Today we went to see Tian’ anmen Square and the Forbidden City, which was my first real taste of what China is actually like. The first thing I noticed was how crowded the entire area was. I knew the square was a popular tourist destination, but the sheer number of people there surprised me. I also didn’t expect most of the tourists to be from other parts of China. For some reason I thought most of the tourists there would be from other countries.
It was interesting to see how some of the Chinese tourists reacted to our group. We got a lot of blatant stares and some people even took pictures of us! It was certainly different than in the U.S., where no ethnic group stands out. The square itself was huge, and I could sense that a lot of history had occurred there. I really liked the statue of Mao with the ordinary citizens. It essentially embodied China’s political beliefs.
I loved the Forbidden City. The architecture was amazing and expansive. It was hard for me to believe that all of the buildings were for the living and working of a single family, even the Imperial family. I was in awe of the intricate detail that adorned every beam and column of every building. I especially liked the dragon carving. I never knew that a 5-clawed dragon signified a dragon specifically for the emperor! And I can’t believe that the carving was made out of one giant slab of stone.