Yesterday was rainy and gloomy but my time here is limited so I visited the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is named for this building. It means Gate ("men") of Heavenly Peace. The Olympics are over (although the Paralympics are in progress) and it was raining, but look at the crowd.
I am
so glad I waited until the Olympics were over!Today is clear and sunny so I took a few more pix of the square. At 440,000 square meters it's the largest public square in the world. This is just a small part of it.
And it's small compared to the Forbidden City.
I spent most of the day wandering around and only saw a fraction of it. It's a shame I couldn't see it in the sunshine, to see the colors in their full glory.
This is looking up at the corner of a roof overhang.
Though the scale of the place is massive the minute craftsmanship is amazing. These are two steps from a stone staircase.
The Imperial Garden was presumably a peaceful, intimate place for quiet contemptlation at one time, but not any more!
I am so glad I waited until the Olympics were over!Today is clear and sunny so I took a few more pix of the square. At 440,000 square meters it's the largest public square in the world. This is just a small part of it.
And it's small compared to the Forbidden City. 
I spent most of the day wandering around and only saw a fraction of it. It's a shame I couldn't see it in the sunshine, to see the colors in their full glory.
This is looking up at the corner of a roof overhang.
Though the scale of the place is massive the minute craftsmanship is amazing. These are two steps from a stone staircase.
The Imperial Garden was presumably a peaceful, intimate place for quiet contemptlation at one time, but not any more!
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