We began our day with a city bus ride to Tianemen Square and Mao's tomb. The crowds were intense and spectacular, thousands of Chinese standing in the hot, hot sun for HOURS to see the embalmed remains of their illustrious leader. He died in 1978.
After maneuvering the crowd, we finally got to the entrance gate of the Imperial City. The architecture was superb Z's were the amazing crowds. It was so hot that any shady spot was filled to capacity. Vendors selling frozen bottles of water were everywhere!
With audio guides around our necks we split up and toured the site. Three hours in I had had enough history, noise, and claustrophobia was settling in. I headed for the west gate, exit, and a cold beer.
I met up with the gang at the gate and together we spent the rest of the day wandering the city back to the hotel, pub hopping looking for air conditioning, cold drinks and a little lunch :-)
Oh, and then there was the live viper cooked to perfection in a delectable ginger and onion sauce. Yikes!
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