I admit I was a bit unprepared for my adventure to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I woke up that morning, decided I wanted to visit those two places, hopped on the subway, and when I emerged from the station realized I had done pretty much no research about either place.

I didn’t know where they were in relation to the subway, how to get there, how much entrance fees cost (if there even were any), or honestly what they even looked like.

I apparently suck at being a tourist on my own.

But I simply followed the throngs of people and hoped that I was headed in the correct direction and lucky for me they are right across the street from one another.

The walk to Tiananmen square was an interesting one. I got to experience for the first time the dichotomy that is Chinese cleanliness.

In and around the square there were people on scooters picking up even the tiniest bit of trash on the ground. Then in the same breath there were people hocking up one hell of a loogie and spitting on the street, a child squatting near a tree and doing his business with his father standing behind him, and others picking their nose or ears and flicking it willy nilly into the air.

I managed to personally avoid the above mentioned nastiness and made it safely to Tiananmen Square.

Tiananmen Square was originally built in 1417 (during the Ming Dynasty) to complement the Forbidden City. During the Ming and Qing eras, there was no public square here - the area was filled with offices of the imperial ministries. These were badly damaged during the Boxer Rebellion and the area was cleared for the Tiananmen Square we know today.

Outside China, the square is best known as the focal point of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a pro-democracy movement which ended on June 4, 1989 with the declaration of martial law in Beijing by the government and the shooting of several hundred or possibly thousands of civilians by soldiers.

Within the square there were plenty of touts trying to sell pictures of you standing in front of the Forbidden City which is located across the street but they actually were not bothersome at all. I was pleasantly surprised.

The street that lies between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City is a very large and busy one so the only way to get across is via underground tunnels. If you’ve ever tried to cross the street in China you’ll understand why this was a bit of a godsend.

I finally made my way into the outer gates of the palace where I bought my ticket for 60 yuan (about $10 USD) and made my way through security to the inner sanctum.

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

Completed in 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 180 acres. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum.

I lucked out in that as soon as I entered there was a parade of marching guards through the square that happened right in front of me. However in my haste to take pictures I didn’t notice a second group of guards that almost ran me over. Run down by Chinese guards would be an unfortunate way to go.

Now being the genius that I am decided to visit the Forbidden City on a Saturday. It felt like everyone in China was there that day…they may actually have been There was an unbelievable amount of people there and while it could have been frustrating and annoying, I found it to be kind of fun.

I am normally a gentle, polite person (unless you ask my sister I’m sure) and so it’s always been ‘oh no YOU go ahead I don’t mind!’ But out here it’s everyone for themselves regardless of age or any other kind of discerning factor. I had little old ladies jockeying with me for a spot to look into the throne room and the concubine chambers. They were throwing elbows left and right so I decided to join in on the fun and throw them right back! I pushed my way to the front and shoved people out of my way once I’d seen what I wanted.

And not a single person batted an eyelash at my hip checks or shin kicks (ok so I didn’t really kick anyone in the shin but I was close a few times). It was awesome.

The palace itself was beautiful but expansive. I couldn’t help but think of it as the energizer bunny of palaces - it just keeps going and going and going. I kid you not it probably took me over 2 hours just to make my way through the city. The enormous crowd certainly didn’t speed up my sightseeing time either but it was still a beautiful sight to behold.

Unfortunately the entire city is one way. You go in the front, go straight through, and exit by the gardens.

Even more unfortunately the subway was back at the beginning. So I had to walk the entire length of the city and gardens again but this time on a small side street. It was nice to walk through a local neighborhood though and see the conglomeration of shops and restaurants and street vendors.

Overall it was a fun day (though my feet did not find it fun) and is an easy trip for anyone visiting Beijing.

Have you ever had fun joining in on the way locals do things?