Highlights of the day:
– despite sleeping late, I actually awoke at 6.30am. And then I felt like I needed a bit of a workout to get some colour in my face. So I went to the hotel gym and ran for about 30min. After which, the red returned to my cheeks and I felt better. 🙂
– Had one of the worst meals in Beijing–an economy rice pack (three dishes with rice) from 7 Eleven. Pathetic. I feel sorry for myself already. OK fine, I’m being overly dramatic. Still, the food sucked. I feel like I’ve wasted my calories.
– went for a foot, neck and shoulder massage. Felt good to loosen the tight muscles.
– Attended an opening reception of the Beijing International Book Fair at 人民大会堂 (Great Hall of the People). It’s a rare opportunity to enter the banquet hall as usually only dignitaries are allowed to do so. 人民大会堂 is on the western side of 天安门广场 (Tiananmen Square), which is a big and impressive square. Chairman Mao’s portrait on 天安门 flanks the square on the southern side, the National Museum of Chinese History flanks it on the eastern side and the 毛主席纪念堂 (Mausoleum of Mao Zedong) flanks it on the north. Just behind the 毛主席纪念堂 where Mao Zedong’s corpse lies, is the 前门 (Front Gate). Just behind the 前门 is the 鼓楼 (Drum Tower) where in ancient times, a drum used to be hit at certain times of the day to let the people know what time of the day it was.
You experience a sense of grandeur when you step into the area which has lots of political and historical significance. At night, lights that line the buildings are lit, and there’s a kind of beauty of this old city that’s hard to describe.