Today's first stop was to a Cloisonne/Enamelware factory. They walked us through the entire process of how to make the very beautiful pieces. It is very intricate work and takes a couple of weeks to make. After the tour they took us into the shop where you can buy everything from chopsticks and Christmas decorations to urns and plates. We spent a lot of money buying ourselves souvenirs.

Next we went to the Great Wall at Badaling. It is amazing to see in real life. In pictures it always looked like it went in a somewhat straight line but it is actually a big circle. The Badaling portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dynasty, along with a military outpost reflecting the location's strategic importance. This part of the Wall is the most visited part by tourists and it has been looked after and some parts restored over time. However you can tell its age by the wells in the steps where people over time have walked.

It is hard work climbing up parts of the Wall and the hot sun certainly doesn't help. The temperature was about 34 degrees. We only had a short time to explore so didn't get too far up before it was time to come down. Some of the steps were only a brick high and others were 4 or 5 bricks high so it was very hard work.

Next stop was lunch at the Jade factory and museum. But before lunch we got a tour of the Jade factory. They showed us the different stages of Jade and Tony surprised our museum tour guide by being able to pick which was the real Jade bangle out of 3. Some of the pieces in the museum are amazing and take years to complete.

We spent the afternoon at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Tiananmen Square is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. It has great cultural significance as a symbol because it was the site of several key events in Chinese history (See below: Events). Outside of China, the square is widely known for the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

The square is 880 metres (2887 feet) south to north and 500 metres (1640 feet) east to west, a total area of 440,000 square metres (108.7 acres), which makes it the largest open-urban square in the world.

It was very surreal knowing what had happened during the protests. Our guide did not speak about any of that which was expected. But she did mention that it has both significant political and historical meanings to the Chinese people of Beijing. There is a Monument in front of Mao's Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square depicting the 1949 Cultural Revolution.

Tiananmen Square is just across the road from the Forbidden City. On the way through to the Forbidden City you have to walk through a gate above which hangs Mao's portrait. There is a strong police and military presence here as someone recently tried to burn the portrait so now you are not allowed to stop to take pictures anywhere in the close proximity of the portrait.

We walked passed a group of soldiers doing drills as they have barracks just outside the walls of the Forbidden City. It is very impressive to hear their chants during marching.

FORBIDDEN CITY
There was a lot of restoration going on at the Forbidden City getting it ready for the Olympics and the influx of tourists that will come with it. You don't realise how big this place is until you are there. Words cannot describe the feeling you get walking around here. The architecture and statues are beautiful and the thousands of years of history that occurred within these walls as told by our guide was truly fascinating.

There are many parts to the Forbidden City each part designated a particular purpose for the emperor. One part was for the concubines. The statues in this area looked to the ground and had their eyes covered so they never saw what events occurred therefore the emperor kept his integrity in tact. Other areas where designated for politics, the empress, libraries, special events such as weddings, etc. The garden at the back of the Forbidden City was amazing. It is beautifully kept and many of the trees are hundreds of years old. Mostly they are cyprus trees as the were easy to mold into shapes. In the gardens are also beautifully decorated pavillions where you could easily sit all day and look at the gardens. On one wall in a man made mountain which one of the concubines used to climb up the top of and wave to her family. The last emperor used to like to ride his bike through the gardens and cut special gaps in doorways to enable his bike to go through unimpeded.

When we left the Forbidden City we were bombarded with people trying to sell us things. Everything from Communist Memorobilia to Olympic mascots to really cheap reproductions of Chinese heirlooms. We were followed up the street by one man who just wouldn't take no for an answer. His price dropped dramatically as we kept walking but he still didn't get a sale out of us.

After another big day in China we decided to treat ourselves to hour foot massages in the hotel. We really needed them.

P.S. Our driver wanted to show us the new Olympic Stadium affectionately called "The Birds Nest" and that it is. He pulled over on the side of the freeway so we could get a couple of photos.