China: The Forbidden City

If we walk under the big picture of Chairman Mao and continue north, you'll come to the entrance to the Forbidden City. It's called Forbidden because this is an area of temples, homes, and offices that were only open to the Emporer and the royal family during the old Dynasties. Now, it's only forbidden to anyone who can't pay the Y40 entrance fee.

Our Lonely Planet guidebook recommended that we pay extra for the audio tour, which is hosted by Roger Moore. It was a little odd to hear James Bond talking about Ming Dynasty architecture and Chinese eunichs, but it really was a good presentation.

We left there and met up with a friend of my brother's. This lady is a former Buddhist palm-reader who destroyed all of her idols and decided to follow Christ. We walked together for awhile, recorded her story, and prayed together. In her story, she told of how she could literally tell the future by reading people's faces and hands. She became a Christian one year ago, and with that experience, the devil left her, and now she can no longer see into the future. She will be preaching in Chinese churches this winter.

That night, we were supposed to take the train to the town where my brother lives, but unfortunately, the signs in the station pointed us in the wrong direction, and we missed the train. Not a big loss, as it let us spend another day in Beijing, and there is a lot to see here!

These little guys on the corners of the buildings are supposed to ward of lightning. At least, that's what James Bond said.

Tomorrow: The Temple of Heaven