We began day five at Tiananmen Square. We arrived by means of a charming taxi driver who deserves mention - hence he has one. By most reckonings the epicenter of modern China. Here Mao enthralled the masses and then the masses opposed the tanks. Flanked by the Chinese houses of government this is the point from which all distances in China are measured. And true to Communist form the buildings are imposing, flags numerous and guards stern & plentiful. Turning towards the direction of the more ancient centre of China, the Forbidden Palace is the most recognisable symbol of China. The Gate of Something-or-other. Whatever. Basically it's about peace but it's got a mass murderers face on it with zealous propaganda on each side. It is a poignant reminder of how impressive, old, proud, deluded, oppressive, enthusiastic and overwhelming China can be.

After a quick enforced history lesson given by Gavin we were ready to enter that area of Beijing occupied by emperors and denied to all others for some hundreds of years. However just as we were ready to dive into the crowd of matching-hatted tour groups we were baled up by a Chinese family requesting to have their picture taken with us. This was done in various combinations and permutations until everyone involved was satisfied that the meeting had been sufficiently captured. One can only presume that it is our uncanny resemblance to Hollywood superstars that prompted the exchange. Or perhaps the Chinese notion of "making Hello”. I'm sure it's the Hollywood thing.

Whilst queuing for tickets for the Forbidden City an enterprising gentleman was walking the line selling maps with a non-stop nearly-all-Chinese sales pitch, pausing only to say "Hey, you, Englishman, map?". The maps did seem extraordinarily popular. There were Yuan notes flying in from every corner. However on closer inspection (which one has time to allow when queuing) it became apparent that the same two women were purchasing some 75% of all the maps sold. Indeed within few minutes they had more than 10 maps between them. Furthermore they were not protecting their place in the queue, allowing others to pass in front of them. These women were stooges in an impressive sales scam that made the maps seem far more popular than they were. Watching the women slyly turn away and tuck the map into their bags before purchasing another with an overtly waved 5 Yuan note was illuminating. And all credit to them as every other Chinese visitor within the Forbidden City was clutching one of these maps. "English man, map?" Not so much. Good scam though, well played.


We won't try to describe the Forbidden City. It is forbidden. And a UNESCO World Heritage Site needs visiting not reading about. Suffice to say it contains gates of varying levels of harmony separated by several large courtyards. We'll let the pictures write the thousand words that we can't be bothered typing. We would however draw attention to the Temple of Abstinence. The Rites of Abstinence were performed by the Emperor in preparation for major events. This involved refraining from not only sex (it's what you were all thinking) but also affairs of state (presumably not the same thing), alcohol, onions and garlic. This rite was usually conducted at the Temple of Heaven some several kilometers south of the Forbidden City. However a certain emperor who missed this rite, for some 10 or more years, decided to build a temple of abstinence so he could not do things at home. Now that is my (Gavin) kind of thinking. Do nothing quicker.

On the walk away from the Forbidden City we noted two interesting things - bizarre street signs (don't light your car on fire, no trumpets?) and we had once again been sunburnt in an unlikely location (West coast of Ireland and now Beijing). Lunch at a food court was a straight forward affair save for Kathryn's insistence on 2, not 1, Sprites. Difficult to translate petulance.





On the walk back to the hotel we came across a particular Chinese specialty - dancing in the streets. We had seen some old-timey dancing previously in Shanghai and even some square dancing on a street corner in Beijing all as a seemingly impromptu community event for anybody interested. This overt, public display seemed particularly foreign. But nothing was quite so entertaining as the collection of break dancing beginners and enthusiasts outside a church on this particular day. The unabashed earnestness and seriousness of their practice was disarming, amusing and impressive. Finally, though, it was date night. We had made reservations, as you do on a date, for a recommended restaurant with reported excellent views of the Forbidden City and food to match. As it turns out the view of the City was under repair and the food matched. It wasn't bad it just wasn't great. Perhaps not realising that it was European food was our first mistake. To be fair it may be some of the best European food in China but we don't care, we're going to Europe, we'll get better there. And the view concealed by bamboo scaffolding only compounded the painful irony of paying a lot of money to have what you can easily get at home but have paid a lot of money to get away from. Oh well, at least it was pretty.

Some light reading we stumbled across.