China8687-002 - The Friendship Hotel

When we arrived in Beijing, we stayed at the Friendship Hotel. It was one of the few hotels authorized to accept international guests in Beijing. Right away we found out that many parts of China were off limits or restricted to foreigners. We couldn't go to this place; we couldn't stay in that hotel. Whole cities were off limits to us, with no hotels authorized to host foreigners. Most importantly, we shouldn't criticize the leaders in China. Criticizing leaders is a national pastime in the US. I was not used to holding my tongue when I saw something I didn't like.