Welcome to the first Automatic Feature post of my China trip. This should be posting just as I’m landing in China. I thought I’d get people into the mood with some China specific information. My sister Alicia got me a very thorough China traveling book for my birthday and I see it as my duty to share some of the information with the masses.

My first landfall in China will be in Beijing. Beijing is the capital of China. It’s in the northeast of the country with the Yellow river to the south and the Great Wall to the North. It is described as a city rich with traditional architecture but modernized from the pressures of an expanding population. At the center of Beijing is the “forbidden city,” a palace of sorts from where previous emperors ruled the country. It is now fully open to the public and supposedly boasts some very striking architecture. There are many gardens, gates, and dragons ornamenting the city. Provided we get to the city at a reasonable hour, I hope to see this area of Beijing first. Although the functionality is vastly different, the size on the map reminds of me Tivoli in Copenhagen. It looks to take up almost a square mile of real estate.

Directly south of the forbidden city is Tian’an Men GuangChang (Tian’an Men Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace). Ironically, this square of heavenly peace was the location of the violent suppresion of the 1989 democratic uprising. The square is almost as big as the forbidden city and is surrounded by the Chinese legislature auditorium, a museum of Chinese history, and the Chinese National Musuem. At the center of the square is a monument and the mausoleum of Chinese communist leader (Chairman) Mao Zedong. Apparently every morning and evening his casket is raised out for viewing.

I’ll update with another China Feature section soon that will correspond with my travels.