Day 147

Today was our political day in Beijing. We started the day by heading to Tienanmen Square (the largest public square in the world). At 9am, we could already tell it would be a scorcher. Jess really wanted to see Chairman Mao's preserved body (much to Steven's surprise), and I was game. We waited in line for around 20 minutes with only our passports and sweaters covering our shoulders (Steven had to hold the rest of our belongings). While we were waiting in line, people were buying flowers to leave for Chairman Mao inside the mausoleum. Jess and I walked through and outside where we met Steven. He asked if we noticed we were the only white people who went to see Mao. We hadn't noticed, but now that he mentioned it, he was completely right. Next, we headed across the street to the Forbidden City. It was even hotter than when the day started and you can't go into any of the buildings, so we walked around the premises. There used to be a Starbucks in the Forbidden City, but then the government decided that the historical palace may not be the best place for a foreign coffee shop to operate. After we were done with this tour, we headed to a lake for lunch before making our way to the Temple of Heaven. I really enjoyed the Temple of Heaven - the grounds were so serene and the buildings are beautiful. After leaving the Temple of Heaven, we took a farewell picture with Steven before going to the train station to board the bullet train. The train is the way to travel - Jess and I were able to turn our seats around to face each other and put our feet up. I could get used to going 300 km/h (~186 mph) - it took us less than 5 hours to get back to Shanghai.

After an exhausting 3 days of travel, I have less than a day left in China and with Jess. I guess tomorrow I'll start counting down the days to when she comes home for a visit. I really am counting - only 30 days to go...