The Forbidden City (and other things)

Next stop: Old Bookstore area and the Forbidden City. During the feudal times, this street was packed and flourishing with bookstores and business. At the end of the Qing Dynasty a lot of valuables from the Forbidden City were stolen by eunichs and sold here. Today, there are no more such relics from the Forbidden City, however the street still has the old look with lots of bookstores, craftstores, art stores, etc. We had a little stamp made here with the "Soo Family" imprint. After
browsing the bookstores and having a little tea break, we had lunch at a funky, purple gold, clublike restaurant that was catered for westerners. The menu had a varied assortment of east and west dishes. It had surprisingly good beef and chinese broccoli dish. We were pretty taken aback by their bathroom sinks and have included an image of it. Before the meal, we also had a taste of tough haggling by peddler. He was trying to sell some books on the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The starting price was 50 yuan for the Forbidden City book. After following us and not taking no as an answer, we finally relented and bought both books for 50 yuan.

Here is Joshua posing as Emperor Pu Yi in front of the Forbidden City. Is he worthy? You decide.