Beijing Sightseeing

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a wonderful summer and fun 4th of July. Thank you for supporting and encouraging us on the journey. We spent the past 48 hours trying to see as much of Beijing as possible. All of us ran hard and the kids held up remarkably well.

Thursday July 3 included trips to Tiananmen Square, tomb of Chairman Mao (first time the boys have seen an actual corpse - yuck!), Forbidden City, lunch at famous Peking Duck restaurant, Hu Tong (cultural neighborhood dating back seven centuries) and dinner with my Intel co-worker Hongwei in the Hohai Lake area. The kids crashed during dinner. It was about

100F and humid on Thursday, which sapped much of their energy (coupled with jetlag). The Forbidden City was home to the emperors and royal family from Ming and Qing dynasties. There are multiple buildings and thousands of rooms. Our tour guide informed us that if you slept in a different room every night on consecutive nights, it would take nearly 28 years to see all of the rooms.

One of the highlights of the trip has been the popularity of the boys. Many in China are fascinated by their blue eyes and blonde hair. Random strangers politely ask to take pictures with the blondie American boys. It is almost like they are celebrities! They seem to love the attention.

Friday July 4 was largely centered on the Great Wall of China. We visited the "Mutiyanu" gate, which is less popular of the two main sites near Beijing. We took a chair lift to the wall and then proceeded to hike to many of the stations. It was a rigorous workout in 90F temperatures (we were dripping wet by the end - yuck!). We had some spectacular views and unfortunate encounters with wasps and bees. Bunnie was bitten by one of the wasps, which sent sent all of us into a tizzy. But we survived and completed the whole hike!

At the last station we examined the part of the wall that is the original 700 year old structure. The bricks are crumbling and vegetation has overtaken the wall, but it still stands. We enjoyed a "tobaggon" ride down the wall after our visit. Their is a metal "half-pipe" track that you ride down in a sled. We all had a blast!!

The drive to the Great Wall took almost two hours. On the way we made a quick stop at the main Olympic Stadium. It is nicknamed "Bird's Nest" because of the unique design. There is a large security presence throughout the city and on-going construction. In two weeks the government is enacting radical measures to limit generation of smog. Car traffic will be curtailed and all heavy equipment and factories will be shut down for the duration of the games. Hopefully the smog will lift and the athletes will be able to compete effectively!

After the Great Wall we stopped at a nearby dumpling restaurant. The food was very good, and the kids enjoyed using their chopsticks. I couldn't resist showing off my "skills" by picking up a kernel of corn with chopsticks. What a stud!! I am very proud of our group, especially the boys. They are trying all of the foods at least once. They quickly adjusted to the time zone. They even helped me with "negotiations" at the Pearl Market Mall where we got some mementos. All prices are up for negotiation, and I thoroughly enjoyed bargaining with the shop keepers.

On Saturday we depart for Zhengzhou on a five hour train ride. Sunday we'll meet Gracie for the first time. The excitement is building! Bye for now...