The Great Wall
The Rockwell's on the Wall
Hannah and Grandma on the Wall
The Temple of Heaven
Genuine Chinese AcrobatDream as though you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today. ~James Dean
Today was a very busy day. We started by visiting a jade factory. We learned about how Chinese women traditionally receive a jade bracelet to be worn daily when their child is born and then it is passed to their daughter or daughter-in-law on their wedding day.
Then it was off to the Great Wall. We scrambled up to the third tower and back down. Our guide Jenny tells us that any national that walks on the Great Wall is a national hero. Well we are now heroes and Hannah could not be happier.
After the visit to the Great Wall we visited a cloisonné shop and got to see first-hand how it is made. Then it was to another fantastic Chinese lunch. It was a good thing that we had a good work out on the wall. We got to eat Chinese French fries…very tasty. Then it was off to the Temple of Heaven and then to a Chinese acrobat show. The Chinese have truly mastered the kinetic movement of the human body.
We are amazed as we travel through the city at the amount of new construction. There are literally hundreds of high rise apartments building being constructed. On top of that they are working on some of the venues for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. It is amazing to see how modern this city is.
The most amazing part of our day occurred at the Temple of Heaven. We needed to exit out of the east entrance through what they call the “long corridor”. The locals were playing traditional instruments and singing. Others were playing card games or dancing. As we walked down the path we were totally engulfed into the traditional culture of this fantastic country.
As I reflect back on the week I am really surprised to see that there is a growing rift between the older and younger generations in modern China. The older people hold strongly onto tradition and prefer to live in the older sections of the city. The younger people want to live in the high-rise apartments in the city. It will be interesting to see all the additional changes the county will see in the near future.
Our thoughts turn to tomorrow when we travel to Haikou. We were told today that we will receive our children on Monday at 9:00 am. It is getting so close. We are all excited and looking forward to finally adding her to our family.
Today was a very busy day. We started by visiting a jade factory. We learned about how Chinese women traditionally receive a jade bracelet to be worn daily when their child is born and then it is passed to their daughter or daughter-in-law on their wedding day.
Then it was off to the Great Wall. We scrambled up to the third tower and back down. Our guide Jenny tells us that any national that walks on the Great Wall is a national hero. Well we are now heroes and Hannah could not be happier.
After the visit to the Great Wall we visited a cloisonné shop and got to see first-hand how it is made. Then it was to another fantastic Chinese lunch. It was a good thing that we had a good work out on the wall. We got to eat Chinese French fries…very tasty. Then it was off to the Temple of Heaven and then to a Chinese acrobat show. The Chinese have truly mastered the kinetic movement of the human body.
We are amazed as we travel through the city at the amount of new construction. There are literally hundreds of high rise apartments building being constructed. On top of that they are working on some of the venues for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. It is amazing to see how modern this city is.
The most amazing part of our day occurred at the Temple of Heaven. We needed to exit out of the east entrance through what they call the “long corridor”. The locals were playing traditional instruments and singing. Others were playing card games or dancing. As we walked down the path we were totally engulfed into the traditional culture of this fantastic country.
As I reflect back on the week I am really surprised to see that there is a growing rift between the older and younger generations in modern China. The older people hold strongly onto tradition and prefer to live in the older sections of the city. The younger people want to live in the high-rise apartments in the city. It will be interesting to see all the additional changes the county will see in the near future.
Our thoughts turn to tomorrow when we travel to Haikou. We were told today that we will receive our children on Monday at 9:00 am. It is getting so close. We are all excited and looking forward to finally adding her to our family.
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