Beijing Sights — Experience Next

With limited time on my hands, it'll be mostly a 'caption' post.

Communist government headquarters as pictured on the 100 Yuan bill.

Jump shot in front of the rigid soldier. Doubt he was liking us.

Livestrong in China!

Chairman Mao. Like the Mona Lisa, his eyes follow you ala Big Brother.

View inside the Forbidden City.

Much of the intricate artwork was restored for the Beijing Games. Estimates for completion are an additional 10 years.

On the corners of the buildings, the number of mythological creatures represents how important the building is. The only 9 figure buildings in China are in the Forbidden City.

Emperor's throne. This makes me want to watch The Last Emperor over again!

A large vat/pot with handles. People rub the handles for good luck.

Learned that the lion playing with its cub is the female one while the one playing with the ball is the male one. Never knew!

The right side of the sign is in Manchurian characters from the last dynasty of China.

Some tree with interlocking branches.

Another fruit man.

Ate lunch at a large food court.

After lunch at the food court, we walked to an open air market to try out some odder delicacies.

I don't mind eating weird stuff, but even I was hesitant to chomp off the head of lizards and some bat looking thing.

Scorpion it is. Not bad. It's fried, so tastes like fried stuff.

We went to a hutong neighborhood to see how Beijing looked prior to its metropolitan boom. Made for some good souvenir shopping.

The group went to get foot massages at a high end hotel. Super nice digs and complimentary food and drinks. For an hour shoulder and foot massage, I think it cost like ~ $12!