Following their arrival in Beijing for the Yao-Nash Charity Game, NBA players including Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Chuck Hayes, Leandro Barbosa, Alando Tucker, DJ Strawberry and Paul Davis left the hotel at 10am this morning to visit the Forbidden City.

With police escort, players arrived the palace and entered through the North gates, walking past chamber after chamber, trying to absorb as much as possible through all their senses. It was quite a parade that attracted a lot of attention from local and foreign tourists, all trying to take photos with them.

Players were amazed at the size and history of the palace, and despite the tour guide's descriptive introductions they wanted to know the equivalence of the Forbidden City in the US, to be told either it was about the size of Orlando's Disneyland, or perhaps 10 times larger than the Whithouse.

They finished their tour by coming out of the South Gate and onto Tiananmen Square.