Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Hutongs, Temple of Heaven

Here we are in Tiannamen Square, the largest public square in the world. Behind the older 4 in this first picture is the first gate into the Forbidden City from the square.

This is one of many pictures with Chinese school children requesting to take photos with our family.

 Here you can see Chairman Mao's picture on the outside of the gate. The Chinese people post his
picture everywhere, in their homes, businesses, etc.

On one side of the square is the Chinese history museum...

Even the older ladies want to take pictures with our girls...our 3 generation extended family including   an asian , an african and a caucasian red head stop the Chinese people in their tracks...

Who says ancient Chinese history is boring??

After leaving the Forbidden City we stopped for lunch beside a beautiful lake before heading to the Hutongs

We rode rickshaws through the Hutongs which are the old residential neighborhoods of Beijing

We were able to go inside one of the homes and see the courtyard style home and the way the family lives today...

Enjoying a visit with Mrs. Feng in her home

After the Hutongs we headed to The Temple of Heaven which was where the Emperor would make sacrifices and pray to the gods for a good harvest

And we enjoyed a tea ceremony after...

We ended the evening with a Kung Fu show after dinner at the Red Theater

Our days in China are quite exciting and full!!