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| Forbidden City |
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| Tiananmen Square |
This morning, we went to the main sightseeing points in Beijing: Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Last time, when I came was before 1989. Since then, I did not come back until now. So, to me, it was so meaningful to pay a visit again in these places.
When I walked on the Tiananmen Square, so many memories crossed on my mind. Students had hunger protests against the China government for democracy. The China government sent the armies to suppress the protests. A lot of people died in this event. Some escaped to the other countries and some were caught by the China government for years of prison. Those scenes kept crossing on my mind. It was a sad story. Until now, I still could not forget. I remembered I was in Hong Kong at that time, I also went out to protest against the China government for his cruel, unreasonable, and brutal to suppress our people.
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| High Tower in Forbidden City |
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| Forbidden City along the lake |
We passed Tiananmen Square and entered into the Forbidden City. So many high towers were built to protect the palace against the enemies. We walked through different halls where the emperor worked, studied, or slept. All the halls were full of tourists. It was difficult for me to squeeze in order to take pictures of inside.
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| I was in the Forbidden City |
After visiting the Forbidden City, I was ready to leave the group and headed to the airport to catch my flight to Chicago. It was so difficult to catch a cab. Luckily, I got Miranda’s help to catch a cab for me. Otherwise, I really did not know how long I had to wait on the street for a cab. Cab driver in Beijing was picky on the passengers. They only picked those passengers who went for the long journey. There were 3 cab drivers refused to take me to the airport express train station until the last one. He dropped me at the opposite side of the airport express train station and I had to carry 2 suitcases and 1 backpack walking through the subway tunnel. There was no elevator or escalator but only stairs. It was really killing me to carry so heavy suitcases walking up and down of the stairs. My palms hurt.
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| Beijing International Airport |
When I arrived at the airport, I checked in as a standby passenger. Around 3pm, I went back to the check in counter. I knew the flight was overbooked but I still had to try my luck. I prayed for the miracle happened that I could get a seat, no matter it was in the middle, window, or aisle. Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen on me. I called my friend in Hong Kong and told her I stuck in Beijing airport. I did not think it was a good idea to go back to stay in downtown because I did not want to carry my heavy suitcases walking on the street up and down the stairs again.
My nightmare just started at this moment. I needed to stay overnight in the airport. A phone company in China provided WIFI service for 5 hours only if I provided some personal information to them. Luckily, there was a 24-hour MacDonald in the arrival hall, so I did not need to spend so much money on my lunch and dinner. I also tried to find a spot where I could lie down comfortably. Actually, there were so many benches having the arms and it would not be comfortable to rest. However, I found one without arms. I occupied 3 seats together. I was anxious about my safety. Those strange men around me which made me a little bit nervous plus I had to protect my personal belongings as well. At night, the airport was freezing cold. Of course, I did not really have a good sleep. I kept praying the time could go faster and I could get on the flight back home tomorrow.
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