Yeah! After a short night due to the "rapid drying service" in our hotel we were well rested and energized for this last half-day in Beijing!

The first this that strikes you when you're in front of the Forbidden City is that it is BIG.

With the biggest square in the world located in front of it (Ti'anmen square) it makes quite an impression. Furthermore, a big building in the middle of the square, the Maosoleum shows that everything really is bigger in China.

(NB. Before entering the Forbidden City there is a big painting of Mao on entry gate that everybody probably will know from tv.)

Since we really wanted to see as much as possible during our stay in Beijing, Christopher and I decided to join the queue for the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao. This was actually pretty well organized, as there was a yellow-flower shop located before the entrance of the actual mausoleum, while a souvenir shop filled with Mao memorabilia can be found after passing through the main hall where the body of Mao is displayed.

Besides all the witty remarks, it was actually quite an experience and interesting to see Mao. The fact that we were one of the few non-Chinese in the line definitely made it an interesting and cool experience.

After this we joined the rest of the group and entered the City. One interesting thing is that the emperor was very afraid of people trying to enter the Forbidden City and kill him. For this reason there are no trees or bushes inside and no less than 15 layers of brick are used on the ground. This to prevent assassins to dig tunnels into the courtyard!

As the city is far to big to see in one day, we visited only the main buildings (as do most tourists). I heard from Christopher (who went back later) that the other parts are very very calm and perhaps more interesting for people that like museums.

The free afternoon turned out to be relatively short, since we still had to return to the hotel to pick up our stuff and perhaps a quick shower.

Once arrived at the train station we were in for a (culture)shock! After witnessing this apparent chaos, I can start to imagine how awful it must have been for the people that were stuck at the train station during the heavy snowfall in the beginning of the year.

In the train all was well and comfortable, although the beds were a bit on the short side. Accompanied by traditional Chinese music and airco it is very nice to wander through the compartments and see people doing their thing, mostly eating all kinds of stuff (noodles, crab, sunflower seeds, sausages and dried meat, you name it, I've seen it!).

Anyway, we're on our way to Xi'an!