Day 16

Whoever said today was supposed to be cooler and rain lied. It was as hot as ever. Alex and Lily took me to see the Forbidden City today. It was absolutely huge. It was twice the size of New Hartford. It was the palace of the Emperors and Empresses from the Ming to the Qing Dynasties. The whole place is filled with intricate artwork and huge stones. They are working to restore it now by repainting and fixing it up. It must be a lot of work, especially since the main metal used was copper and all the tarnish has to be removed. I also noticed that the government is making it so that the palace is handicapped accessible, but it would be a huge pain in the butt to push anyone around in a wheelchair there because the ramps are so steep. We had bought some food at the campus grocery store, so we ate inside the park in the Imperial Gardens. It was so beautiful. My face, lips, and arms are burnt because I didn’t reapply my sunscreen. I didn’t realize it until we got back though. I also have a really wicked watch tan complete with the rest of a farmer’s tan.
After we finished touring the Forbidden City, we took a taxi to another area of town. I would describe it as the old part of Beijing becoming modern. The storefronts and restaurants were built like a river walk because it is set on a canal. We rented a small boat for an hour and went out on the water. The scenery was magnificent. There were blooming water lilies and ducks all over. We walked along the canal after that and went through the marketplace. The only way I can describe it was that it felt the same as when we went to Taxco while we were in Mexico. The street is just wide enough for people to walk and the stores are squished together. We took a bus to a huge bookstore near Peking University. There were people sitting everywhere on the floor in the aisles reading. I got two books there. One about the Emperors and Empresses during the Ming Dynasty and another about the tourism spots in Beijing. They seem to be very interesting, and I am happy because they contain a lot of history. Then, we took the bus back to campus and ate supper at a small restaurant. It was after 7 when we got back, and we left at 8 this morning. It was a long day, but it was well worth the pink cheeks.