Seeing the sights in Beijing...

Today was a VERY full day of sight-seeing in and around Beijing. It started this morning at 8:30 as we set out for Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City.




Tian An Men Square is a very large square plaza that is sometimes used for political gatherings. It can hold up to 1 million people and is a hub of activity. Across the street from Tian An Men Square is the "south gate" of the Forbidden City. This is really the Palace used by the emporer's of the Ming and Ching Dynasties. It is a very large complex with many large buildings that was home to the Emporer and Empress, the Emporer's concubines, his family and all of the servants (about 2000 people in all). It was originally started in the early 15th century and many of the buildings have been recently renovated or are in the process of renovation. It took us two hours to walk through the palace and viewing the major sights like the Emporer's throne room, etc.





After leaving the forbidden city we went to a jade factory where we were shown how Jade formed, the different colors and qualities of jade, and how to tell them apart. Then we were free to shop the factory for jade jewelry, trinkets, and other carvings. The jade was very beautiful, but also quite expensive, so we didn't buy much.




After the jade factory, we ate lunch and visted a cloissone factory and saw the process used to make beautiful vases and many of the decorations in the forbidden city. Then, it was off to the Great Wall of China. This, to us, was the highlight of the day. After a little rain earlier in the day, the sky cleared and we saw blue sky. The temperature was very comfortable and perfect for a good climb up the wall. The picture of the wall shows the wall where we climbed up from the base. We went all the way to the last tower up on the left in the picture. It was quite a hike but the view was beautiful.

After, the Great Wall, we went to dinner at a Peking Duck restaurant. The chef actually came to our table and cut the duck in front of us, and then the waitress assembled the "duck wraps" including a piece of duck, cucumber, onions, and duck sauce in a thin tortilla-like wrap. I had to try a bite just to say that I did it, but I really enjoyed the sweet and sour fish that was served. It wasn't very pretty to look at, as you can see by the picture, but it tasted very good. The food here is served to the group so no one orders individually. They just bring all the food out and place it on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. If you want something, you just turn the table until what you need is in front of you and dish it out onto your plate. The plates are about the size of a saucer in the states, so you can only dish out a little at a time. The food is very good here, but it is hard to get very much because of the small plates.

One of the most exciting parts of the trip today was the ride from place to place. The Chinese have some very different methods of driving which had us all gripping the armrests on our bus. There are lines on the road and traffic signals but they don't seem to mean anything. If you want to change lanes you just move over and hope someone else stops. The horn is used a lot as a warning signal and a "get out of my way". Also, pedestrians do not have the right of way here like back home. People, bicycles and vehicles all share the same road and routinely come within inches of a collision. It is quite hair-raising, but miraculously we made it through the day in one piece.

All in all we had a great day experiencing the culture and food of our daughter's country. We enjoyed it but are ready to move on to the reason we came here. Tomorrow morning we will fly from Beijing to Fuzhou, which is where we will receive our daughter. Probably around 2:30 PM here tomorrow (2:30 AM EST in the states) we will get Livi. We will try to post pictures tomorrow night so when you wake up on Monday morning you should be able to see us with her.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. We really appreciate the comments and emails. Please continue to pray for us today and tomorrow while we meet our daughter for the first time. Pray that she bonds with us and that our transition goes smoothly.