Great Wall of China Concert June 20, 2007

The First REAL Day

So...we finally got a real day in China. What I mean by that is that we weren't flying for 13 hours straight, and we weren't so tired that we acted like 5 year-olds and did a lot of really strange, unfocused things. We got to wake up today at 6:30, which, for you Central Time Zoners is actually 5:30 at night. So, you ate, and we were waking up. Anyway,. we had breakfast in the hotel, which featured these really good rolls that we dubbed "cloud" rolls, because they tasted all light and fluffy.

After that, we shipped out on ther bus and went to a jade factory. We saw the construction of the 2008 Olympic stadiums on the way! (Honestly, not THAT interesting. It was just your everyday construction site.) So, we got to the jade factory, and got a short tour, followed by some time to shop in the store. I bought a little jade turtle. I saw that it cost 160 yuan. Well, that was the product number or something. It cost 300 instead. Oops...

Then we drove off and went to a factory that makes copper vases. It was pretty amazing, and EXTREMELY detailed. We ate lunch at the factory too. While we were in the shop afterward, there were a lot of odd things. For example, a copper horse. 2,678,000 yuan. Divide that by 7.5, and that's how much it costs in US dollars. I think that would cover all 4 years of college for me...There were also some Chinese health bells, which have a special place in my heart. Anyone reading this that went to Scotland last summer? Sorry...had to ask. Also, there were some fancy looking silk pajamas that Chase bought and almost wore to dinner tonight. More on Chase later.

We left the second factory, and bussed over to the Badaling section of the Great Wall (of China, that is). We played our concerts, which we were told were good, but come on, you don't want to hear about that, you want to hear about the wall. We climbed (those of us who have youthful energy that is, which excludes my mother) hundreds of steps up a mountain on the wall, and got some awesome pictures. I'm sure you'll see those eventually.

We returned to the hotel for a short break, and then went to dinner, which featured dancing and singing entertainment. Chase fully enjoyed that, which was kind of creepy. At the end, most people (except for Russ, because he's boring) got up and jumped over some bamboo sticks to a beat. By the way, there's still more on Chase. Next paragraph.

We came back to the hotel, and now have some time to hang out before we go to bed. Some people (including Chase) ordered massages. Mostly, it was the guys...Russ and I are going to knock on their room doors after I finish this. As for what else we'll do, we don't know, but we're having a good time. Tomorrow, we take the bullet train!

- David Thomases

Internet and China

To answer the comment to the above post, it has not been an easy task. There are some difficulties with access, not the least of which was that all sites come up here in Chinese, which of course I do not speak or read. I have found a work around to that and the other "issues" regarding the blog site. As of tomorrow, I will be recruiting students to post on the blog. I hope to have 2 to 3 volunteers daily. I look forward to reading their observations. Tomorrow we are visiting a Jade factory after breakfast. From there we will have lunch, then on to their concert on the Great Wall of China. Frankly, everything we have seen here so far has been great. I'll let the kids do the rest of the elaboration on the sites...

Peking Duck Dinner, end of day 1, June 19

A few pictures of our arrival

This is a night shot of the buildings lit up in Tianan Men Square. Those of us old enough thought back to the history of this place...
In Beijing the countdown for the Olympics has begun. Beijing residents are very exicted about having the Olympics here!

We are in Beijing folks!!!

We arrived around 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday (Beijing time). We visited Tianan Men Square and went to dinner at the Peking Duck Restuarant. Delicious! We have had a LONG day (hardly anyone slept on the 14 hour flight). We are in our rooms, some kids are downstairs swimming. We will have the kids post some thoughts and observations tomorrow evening. Tonight, we are all going to sleep! Just wanted to let everyone know we arrived safe and sound.

Blogging from China?

I have read conflicting reports regarding access of blog sites from within China. China has restrictions on many Internet sites, so we may or may not be able to post directly to this blog. Some information points to an easing of these restrictions, as Google has worked through the concerns expressed by the Chinese government. In the event that we are unable to post directly to this site, we have set up an alternative solution. We have made plans to email the posts and pictures to a third party, and the posts will be made through that source. Hopefully we will be able to send and receive email during our travels. We leave in the morning and already our adventure has begun...