14.07.2019: In the Forbidden City

We were lucky because there was blue sky in Beijing. In the morning, we strolled with what felt like millions of other visitors through the imperial Summer Palace, a huge park. Despite nearly 40 degrees, it was still bearable because during the times of the emperors, they had thought ahead and designed the main paths as covered corridors.

In scorching heat, we struggled through Tiananmen Square in the afternoon. This is where the student resistance was brutally suppressed in the past. The square resembles a high-security zone with countless surveillance cameras (more than usual, and there are already plenty) and people who ensure that everything is proper. Mighty socialist buildings, including Mao's Mausoleum, line Tiananmen Square.

To enter the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace, you have to pass through an entrance on the square, where you will find a giant portrait of Mao. If you see Mao, the weather is nice; if not, there is smog. We saw him clearly. The palace complex - like everything here - is gigantic.

In the evening, we naturally had Peking duck with plenty of bamboo schnapps.