One Chinese friend described Shanghai as a city without a soul. I really didn’t understand the meaning of that statement until I visited Beijing. Even though I already have been in China for so long, it wasn't until I made it to Beijing that I felt like I was in the China that I’ve see in movies and in books.
My friend and Kelley classmate, Jon, is studying abroad in Hong Kong, and we planned to visit the city together. In the morning we checked out Tiananmen Square. I was a tourist attraction again with people coming up to take photos. You can see the painting of Mao Zedong, which is replaced every year. In the afternoon we met up with David, a friend that I know from the University of Warwick. Over Valentine’s Day weekend, he got engaged, so I was excited to also meet his fiancé, Emma. She got her "English" name that day. She selected it because she likes the actress in Harry Potter. The four of us explored the Forbidden City together. David shared what he knew about the life of an emperor and the few others who were allowed to enter the area. The emperor could have many (possibly hundreds) of wives. The first empress, however, was the most important. She attended official events with the emperor. The emperor and empress are represented with an image of a dragon and an image of a phoenix. As you can imagine, there was a lot of rivalry among the empresses, and there were rumors about them trying to get rid of each other. The emperor selected his succession, so it wasn’t automatically the first-born male. He could choose the son that he thought would be the best for the role or just choose his favorite son. Once again, there was a lot of competition in that household. Both Jon and I were surprised by the enormous size of the city. There are many walls/gates to pass through before you get to the center. We walked from one end to the other, and we climbed to the top of a near-by hill for a great view of Beijing.
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