On Sunday March 29, we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It is a fascinating, mile long gated residence of the emperors, their families and their concubines.
Much of the city remains as it did hundreds of years ago. It was quite cold there, some snow falling as we moved through many of the residences.
We lunched at Wahaha restaurant, owned by the beverage company, and then proceeded to rickshaws that took us on the old city streets, called hutongs. There, we visited a family home and saw how so many Chinese live. This area is in sharp contrast to the city itself which has been updated for the Olympics.
Ironically, we ran into some University of Rochester undergrad students, who saw the Simon logo on our sign. We invited them to attend the alumni event this evening at the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing.
Tomorrow, we go to the Great Wall....and the Temple of Heaven.
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