So here we are. This is going to become a familiar sight. We meet our local guide for Beijing. Ho, who calls himself Tiger, is from a Mongolian shepherd family. He's quite personable, has a great sense of humor, is quite devoted to his 'mummie', even though she doesn't always approve of his cosmopolitan ways, and is quite patient in teaching us the basics of Mandarin greetings and such. His knowledge of Chinese cultural history is amazing.

Today, he tells us, we are going to see the best of Beijing. We'll begin with the Temple of Heaven, where we each will get a chance to speak directly to the God of Heaven. We will tour the Forbidden City, then be treated to a Rickshaw ride to the Hu Tong, the old residential part of the city. Finally, after dinner, we will attend a performance of the Peking Opera. (that's strange, I tell myself, With the Pinyin system of pronounciation, the city became Beijing, the duck became Beijing, so why is it still Peking opera?)

So now we're at the entrance to the Temple of Heaven. We hear the first of many admonitions to stay close to the leader's flag, as well as some more background on what we are about to see. The temple of heaven was built for the Emperor's use on only two days each year. Once in the spring he prays for prosperity, and once in the fall he prays for a good harvest. In one of the inner courtyards he describes an 'echo wall', and how depending on where you stand in the courtyard, you can hear your echo once, twice or three times. Today, the crowds are so thick it's difficult enough to hear yourself think. Visible through the entrance is a wedding-cake arrangement of three tiered terraces. At the center of the top terrace, there is one stone a bit elevated from the rest. It is while standing on this stone, that one may speak directly to God in Heaven. A few of us manage to get our feet on that stone for a few seconds.

As we continue walking, there are several more gates to pass, several small buildings ('rooms') filled with altars and such. many of these, we're warned not to take pictures. I'm a sucker, however, for architectural details, like the parade of animals which adorn the ridge line of many roofs.

We get to the inner courtyard, where the echo wall is, and at least I give up quickly on trying to hear my echo. The crowds of Chinese tourists are more fun to watch. I'm instantly reminded that we're all more similar than different. A group of school-age girls are playing a hand-clapping game that looks quite familiar. Still the schoolgirl at heart, Linda steps in, holds up her hands, and is quickly welcomed into the game.

On to the Forbidden City! In it's largest courtyard, there is a moat traversed by five bridges, representing the five positive qualities that Confucious taught us to embody. Michael and Linda set out to walk across all five bridges, so that they may have those qualities.

Another laarge building within the Forbidden city. Anybody remember what this one was specifically?

Now, chinese tourists are no different from us. They, too, ask their girlfriend to stand by the statue before taking a picture. This one is of the phoenix, a mythical bird which flew out of the ashes of a fire, and represents the Empress in Chinese mythical history. The tortoise is another popular mythical beast, but I can't remember right now what it's supposed to represent.

As we were standing and listening to our guide's description of the next area we would visit, I spotted another beast, more a part of curent history than ancient. Look just over the rooftop of the concubines' quarters, and you'll see a flock of the new national bird of China: the Gantry Crane.

I did attempt to take a picture inside one of the ceremonial rooms. The dim light makes it difficult to render the splendor in this digital image. The ceiling is actually elaborately built of carved and painted beams, with no nails, or so we were told.

Here again, is more architectural detail. This is a corner of one 'porch' area. The bright glazed tiles were an unusual touch. The window screens are all built of carved and painted wood lattice, also built without nails. the pieces are all dovetailed together. Around the bottom of the frame is applied pieces of hammered copper, each one a sculpture in itself.

This is the Concubines' quarters again. The Emperor had about 3,000 of them. I suspect many of them he never saw again after the day they married him. Note the grass. This is not a lawn, but merely grass growing between the paving stones. The Chinese have gone to great pains to restore and preserve these ancient buildings, but even they do not have the resources do do a complete restoration. They had to draw a line somewhere, and in this courtyard we see it. Also, another parade going on along the roof. I saw many small lawns among the roof tiles.

From some of the higher courtyards, we could see over the rooftops to the skyline of the modern city. The juxtaposition of 15th and 20th century architecture is commonplace in China.

In the final building we toured, we saw a collection of timepieces. It seemed that the emperors were fascinated by clocks, so that ornate clocks became the 'in' thing to bring as a gift for the Emperor. They have a large building filled with them, from all over the world.

Just to prove that we're all alike, I caught two of our own posing by one of the imperial lions. Can you tell if this lion is male or female? Does it help to see its mate?

Inside the Emperor's quarters, there was a considerable amount of artwork. This photo does not do justice to this bas-relief made of a mosaic of jewels and gold. About two by three feet, framed behind glass.

OK, we're done with the Forbidden city for today. Let's go get some lunch at a restaurant in the back end of Beihai park. Now look at this man and tell me, is life good, or what?