We joined our tour group today. Six families – a) Lorraine and daughter Sarah from Brooklyn, b) Paul and Cynthia, from Oak Park, Illinois, with their bio sons George (15), Henry (13) and adopted daughter Anne (11), c) Ken and Chris from Columbus, Ohio with their daughters Kate (13) and Claire (9), d) David and Cheryl from Waco, TX, with their daughters Josie (10) and Emily (8), Ginger and I. Six families, with 9 adults and 13 kids (all but the 2 bio boys adopted from China). Our guide was Mr. Woo. We took a long drive to the Summer Palace, in the outskirts of Beijing. This is where the Emperor and Empress would retreat to in the sweltering Beijing summer (similar to today!). We saw the large lake, stone boat, bridges and towers. This was the last imperial resort built in feudal China. Very beautiful!
Then on to a lunch at the hutong (alleys that run through the old style village neighborhoods that represent the history, culture and lifestyle of old Beijing), at the home of a gentleman, whose family has lived there for over 400 years. The gentleman is known as a good chef. The luncheon he provided included many choices of very tasty food. He showed us his collection of crickets (a favorite pet in China), and his friendly shih zhu dog. After lunch, the children learned how to make kites. In the old days, kites were used in many ways, to deliver messages to the enemy, or others, and also to deliver requests to the emperor, by cutting the kite as it flew over the Forbidden City, to (hopefully) be picked up and delivered to the Emperor! We then visited around the hutong neighborhood by rickshaw. Along the way back, we drove by the Olympic Square, where we saw the Bird's Nest Stadium, the Water Cube, and the Olympic Broadcast Tower. Then we stopped at a jade manufacturer/retailer, where we learned about how to determine what is good jade, watched some carvings being made and purchased several jade items. Then back to the hotel for dinner and a long swim for the girls with their new friends.
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| Summer Palace Gate |
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| Rebecca and Elizabeth at the Summer Palace |
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| Olympic Bird's Nest Stadium |
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| Rebecca, Hannah, Elizabeth and Rickshaw |
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| Our Hutong Host and His Biggest Cricket! |
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| Learning About Jade |
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