Today was one of those days that we were glad we had comfortable shoes, extra camera batteries, and a couple of gigabytes of camera memory.

This morning we took a taxi to the Forbidden City. This was the home of the Chinese emperors starting with the Ming dynasty in the 1400s. The architecture was incredible, with glazed tilework everywhere, amazing gates, and huge rooms. There was also a great deal of reconstruction work going on, because the Chinese are frantically trying to position the Forbidden City as a showpiece for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The crowds were everywhere. At one point, there was so much pushing and shoving going on, that Sandy and I were moved about 20 meters without ever moving our feet! It was like being carried along in a current of people.

South of the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square, which of course we remember from the student demonstrations of the 1980s. This is also the location of the Peoples' Hall (pictured), where Richard Nixon first opened China to the world in the 1970s (at least that's the way the Chinese tell it).

After walking through Tiananmen Square, we took a pedicab ride through a hutong (alley) marketplace, with open-air grocery stalls and other merchant stands. Instead of being safe in a taxi amidst the chaotic traffic, we were part of the problem.

The driver dropped us off at Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Park. This was an area that the emperors used for sacrificial rites and diplomatic ceremonies. The symbolism was everywhere, and it was a relaxing walk along various temples, pavilions, and gates dedicated to peace, tranquility, and spirituality.

Not ones to leave things well enough alone, we then proceeded to walk through some pretty hectic hutongs and streets, towards our hotel. By the time we finally gave up and took a taxi home, any hope of tranquility was out the window.

Tonight, we plan to take in an acrobatic show, then in the morning, it's good-bye to China, where "high speed Internet" is a painfully relative term, and off to Paris.