October 24th (2nd day on China trip) – After a tasty breakfast at the hotel it was time to start our adventure for the second day in China. The first stop was the Jade Carving Factory which was one of Andrew’s favorite stops. He really liked all the carvings of animals as you might guess. The carvings were incredibly intricate, elaborate, and detailed and it was interesting to learn about how to recognize real Jade. We also learned about how the different colors of Jade happen and how long it takes. 
The next stop was the Great Wall which was everyone’s favorite in our family and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be. We went to the Badaling entrance of the Great Wall which is located in country providence to the Northwest of Beijing. We climbed to the top of the highest way we could go. It was just extraordinary to think of all the history we were walking on. The climb was tremendously steep, over 45 degrees at some points, and the views were spectacular. The Wall was started in the 5th century BC but its present course was determined by the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi around 220 BC. It was not finished until the Ming dynasty and the most striking section were built during this time. As you might expect we took a bunch of pictures! After our climb it was time for lunch of Chinese food at a restaurant in a Friendship Store. At the store, we saw a demonstration on copper enameling and specifically the style of cloisonné. We were all impressed!
After lunch it was time for a tour of the Summer Palace. The palace was built during the Qing Dynasty by the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888 using money intended to build a naval fleet. The Summer Palace covers a very large area but the part we were able see in the time allowed was just magnificent, but like many royal palaces in Europe, highly excessive – one can understand the anger behind the peasant uprisings that came later. Among the many things to see is the longest walkway in the world – over 2500 feet long! The kids’ favorite part of this tour would have to be the Dragon Boat ride across the Kunming Lake. It was a relaxing ride after climbing the Great Wall and the views were gorgeous.
Following the Summer Palace tour we went on a visit to a Pearl Factory. The demonstration we watched on harvesting pearls was very interesting. The kids were all given a pearl out of the oyster they opened during the demo. There were 15 kids in our group and there were still pearls left over – I had no idea how many pearls one oyster could make! It was then time for dinner at Shu Wei Nong which served Suchuan style Chinese food that was spicy but very appetizing. Next we went on a tour of Wangfujin Street which is a place to go to eat some very unusual types of food. The most adventurous samples Andrew and I tried were the fried scorpion which was unexpectedly fine! We also enjoyed more conventional fried ice cream and caramelized fruit on a stick. Mark slept though the whole thing.
The next stop was the Great Wall which was everyone’s favorite in our family and it was even more amazing than I thought it would be. We went to the Badaling entrance of the Great Wall which is located in country providence to the Northwest of Beijing. We climbed to the top of the highest way we could go. It was just extraordinary to think of all the history we were walking on. The climb was tremendously steep, over 45 degrees at some points, and the views were spectacular. The Wall was started in the 5th century BC but its present course was determined by the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huangdi around 220 BC. It was not finished until the Ming dynasty and the most striking section were built during this time. As you might expect we took a bunch of pictures! After our climb it was time for lunch of Chinese food at a restaurant in a Friendship Store. At the store, we saw a demonstration on copper enameling and specifically the style of cloisonné. We were all impressed!
After lunch it was time for a tour of the Summer Palace. The palace was built during the Qing Dynasty by the notorious Empress Dowager Cixi in 1888 using money intended to build a naval fleet. The Summer Palace covers a very large area but the part we were able see in the time allowed was just magnificent, but like many royal palaces in Europe, highly excessive – one can understand the anger behind the peasant uprisings that came later. Among the many things to see is the longest walkway in the world – over 2500 feet long! The kids’ favorite part of this tour would have to be the Dragon Boat ride across the Kunming Lake. It was a relaxing ride after climbing the Great Wall and the views were gorgeous.
Following the Summer Palace tour we went on a visit to a Pearl Factory. The demonstration we watched on harvesting pearls was very interesting. The kids were all given a pearl out of the oyster they opened during the demo. There were 15 kids in our group and there were still pearls left over – I had no idea how many pearls one oyster could make! It was then time for dinner at Shu Wei Nong which served Suchuan style Chinese food that was spicy but very appetizing. Next we went on a tour of Wangfujin Street which is a place to go to eat some very unusual types of food. The most adventurous samples Andrew and I tried were the fried scorpion which was unexpectedly fine! We also enjoyed more conventional fried ice cream and caramelized fruit on a stick. Mark slept though the whole thing.
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