China - Day 5

China – Day 5
Today was quite the adventure! Our destination today was the Forbidden City. From the moment we set foot near the city we knew it was going to be a great stop. There were thousands of tourists all over the entrance and exists. The Forbidden City is one big maze that has multiple paths. We took the reverse route through the city and saw many many different buildings dating back hundreds of years. The architecture was unbelievable, each building has incredible detail. A few highlights of the Forbidden City were the Gallery of Treasures and The Hall of Clocks. The Gallery of Treasures held all of the former dynasty’s jewels, gold, and other worldly treasures. They had tons of Jade sculptures, diamond jewels, and gigantic gold vases. The Hall of Clocks was my favorite. There were clocks from all over the world in there from as early as 1400 AD. Most clocks were brought in during the Ming dynasty, and they were very beautiful. The detail alone on each clock boggled the mind. I would consider each piece as its own sculpture, with a little clock built into it. After we went through the hall of clocks we finished touring the city. To try and describe how large and how detailed the Forbidden City is would not do it justice. You have to see it for your own eyes. It will leave you speechless.

After we toured the Forbidden City we checked out Wang Fu Jing Street, which was the modern shopping area with shops from all over the world. We found a few really cool silk shops and picked up a few souvenirs. Walking down the street you were just blasted with modern culture, from gigantic digital screens to advertisements with Kevin Garnett on them, we thought it was pretty cool. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant for dinner and it was fantastic. The service in China has been top notch at every place we have been. It has been refreshing to have such good service in a place where you do not speak the language. People try very hard to make sure you are happy and satisfied. Tomorrow, we will be going to an acrobat show at night, it should be pretty crazy!