China & Beyond A journey through the eyes of a foreigner

Upon entering a foreign land, a feeling of overwhelming excitement rushed over me! We left the airport in a ball of confusion and curiosity whirling around our heads, and hurled into a totally different world that seemed to welcome us with open, yet cautious, arms...

My point of view as our school group left the Beijing airport (left), where we stood as we waited for our tour bus (center), our first tour guide, Jason (right)

This is the moat that surrounds the Emperor's Palace in the Forbidden City. Everything in China feels very protected. As I understand it, there have been many countries trying to overtake this awesome and beautiful land. So, it stands to reason that from entry to most areas to visit, we found that it was much like this moat, very protective and hard to access.

This moat, called Tongzihe, was built in the 18th year of the reign of emperor Yongle in 1420. The length is 3,830 yards and 4.5 yards deep.

A long walk to enter the Temple of Heaven, which was a place of worship for the emperor, where there were many gates to walk through