Day 3 afternoon: Tian'amen Square and Forbidden City

First photo is the Zhengyangmen Gate ("front gate) at the south end of Tian'amen Square (which by the way is huge!). In the middle is a photo of all of us in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace, entrance to the Forbidden City, at the opposite end of the Square. The photo on the right shows the picture of Chairman Mao that looks out over the Square. The picture is replaced every year or so. The writing on either side of it reads: (on the left) "Long Live the People's Republic of China" and (on the right) "Long Live the Union of the People of the World." Our guide Tony was always quoting Chairman Mao. For example, "Father is close, Mother is close, but neither is as close as Chairman Mao." and "You can't make a true hero unless you climb the Wall."
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Inside the Forbidden City: Big courtyards, many buildings, too much to see everything in the short time we had.

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