Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

Saturday we went to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City.  There was a lot of smog in the air so it was hard to get some good shots.  And it was crazy busy.  This is a holiday weekend...Dragon Boat Festival...so even though the pictures don't show the crowds, it was worse than a busy day at Disney.  We stuck to the middle of the squares because the walkways were smoothest there and our guide was wonderful with the guards in allowing us to enter where it was blocked off because there were fewer stairs or easier access for Wyatt.  It is a little scary moving along while everyone has to wait in the security lines.

After, the guide showed us the Olympic Stadium.  It was pretty awesome, but a shame in what it has become.  For such a beautiful place it is just a tourist attraction.  Again, the pictures aren't very good because of the smog, but it was really neat being able to see it in person.

Our guide says there are 19 million people living in Beijing.  You wonder where everyone lives, but when you see the place you understand.  The roads and sidewalks are packed with people walking, on bikes, driving.  I wonder what they do each day?  I saw my first pair of split pants (pants open at the crotch for kids) and observed a young child relieving himself in the middle of the sidewalk.  It is very different.  As we drove out of Beijing the skyline is full of huge buildings in various stages of construction.  It is hard to really grasp how many buildings I mean, but I saw at least 25 in a very short span of highway and they were all residential buildings.  Then you have those that are living in the middle of the city, crammed into nooks and crannies along the streets.  I guess you have no choice with so many people living here.  Here is a picture ouside our hotel window...people are living in these little buildings, lots of people.  It is like this everywhere here.  Incredible.