The Saints Tour Forbidden City
December 29, 2007
The Saints headed out to Guangcai Sports Center in the morning to participate in their first official team practice in three weeks. With their first game against Chinese competition just a few days away, the team got in a quick workout before heading back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the group in preparation for the day's events.
At around 1:30 p.m., the entire group set out for its first real look at two of Beijing's more popular historical attractions, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
The Forbidden City, known today as the National Palace Museum, lies at the center of Beijing and is one of the most complete historical sites in all of China. For five centuries the complex served as the imperial palace to Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, housing a total of 24 rulers from the year of its completion (1420) to 1924, when the last Chinese emperor was driven from within its walls. Spanning a full square kilometer in size, it is the largest palace complex in the world, housing 9,999 buildings within its high walls.
Starting out at the northern entrance of the complex, the group passed through the Gate of Divine Prowess, taking a second to snap a few shots of the building's exterior before entering. Many were in awe of its great size as well as the lengthy moat surrounding the structure, which due to the bitter winter cold had been completely frozen over.
The first sights the group witnessed were those of the Inner Court section of the palace, which once served as the living quarters for the emperor and his family. As everyone slowly traversed the 960-meter journey to the southern Tiananmen Gate, each had the opportunity to walk through a number of different buildings, halls and museums along the way, experiencing the complex's unique architecture and design up close.
As the players entering into the palace's Outer Court, they were happy to see two playground basketball courts along the walls of the royal city, where off-duty guards were shooting hoops. As they completed their journey and made their way to the street directly across from Tiananmen Square, they looked back to see the gigantic portrait of Mao overlooking the busy streets and walkways of the city's center.
After completing its trek, the group made its way to the bus to thaw out due to the frigid winter cold. After a brief rest, however, a smaller group decided to brave the elements and return to the square to witness the daily ceremony for the lowering of the Chinese national flag. Walking back through the 440,000 square meters that make up Tiananmen Square, the group immersed itself among the throngs of people awaiting the ritual's start. Minutes later, two lines of Chinese soldiers began marching across the street from the palace towards the flag. Trained to walk at exactly 108 paces per minute, the whole square came to a halt as the soldiers made their way across the hectic main avenue and lowered the massive flag. Despite the chilly breeze that continued to sweep through, everyone who dared to venture back into the cold for the special ceremony agreed it was well worth the effort.
Once the smaller group made its way back to the bus, the entire Emmanuel crew was off to experience its first true Chinese dinner at Beijing's famous Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. There they sat down to sample a variety of cuisine highlighted by the roast duck, a "must-try" for any visitor. Chefs entered the dining area to cut the duck in front of the crowd, adding to the splendor of the entire event.
After dinner, the group returned to the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven for some much needed rest. On many people's minds were thoughts of the next day's journey, which would take them nearly 50 miles from the city to see one of the eight wonders of the world - the Great Wall of China…