The Travel Bug: Beijing, the Forbidden City

Can you believe I've never gone to China for leisure before? (unless you count Hong Kong...) Been there a few times for work before, but usually spending only a few (waking) hours in each City. My previous time in Beijing was a hurried 3 hour private tour of the Forbidden City and Tianamen while en route back to Singapore from Dalian... This time round though, I would be there for a conference with free time in the evenings to meet up with people and explore Beijing a little more.

The Grand Hyatt hotel was a pretty good place to be at for a conference. It's at the "old" financial district smack in the center of town, with easy access to the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square as well as the shopping district. The "new" financial area however is a good 40minutes away. One thing I learnt when I was there.. Beijing is BIG.

I mostly had time in the evenings only, so one day while waiting for a dinner appointment, I decided to take a walk "only 2 blocks down" to the Forbidden Palace. It looked really near on the map, but turned out to be a cold (but enjoyabe) 20minute walk. Again, a reminder that Beijing is BIG.

Everything was of course closed by the time I got there around 6 plus. Was ok with me since I had already visited it before, so I just stood around joining the other camera-totting tourists (Chinese and otherwise) taking photos of the guards in front.

Tianamen Square was just across the road, but I was a little too cold to bother looking for the underpass to cross over.

Headed back after that, to the safety of Oriental Plaza, the huge shopping / hotel / office complex linked to the hotel. With sub-zero temperatures, there's a limit to how long you can spend outdoors!