Beijing Day 3

Well, I trust that my posts are going through, since I cannot actually view my blog from here. funny thing, the first day I could, but now I can't. My theory - China can't block everything, but they can block something once they know it exists. Maybe after I accessed my blog from here it signaled something to block it. I hate to think that there is anything on my site that would offend the Chinese government...

Today was a LONG day! Keith and I were up quite a bit of the night. It seemed that once we finally fell asleep, the alarm was going off. Now, it wasn't really that bad, but it was not a great start to the day. Fortunately, God has better plans for us than that and He is not hindered by our lack of sleep. At breakfast, we met the rest of the wonderful families in our adoption group. We have been so blessed by the people in our group.

After breakfast, we went to the Great Wall, but on the way, we decided to stop at a government owned Jade factory. Goods that are sold from a government store are of guaranteed quality. Goods that are not sold from a government store are not as closely regulated. So, if you are going to purchase a good quality anything, best to go to the regulated store, unless you can tell fake from real...which we can't. Here is a photo of one of the workers polishing a jade dragon statue.

After the jade factory we actually made it to the Great Wall. Keith and the boys climbed to the top and purchased bronze medals with their names on it. The are truly heroes, at least in the eyes of Chairman Mao who once stated that only real heroes make it to the top. I personally made it up a modest amount, but then headed back down to chat with some of the ladies from our group. I did at least make it up high enough to get some decent pictures.

This picture is also at the Wall. These are locks placed by people who have been married at the Wall to symbolize their union. Pretty neat!

After our jelly legs recovered sufficiently, we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. This particular restaurant happened to be located right next to the Pearl Market...MORE SHOPPING! I guess it is a good thing that we are made of money! Anyway, we managed to spend just a few of our hard-earned dollars there, too.

From the Pearl Market, we walked to the Summer Palace, home of the largest pagoda in China.

Here is a glimpse across the lake at the Summer Palace.

The Summer Palace was the summer retreat for the emperors who lived in the Forbidden City that we visited yesterday. It was beautiful, but we did not see the whole thing. The place is HUGE! China does not seem to do anything on a small scale!

Inside the outer portion of the Palace, there was a gentleman writing a poem on the ground with long wet brushes. His writing was beautiful. This is a hobby of his and, according to Vivian, our guide, is a method for him exercise both body and soul.

Tomorrow, we are heading to ChongQing Province. We will have to leave pretty early for the airport, so this evening before I drag my sore, tired body into bed for a LONG night's sleep, I have to repack the suitcases. But, it is so worth it to be going to the province where Hannah will soon meet us. We are almost there!!