Time to come home...

October 27th (5th day in China) - Mark starting getting sick around 0100 on the day we were to fly back to Korea. We stopped counting after the 6th time he threw up, poor little Mark! After breakfast at the hotel in which Mark threw up all over Joseph, we loaded our baggage on the bus for the trip to Beijing International Airport. We flew on Asiana again on the way back to Incheon. Mark only threw up once on the flight! The bus ride back to Osan AB went smoothly and Mark slept thought most of it. It was an incredible trip to China! Thank you Lord for this magnificent experience!

Tian An Men Square & Beihai Park

October 26th (4th day in China) - After another great breakfast at the hotel our bus driver and our amazing tour guide Shelley took us on a tour of Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square was huge and extremely crowded. Afterwards we headed off to Beihai Park which was just a relaxing place to be. We all enjoyed a walk around the park with a choir singing in the back ground. This park was once the winter residence of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. The Bai Ta (White Dagoba) is a Buddhist shrine built in the Tibetan style in the center on the park. Next we were dropped off at another Market for a late lunch and more bargaining. After about 4 hours of shopping at the market it was time to get back to the hotel, start packing, and have dinner.

I know I have not said much about the outstanding driving skills of our bus driver but he was able to drive or park that bus in places I’d have a hard time parking my car – really! And the driving in Beijing is a whole new level of crazy compared to South Korea because not only are the drivers nuts but the bike rides are out of their minds and everywhere. On our first day, we actually had a bicycle rider that was messing with his cell phone run broadside right into the middle of our bus as we were going into the entrance of the Temple of Heaven! And I can’t leave out our tour guide – Shelley was worth her weight in gold. Not only was her English outstanding and her stories of China and Beijing entertaining, she was just a delightful person with a warm kind personality and a joy to be around.

Forbidden City & Hutong Tour

October 25th (3rd day in China) - After breakfast at the hotel it was time for our tour of the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was built during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It was built in the Chinese court architecture style using feng shui to determine the position and shape of the buildings, with 8,706 rooms where some 10,000 people lived over 170 acres. The emperor ruled from the Dragon Throne located in the Hall of Supreme Harmony with a large courtyard that could hold 90,000 spectators located in front of it. Four sided roofs covered with yellow glazed tiles were used on imperial buildings. It was outstanding to be standing, seeing and walking though so much of Chinese history.

Next we went on a visit to a Silk Quilt Factory which was exceptional. The demonstration done here was the best in my opinion of all the factory demos we saw because not only did they show us the process and teach us about how silk is made but we also were able to participate in some parts of making a quilt. The kids seemed to really get into it all. After we had time to shop we were given our own private fashion show. By then it was time for lunch with western style food at a restaurant called You Shi.

Following lunch it was time for the Hutong tour. The Hutong was once the center of life for people who lived out side the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace) but is quickly disappearing as Beijing grows. We had tea in a local family’s home in the Hutong and learned about their pet fighting cricket (the top crickets fetch more than $2000!!). The kids played hackie sack in the courtyard before it was time to leave to take our Pedicab (rickshaw) tour of the Hutong. Our Pedicab tour ended at the Drum and Bell Towers which were used to indicate the start and end of the day. Then it was time to go do a little bargaining at the Lido Market. It was an unusual experience that I’ll have to say I did not enjoy. We did walk away with some great deals, don’t get me wrong, but I did not like the bargaining process in small spaces with way too many people in it. It was like nothing else I have ever experienced. But we won that round! We bought ski jackets and ski pants for Joseph and myself – the asking price for Joseph’s ski jacket alone was $220, but in the end we bargained down to $38 for ALL FOUR PIECES!! That night, we had dinner back at the hotel and then crashed for the night.

The Great Wall & The Summer Palace

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.

Temple of Heaven & Acrobatic Show

October 23, 2008 (1st day on China trip) – We left Osan at 0600 for our trip to Beijing, China. The bus ride and flight on Asiana were uneventful. Andrew and Mark are both super good travelers! Our first stop in Beijing was lunch at Shan Shui Jain which served Cantonese style food. We were also treated with a traditional dance performed right in the room where we ate. After lunch we headed off to the Temple of Heaven which sits in the middle of a 670 acre park that dates from the Ming Dynasty and is an excellent example of Confucian style architecture. It was constructed without using a single nail! The blue tiles that cover the roof on all three levels symbolize heaven. The four largest of the 28 pillars used to support the roof symbolize the four seasons. Twelve of the other pillars symbolize the months and the last twelve symbolize the traditional division of the Chinese day, each comprising two hours. The temple and the halls all around it were used in a ceremony for a good harvest. As we were leaving, we walked down a long open air corridor where many Chinese were playing instruments, singing, dancing and playing games.

After our visit at the Temple of Heaven we all went to watch an Acrobatic Show which the kids really enjoyed. It was pretty impressive what they could do! After the show it was time to try Peking Duck at the Hua Fu Ge restaurant along with many other traditional Chinese dishes. Following a delicious dinner it was time to check into the Best Western Premier Beijing which is a four star hotel. We ended up with a fabulous corner room with great views of Beijing and beautiful sunrises.

Happy Birthday Grandma Fletcher!

We shot this on your birthday October 26th Grandma Fletcher. Sorry, it is a bit off key! We hope you had a super day! Love, Joseph, Jennifer, Andrew & Mark

October 23, 2008

Dance performed after our first lunch at a Cantonese Style restaurant called Shan Shui Jian in Beijing.