Thanks so much for visiting us during our journey, Steve, Allison, Sean, Megan and Ryan!
An invisible red thread connects those who are destined
to meet regardless of time, place or circumstance.
The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break.
-An Ancient Chinese Belief
We stopped by a Jade Factory on the way to the Great Wall. It was neat to see how they sculpt the figurines and the meaning behind many of them. We traveled 60 kilometers north to the Juyong Pass, built in 1500 by the Ming Dynasty. We were told we had to go here to climb the wall and become "heroes"...so we did! Its hard to imagine the engineering and manpower needed to build such an amazingly huge wall so long ago.
Megan was stopped almost immediately to have her picture taken with another Chinese girl by her father. On the way down the wall, a Chinese man stopped Megan and said (in english) " such a beautiful girl!"...it was really neat. We saw and heard so many nationalities; Chinese, German, French, and unknowns.
Lunch was at a local non-tourist restaurant...we were stared at often! The food was great, chop stick practice at home was helpful. On the way back to the hotel for a rest, the driver passed by the many construction sites of the upcoming 2008 Olympics...huge projects with really awesome designs.
After a short rest, we had our 12th wedding anniversary dinner at a nice Beijing restaurant. We requested Peking Duck and our guide said this is the best place to have it....she was right ! The Peking Duck is cooked over a cherry wood fire, and the ducks are fed fruity foods for their short three month life, therefore the meat has a unique taste. The local Great Wall red wine was good too.
To end the day we went to the Chinese Nationalists Acrobatics Show. The troupe is comprised of kids from 8 to middle teens (they called them the stars of the future), and they perform stunts that we would be shocked to see adults accomplish so well! They tapped danced while juggling up to eight balls, climbed up poles and jumped pole to pole with ease, and twelve balanced on a bicycle while riding quickly in a circle on the stage....amazing dedication and focus. Many of the kids looked like they were really having fun. We were told the Chinese culture highly values acrobatics and they start learning it at 3 years of age....that explains all the gold metals at the Olympics.
A full day of site seeing and good food!
The Farrellys.
Megan, Allison and Steve ( mao)
Allison and Megan at acrobatic theatre
The Great Wall
Steve and Megan at the Great Wall
Us as hero's at the Great Wall
Saturday, August 28th –
We were joined today by two other couples from western Michigan that were also adopting this week, what a small world! We first visited Tiananmen Square with its vast open space surrounded by historic and governmental buildings. On the south the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, to the west the Chinese History Museum, to the east the Great Hall of the People, and to the north the Tiananmen Gate (and large scale portrait of Mao Zedong) leading to the Forbidden City. The square was hot without shade, full of people and aggressive vendors, and historic significance (we didn't hear about nor ask about the student protests in 1989).
The Forbidden City is an amazing multi-walled city formally enclosing the emperor and his court (now a museum). The ancient architecture, open spaces, huge gated-walls, ornamentation, landscaping, and sculpture are incredible, especially with all of the Chinese beliefs and meanings for everything. It made us feel like we have such a short history and culture in the U.S.A.
Our next stop was a local restaurant in the old city section, beyond many rings of walls. We walked through the very narrow lanes called hutongs with their residences, markets, and restaurants. The smells and dirt were a bit overwhelming, and made us appreciate our neighborhoods in the U.S. (although the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans came to mind).
We finished the day at the Temple of Heaven, a huge park once only accessible to the emperor and guests. The center of the Park is the Hall of Prayer for Bumper Harvests, thought to be at the exact point where heaven meets earth. Megan was a real trooper...it was very hot and humid and we walked a long way throughout the day (dads shoulders became a personal rickshaw!).
In the morning we depart for Urumqi to meet Ryan Tian (either that evening or Wednesday morning). Now the excitement begins to peak!!! We miss you Sean, hope you are having fun too !
The Farrellys.
Forbidden City roof ornamentation
old city street scene
Temple of Heaven
Megan in the heat -- "Megan wants to know if its really this hot in heaven?"
