More China

We started our day at the Jade Museum. It kind of looked like a warehouse as we walked in, but when we got through the doors, there was a bunch of spectacular Jade sculptures. We watched people as they carved Jade. We went through a "tour" of the gallery where they basically were trying to get us to buy... told us their beliefs of the protective quality and healing power of jade. They wear it the closest they can to their heart since they believe it helps circulation and health. I learned about lots of different Chinese traditional things...but my favorite was the family ball. They take a chunk of jade and carve it into a multiple layer ball that is movable inside the other. Each layer represents a generation. The outside is carved with a dragon and a phoenix, which is the yin and yang balance of everlasting love and matrimonial bliss. I guess I'm a sucker cuz I just had to buy one! I loved what it represented. We headed to the Juyongguan pass of the Great Wall of China next. We hiked from tower 5 to Tower 13. It took us about an hour to get to the top and it was A LOT of stairs. Some of the stairs were as high as 2 feet. I had to use my hand to balance myself as I climbed to the next. I've been hiking for about a year now on the weekends and I still suffered from quivering legs when I got back to the bottom of the hill! The views were absolutely stunning. I would love to do all the passes one day... it was so worth it to be there and experience that. I conquered one of the 7 wonders of the world! What a feat... 6 more to go. We had a family style lunch at the top of the Jade Museum. The food was good. And there was a lot of it! It was well deserved after that hike. I liked that there was such a variety. We had duck, chicken, beef, cabbage, bok choy, dumplings, fish, fried rice, broccoli, tomato soup, and Watermelon. They also gave everyone a shot of alcohol. I don't drink anymore so I didn't taste that, but the two people who partook were gagging. They said it was so strong and tasted like tequila. Even though I liked lunch, I missed the flavors that we had the previous day when the family cooked for us. Everything kind of tasted similar, where the day before everything was so uniquely flavored. Nevertheless, we left fully satisfied. We made a stop at Olympic Park. We enjoyed views of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. Lots of records were set at those two places during the Beijing Olympics. It would have been cool to tour them. Especially since I didn't feel China was the most developed country... I'd have liked to see the insides to see what kind of technology they had and ya know...if they had western style toilets or just holes in the ground! We went to the theater to watch the Gold Mask Dynasty show. Wow. I loved it. I love theater in general... I love going to Broadway productions and any kind of theater. This place... I can't even describe it. The special effects...the backdrops, the costumes...they all left me in awe. The performance was flawless. The sets were so awesome. You could really feel the emotions of the performers as they danced. I was so glad we went. We went to a market to shop. I bought all kinds of goodies to share with my family - oreo cookies, coconut filled cakes, candies, etc. Day 3 in China: We went to Tiananmen Square to start the day. it was packed. The government buildings were all packed with people. Luckily, once we got inside the Forbidden City gates, the crowds thinned considerably. The Forbidden City was way bigger and prettier than I imagined. I still can't imagine a place where commoners aren't allowed to go into the city. I have a hard time wrapping my privileged mind around that. Also can't wrap my mind around all the emperors concubines wanting to live in there with him. Gross. The palace had huge, open courtyards that were just brick. I imagined more landscaping and gardens. I guess the men designed the place cuz you know the women would have made it prettier! There actually was beautiful gardens and I could have explored them all day. I love that stuff! Everywhere you turned, there was more alleyways or rooms to explore. I can't really put into words how vibrant and surreal it was. Everything was built with such detail and dating back so many years! I love that kind of cultural experience. I never loved history, but I love learning it in person. Seeing is definitely believing. Seeing the gold chair of the emperor and all his extravagant gold décor was pretty cool. Next up was the Chinese School of Medicine. They talked about reflexology and gave us foot massages. That was needed at this point. They looked so young, but they were really good massage therapists. After our massage, they sent out doctors to look at our hands and tell us what is wrong and how we can fix it. You fix it with $130 per month worth of medicine, of course!! It was sort of far fetched reaches based on how we looked. I had a hyperactive thyroid. Ha! yeah...noo... The massage was nice though! One cool thing I observed this day was "hand warmers" on the mopeds. They basically look like oven mitts. Some of them just covered the hands, others over the hands and legs. It cracked me up every time I saw someone with them. I can't wait to show my nephews who ride motorcycles those pictures. It was so funny looking! Practical maybe, but sooo funny. Lunch was at a restaurant on a park grounds. The food was almost the exact same dishes as the previous day so we were all a bit disappointed. It wasn't bad food tho.. just wanted to try the flavors of the country! After lunch, we explored the gardens. They were beautiful. Lots of Lily pads again and even a few lilies that were in bloom. They weren't as big as the ones at the Summer palace, but still so beautiful to see. Another thing that caught my attention was the mail trucks. They were really just mopeds with a small bin on the back. Imagine an actual U.S. Mail truck scaled down to moped size. I don't imagine they cover much area since they can't carry much. And there must never be deliveries on large items cuz they just wouldn't fit. Our last stop was at the silk factory. We got to see how it is made and even got to stretch some for a bedspread. It was interesting. Can I just say that silk worms are incredibly disgusting?! I was hesitant to buy silk because of that. But I did spend a small fortune on silk. Haha... Now if the benefits can just be true! Silk is a great material.. helps your skin and hair and allergies. It's interesting to read about the benefits!