I woke up late around 8am, the room was still dark and I must have been tired, maybe I'd caught up on the train ride. I got ready including a shower and got slightly electrocuted - shocking! I went out and looked at some bananas at the fruit stall but they cost 3.2 yuan for 3 which I thought was a bit much. I headed to the forbidden city and had to go through Tienanmen square security but it wasn't too bad at this time and I walked in and got my ticket for 60 yuan. There were a fair few tourists around and it was a bit of a wait getting in. The palace was big, there were a square with buildings around and a gate in front and then when I went through that there was another square a little bigger. The first had a stream and bridges and I looked up the information I had saved from a useful China travel guide website so I had my own pocket guide. A lot of the information was repeated on the notice boards but that meant it sunk in more as often I find I've forgotten what I've just read in my rush to see everything. I headed east through a side gate to see the hall of literary glory and went around that which had a pottery exhibition. Then I went back to the middle and as the west gate was shut I continued north along the main route where the largest building the hall of supremacy was. There were a few more buildings in the centre but you could only look inside through an open window and all the Chinese would push to get to the front and take a photo, it was most uncivilised. I went west like the Pet shop boys advised and I wouldn't say life was peaceful there but there were less people there. The gardens were not really gardens but there was a palace which had been built for the Quinlong emperors mum and they had some artifacts in there as well. I just managed to get around there including seeing the Buddha statues and get to the toilet in time. The place had a few exhibitions and covered all the usual things you see in museums in China. I went back to the centre and on a bit and also went to see some more palaces to the east and west and the garden which did have flowers at the front and then I was at the exit gate and it was after 1pm. I looked at the website guide and realised I'd missed the treasure hall and I couldn't see a sign for it so I checked on maps.me and it was back in the east section near the clocks and watches I'd missed as it was 10 yuan. I headed back through the crowds, paid my 10 yuan and went in and saw some buildings but no treasures at first then I found a hall and went through jewelry, then gold. It was nice but people were crowding the cabinets taking photos. I went round and found there were also other buildings including the opera house which was like the Shakespeare's globe stage and there was a gardens there as well. I finished up and left the forbidden city and walked east to a temple which was shut. I carried on east towards the art museum and went in only it didn't have much art just some stone sculptures and a bit about the building which used to be a library where Mao worked. It was free but there was not so much there and it wasn't the art museum which I went to and got a ticket for but didn't go in. It was close to 2pm and I hadn't eaten for several hours so I should have got those bananas. I wasn't that hungry but I remembered all the shops like a 7-11 I'd gone past the other day and I was looking forward to that so I went to find them but the shop nearby only sold a few things like cakes at higher prices. I turned onto the road where I remembered the shops and couldn't see any, then I did see one and crossed the road but it was being smashed up even though it still had all its products there. I carried on down the road to find nothing and I came to the Cathedral which was open so I went inside for a look. I left and went west on a road to see if maybe the other street had all the shops and I found an ok shop where I got a garlic sausage for 3 and a reasonable sized bag of nuts for 6. The next road didn't have much and I walked up near to the museum but bought some cakes from a shop. I went to the museum and there was some kind of presentation in the hall with cameras and lots of people so I headed upstairs and went around some Chinese art. The next floor up was Russian art which I connected with as it was more like what I'm used to as art and the top floor had just a small collection. I went back to the ground floor and the presentation had finished. I walked around and there was some ok stuff, one Chinese artist had lived in France and had a sort of impressionist style. Then I came to a busy room that must be a new exhibition they had opened and some was quite good. There were a few more rooms and then I left and headed back to the exit if the forbidden city to go in the park just to the north of it. The park was 10 yuan and a notice board inside inside informed me that an emperor hanged himself here after a peasant uprising so I went to the south east corner to where it happened and learnt that he was the last of the Ming emperors. I climbed the hill after that past a couple of pagodas which I thought were the top but there was another and the views were really good up there especially of the Forbidden city. I headed down and west as the palace to the north of the park had construction work and looked closed so I left and went to Behai park which cost 20 yuan and had a lake in the middle. I went across the bridge to the island and climbed up the hill to see the white Dagba. Then I went back down to go along the ling corridor next to the lake before climbing back up the hill as it was the quickest way south where I wanted to go. There was a temple behind the Dagba and a man was shouting at me about something but I wasn't sure what. I think he was closing up as it was 5pm and as I walked through they did close places. I crossed the bridge south and the circular city was closed although I don't know that it is open to people anyway. I went north along the lake as its not possible to do a circuit. There wasn't much until the north side where there were some buildings, one of them quite large but they were all closed. I walked past the 9 dragon screen and then left the park. I headed towards the temples I'd missed the other day north of there but did a roundabout route to go past places like Guo Moreo's residence and the prince Gong palace both closed. I walked through a small park and along the lake and got to where the temples should be but again I couldn't find them or maybe the doors were closed. I gave up and took the nearby subway back where I found they can refund the travel card which I'd heard is only in a few stations so I tried and the girl there found a section of a manual for foreigners that said I had an incomplete bus journey so I needed to do something, great that was not gong to happen so I'd lost my 20 yuan deposit. I walked back from the subway and picked up some food including biscuits and some water. back at the hostel I did some research into the Ming tombs which were good to visit on the way back from the great wall and I looked at the Olympic Park. I felt tired and talked to the Argentinian guy a bit. He'd gone to the forbidden city and park as well and wanted to go to the wall the next day. I read and ate a lot of biscuits before going to sleep.
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