My Beijing Bash: Part I

Beijing..the ancient city and seat of power of the Qing and Ming dynasties...and today the epicentre of China..only one word comes to mind to describe this great city..Majestic!!

Day 1:
The flight was Shanghai touched down at the new Terminal 3 at Beijing airport...and it is massive...certainly well equipped to handle the Olympics influx..

The Hotel

Made my way to my hotel...Days Inn Forbidden City...the place was too good..and the location even better..just few mins from Tiananmen and the forbidden city...the rooms r good..and to top it all it came with free internet..guys..i really recommend this place...

Neways..first stop was going to be Tiantian...the temple of Heaven!
This complex..houses the several temples..where emperors used to perform rituals for a good harvest...they were considered a direct link between the gods and the common people...

The architecture and the scale of this place is unbelievable...certainly a must see!!

Parks Around Tiantian

wat is also fascinating about beijing is its park life...there is so much activity..ppl sipping tea..playing checkers...singing and performing concerts..gives a very unique flavor to the city...was walking around the park in Tiantian..and came across this wonderful troupe...

From Tiantian..took a time travel to the futuristic Birds Nest Olympics stadium..the steel structure looks complex..and intricate..but at the same time very modern and chic...lot of work goin around in the area so couldnt really get very close...

The sun was on the horizon..and it was perfect time to make way to Tiananmen square for the flag lowering ceremony...now this is wat is a real square..it is freaking huge..can accommodate around a million people if needed...with the Great Hall of the people...and Mao's mausoleum..and the People's museum surrounding the 3 sides..and the entrance to Forbidden city on the forth side....and to top it all statues and murals of the Long leap all around...now tis is truly impressive..and makes a powerful statement...this is the People's republic!!

The Great Hall of the People

The Long Leap

Countdown!

Finally dinner was rather interesting..went to a Hakka restaurant...and sure had difficulty with the menu...but managed to get some lovely mushroom veggie..and some "lovely" KFC popcorn chicken imitation...(alas turned out to be fried chk cartilage)

Day 1 sure was a fascinating...stay tuned for Day 2 and the adventure to the one and only...Great wall