The Forbidden City

view of forbidden city from park across the street- it is MASSIVE

The forbidden city is HUGE.  You just can't believe how big it is when you're in there.... the buildings just keep going and going and going.  There's a moat around the whole thing too.  It was super crowded when I went- the Chinese love to travel in large groups- all of which had matching hats and flags so they could tell who belonged to which group.  (Kinda funny).  I'm glad I went alone to the forbidden city (I was going to go with a girl from the hostel, but she slept in) because it's just so big and I decided to rush to the end where the garden is (someone said that was the best part and it was).  I still can't believe how lucky I was with the timing- perfect weather and lots of beautiful flowers in bloom.  I heard that Beijing is either freezing cold or super hot and that they only have about a month of spring- during which time the weather is completely unpredictable.