Day Three

We are off to Tiananmen Square. A huge area in the middle of the city. Apparently capable of holding a million people.

I was fascinated by the crowd control barriers in this photo. I see them all over the place in China.

I have to wonder why we are not using these on the tarmac back home, instead of the silly PIGS that flap around in the breeze. 

(Sorry but non Air New Zealand staff may not understand a word of that. Just smile and nod)

The top end of Tienanmen Square leads right up to the entrance of The Forbidden City.

 Many of the trees in the city are literally hundreds of years old.

You will see many of them leaning precariously, needing to be propped up. The stay is not real timber, and are concreted into place.

This is a man-made river that runs around most of the Forbidden City.

Lunch was at a famous dumpling restaurant.

Nice.

 Sarah took great interest  in the lady at the next table. She was dining alone, but still bought all of these dishes. She then started packing them into takeaway containers. I guess that's lunch sorted for the next few days!

We had the afternoon off, and took a wander to a mall a block away from our hotel.

Sarah took this one. She couldn't get over the classy way that women sit in this country.

Clearly they have not been reading the magazine articles about Meagan Markle learning not to cross her legs. Zoom in on the one chomping on the corncob, if you have a strong stomach.

Lets not forget the Apple Store. One of my pilgrimages wherever we go.

The evening finished with a dinner. This is the only one that is part of the tour package, and is at a local restaurant whose specialty is Peking Duck.

Sarah doesn't eat anything that has become a Disney character, so it was all on me.

Interesting.

Remember, the tour includes every breackfast and lunch, and one dinner. This was the one.