CHINA part5!

The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
After visiting the Summer Palace we took a spin over to the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is where 24 Chinese emperors ruled China for over 500 years. Today, it is open to the public. We entered the Imperial Palace Grounds from the back and made our way through to the front, which happens to be the location of Tiananmen Square. Here is the back entrance gate.

Here is a long corridor between buildings. The buildings have names such as "Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union", "Hall of Mental Cultivation", and "Hall of Joyful Longevity".

This is somewhere near the center of the city.


The Emperor’s thrown room.

Some more impressive buildings inside the city.

Some marching police officers. Don't those hats looks familiar?

Here I am in front of the famous Tiananmen building which is the main entrance to the Imperial Palace Grounds.


Here is a clip of Tiananmen at night.

CHINA part4!

The Summer Palace
On the third day we visited The Summer Palace. In the summer it is known for its marvelous gardens. In fact, it boasts the largest imperial garden in all of China. The whole Summer Palace covers an area of over 290 hectares including more than 3,000 buildings, such as halls, pavilions, towers, and a huge man made lake.

It wasn’t exactly beach weather at the summer palace but, we did have some fun sliding around on the ice. I think we were having a bit to much fun on this day because a cop started yelling at us.

Wait a minute.. that’s no cop!

“Keep off the ice!”

CHINA part3!

The Ming Tombs
After visiting the Great Wall we made our way to the Ming Tombs. Located here are the tombs of 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors.

Here I am with a statue of Emperor Yongle.
We are inside this building, the Hall of Eminent Flowers.



Passed the Hall of Eminent Flowers was Soul Tower overlooking the Chang Ling burial mount.

Here is a video from on top of the tower looking back at the Hall of Eminent Flowers and inside the tower.

CHINA part2!

Day two: The Great Wall of China
The thing I most anticipated on the trip was to see the Great Wall. It did not disappoint. What can I say about the Great Wall... You really have to see it to believe it. It is amazing.




Amanda and Rebecca: the sassy Yossu girls. I don’t know how we got lost on a wall, but anyway…

Zach and I, five minutes before buying a few brewskies on the wall.




Here are a few bonus video clips of the wall.

CHINA part1!

Day one: Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing!
If you are planning to take a trip to China, make sure to bring the following thing: lots of camera film or memory. China is a big place and you might want to take some pictures it. Fortunately, I brought almost enough to last me the entire trip. It will take me a few updates to cover my entire vacation to China. Here goes!

We first visited the Temple of Heaven.

Here I am at the entrance gate. The temple is made up of circular structures symbolizing the heavens and square parts symbolizing the earth.

The parc surrounding the temple seemed to continue into infinity in all directions. In the background was the sound of fireworks exploding everywhere, even this early in the day.

Here is one of the temple structures called The Round Altar. The round shape in made up of 9 slices, which is said to be a sacred number.

From on top of the altar structure looking back to the entrance.

Here are Zach and I standing at the center of the altar. The altar is made of 9 slices, the meeting point being the most sacred part. We were told that many emperors have stood there. Watch out China, you're looking at your new emperors!


Here is the Imperial Vault of Heaven in all its glory.


After the Temple of Heaven, our tour bus drove us through the city to our next destination. Here is a clip of the Beijing landscape.


Next, we went to see an amazing acrobatics show. I snuck a few video clips that show how incredibly talented and fearless these people were. I couldn’t believe some of the dangerous flips and stunts they performed for us. I was on the edge of my seat the entire show in fear that one of them could slip up and get killed.

How many people can fit on one bike? Go to China and you will find out!


Fireworks have been illegal in China for a long while, until this year. We were lucky enough to see the amazing celebration. Lunar New Year is the biggest celebration of the year in China. Witnessing the all-night and all-day fireworks was defiantly a highlight of the trip.