First of all, I have to figure out how to change the title of this thing from "on to the England" since we haven't been there in a few days. Ah well.
We are still in Beijing. This morning we met our guide Lucy and went north or town. We started at a jade store where we watched them carve and polish the jade and jadite. Beijingers take jade very seriously and are quite proud of the white jade that comes from the Beijing mountains. The jade carvers carve with diamond cutters because the jadite is so hard. One of the popular figures they carve is called family reunion, which is a series of four carved jade balls, one inside the other. The carver starts on the inside ball. It is pretty amazing and we bought one.
We also learned a lot about jade - how it changes color over time and we even know how to tell real jade from glass.
After that we were off to the Great Wall. Last time we went to Badaling, where there is a cable car, but this time we were on our own. The Great Wall was built over 2000 years ago and is nearly 4000 miles long. The Chinese call it the "Long Wall". Climbing the wall is an experience. It is very steep where we were today. The steps vary a great deal - some are mere inches high while others are higher than my knee, so you have to step quite high. There is a lot of huffing and puffing on the way up! Going down is easier but also work. We decided we earned the right to purchase our "I climbed the Great Wall of China" tshirts, particularly given how cold it was.
We saw lots of people from all over, including Germans and Russians and lots of Chinese tourists. We even saw one group with their newly adopted Chinese babies all bundled up.
After the wall we went to a Friendship Store for a huge Chinese lunch and to watch the process of making cloisonne. It's fascinating and difficult. They must be very patient. Workers take a brass base and carefully bend wires to match specific patterns. Master craftsmen are allowed to use their imagination and create new patterns. The shaped wires are glued to the base then filled with color with eyedroppers. The objects are fired on a very hot fire then sanded and polished. It is hard to believe looking at them that there are actual wires making the lines between the colors. We also were given the opportunity to shop again.
On the way back to town we went to a traditional Chinese tea house. A very nice woman showed us the cermonial aspects of tea and provided some samples. Mackenzie like the gensing and I liked the rose and lychee tea. The high point for the girls came when the hostess showed how you can test to see if the tea water is hot enough with a small clay figure. You pour the water on it and if it is hot enough he, well, he pees. The girls thought this was hysterical and were thrilled to be presented with one as a gift.
If anyone is planning on coming here for the olympics be sure that they are getting ready for you. The city is much different than when we were here in 1999 - the air is much cleaner and there are many more English speaking clerks. There are also more western toilets available, which is a pretty big deal. If you have never seen a Chinese toilet, it is a little challenging. It is basically a trough in the ground. Apparently Asians are better squatters than I am because I find the maneuver a little gymnastic.
Next we pack up and take the show to Hong Kong and Foshan. We hope you are enjoying following our travels.
