Beijing - Day 2

Did you love Day 1? Were you unable to sleep last night, fantasizing about Day 2?? Well, friends - that's a lot of pressure :)

Day 2 began with a fairly delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel - It was a combo of Chinese and Western food, so I had an omelette and fried rice (which, PS, is delicious!).

After breakfast, we went to a Jade factory. We learned about different grades of jade (based on hardness, color, etc) and how to properly point a jade cabbage to ensure money would be flowing into your home (and how to sabotage your neighbors by pointing THEIR cabbage at YOUR house, mwahaha). We also got to see a man carving jade and a woman polishing a piece (these are the assigned gender roles for jade manufacture - our guide said it's because the polishing is the most important, and women are more patient and detail-oriented...)

We left the jade factory and headed to the pinnacle of the entire tour - the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!

Here, you can see the Wall, far in the distance, winding over the mountain (from the bus):


From the base:


All dressed up, and a LONG way to go:


The Chinese say that once you climb the Great Wall, you become a Hero. Every Chinese person we mentioned the Wall to said, "Oh, you are hero now!" After climbing to the "Hero Point," I can TOTALLY understand why. Holy cow. The steps vary from a 4" rise to a 12" rise... Some of the shorter people on our tour were climbing steps that came up to their knees! And it's STEEP! I remain in awe of the Chinese soldiers hundreds of years ago who had to climb these steps every day...

Needless to say, I needed a break halfway up... here's the view from my sitting-on-the-stairs position:


And once at the "top" (they are sweet to call it the top - it's not, but it's still incredibly high) the view of the stairs I just cried and panted my way up :)


And the view of what I could have continued on, if I didn't love being able to stand without falling down :)


But at least I made it this far:


And now have proof that, at least in China, I am a HERO:


The descent was only slightly easier (I'd like to give a shout-out to my friend, Gravity!), and on the way down I passed an Indian man, using the handrail to pull himself up each of the crazy stairs, and with every step nearly-shouting "Oh God Mercy! Oh God Mercy!" My sentiments exactly.

Still, I wouldn't change a thing. I have climbed the Great Wall of China. And it was amazing.

After the Great Wall we went to a Cloisonne factory and learned how they make incredibly intricate copper pots and vases, and ate lunch upstairs from the factory. Chinese food again... and again, delicious. We also got to try a traditional Chinese liquor... Once I was finished coughing I decided it wasn't that bad :)

The Ming Tombs were the next stop on our tour. These are the burial sites of the 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors and their 23-some-odd Empresses and Concubines. Chinese history is full of scandals and intrigue related to Concubines (I capitalize because I believe in their importance) - I was totally enthralled by how much sway they held over Emperors and matters of state.

Anyways, we visited the Changling tomb, the largest of the Ming Tombs. They had a map of all the 13 tombs and their names - this was my favorite (Fantasy Island, anyone?)

Also - at the bottom you can see the "Feizi Tomb" - Feizi means Concubine... they're all lumped in there together, I guess.

This is a giant statue of Yong Le (the man who is buried here) in the Hall of Emminent Favour at the tomb - This guy is the brains behind the Forbidden City and the move of the Capital to Beijing... Very deserving of a giant statue!


This is a view of the Soul Tower - from here, the souls of the Emporer and Empress ascended into Heaven:


Inside the Soul Tower, there is a large monument on which is inscribed something about the "great acheivements of Yong Le." Behind the monument, you can sort of see the man-made mountain under which the bodies are buried:


And here is Jordan, trying desperately to warm her toes in the sun (it stayed about 30 degrees the whole time we were in Beijing):


And me being friendly with one of the Tomb guards:

All the officers of the law wore those awesome hats - I wanted one so bad!

To continue our FULL day, we went to a silk shop to learn how exactly that fabulous fabric is made. We got to see just how they extract the silkworms from their cocoons and strech the fibers out:


Then we got to help strech a little bundle of silk fibers out to make part of a silk quilt!


We learned about the durability and hypoallergenic properties of silk, and browsed a giant silk fabric warehouse... it was pretty interesting! (PS - they also showed us what 5-year-old silkworms look like - Google it, it's disgusting!)

On our way to dinner, we were lucky enough to pass by the two amazing buildings Beijing built for the Olympics (and which were the subject of a pretty interesting Discovery Channel show!)

Here's the Bird's Nest (which is also the largest steel building in the world):


And the Water Cube (the bubbles change color at night!):


Dinner was... er... interesting... this was our menu:

Just kidding! That was our room service menu in the hotel!

Dinner was more Chinese food (still amazing!) and afterwards, Jordan and I were totally pooped and ready to hit the sack. We relaxed in our hotel room, watched Rush Hour 1 and 3, and were out by 10:30.

Until the sound of a million gunshots shook us awake.

Fortunately, I realized what night it was and checked the clock. Sure enough, it was midnight. Lunar New Year. AKA Chinese New Year. In the birthplace of Fireworks.

Jordan and I clamored out of bed and stood freezing in the window, watching our 360 degree fireworks show (thanks to the perfect reflections on the building across the street)... It was pretty incredible to be in China, watching how the locals celebrate Chinese New Year... Happy 2009, China!

The fireworks went on and on for days - we were still hearing them when we caught our taxi to the airport - but that night, we were only able to watch about 20 minutes before exhaustion overtook us and we climbed back into our beds, visions of sparklers dancing in our heads :)

Bonus Pics for today: Jordan and I doing some light renovations to the Changling Tomb grounds, and the view from the Soul Tower:







Hope you're loving reading about this adventure as much as I loved living it (and am loving sharing it)!!

Love you all!