introduce individually. Nearly all had been converted into some sort of museum. The atmosphere here were loads quieter than in the center. In some places, I was actually about to hear myself think.

"This is an interesting tree," observed Jon, who had a thing for botany. Normally, I'd never give plant life a second glance, but accompanied by a veg head, my attention was diverted to a plaque identifying it as lacebark pine. With its mottled and milky trunk, it has earned the nickname of the 'white robed general', and is noted for its longetivity. Don't worry, this be the first and last time I bore you with dull tidbits about plants, I promise.

We had lunch, then circled to the back of the Forbidden City, to the artificial hill of Jingshan Park. Near the entrance was a phoenix surrounded by flowers, which I originally identified as a chicken. The mound was created from earth removed during the creation of the palace moat, and views from atop are supposedly the best in Beijing. It's no secret though, and as a natural way to finish off a Forbidden City visit, it saw hordes of people. Jon pointed out Chinese peonies and Japanese maples on our way up; I listened and promptly forgot what was said. Like I said, plants aren't really my thing.

"Are you sure you don't want to dress up for a picture?" I asked Jon on our way down. He had been eyeing the costumes when we first passed it.

"How much is it? Ten yuan? Ah, I can afford a dollar and a half," he said, and got into a yellow robe and hat. "I'll probably never live this down though..." Probably not, now that it's become a permanent part of the internet.

We finished the day off with a stroll around one of the city's many lake-parks. The Nine Dragon Screen was worth a peep, but we didn't stuck around to see much else. Jon was still getting used to the time difference and hadn't slept well the night before (actually, he hadn't slept at all). It looked like he was about to fall over at any moment. We cabbed the distance back to our hostel so he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion on just his first day here. I was a bit worn out myself, from having to fight my way through the multitudes of people.

I've made references to the huge numbers these last couple days because it's something that can't be ignored, no matter how hard one tries. Jon thought it was all quite interesting, because, as he put it, it made him feel like he was really in China to be surrounded by all these locals. I, on the other hand, have been putting up with it for some time now and am actually looking forward to seeing it all when things are back to normal. Most likely my trip through Russia will commence in Beijing, so I'll get that chance when I return here in about a month. If, that is, people think I can last that long.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!