Jaded Acrobats & a Better-Than-OK Wall

We skipped our update yesterday because we were too tired after a second day of touring the sights in and around Beijing. By 9 AM we were back on the road with our first stop being the jade factory where we learned how to spot fake jade (real jade is cool to the touch, has a high pitched tone when struck, and is translucent with visible "veins"), and encouraged to spend our life's savings on jade art, jewelry and trinkets. Once again I found it interesting to watch the artisans at work at their craft, but was turned off buy the sales staff following me throughout the store suggesting why I should buy this or that. The one item I did find interesting was a jade ball which was crafted from a single piece of stone, but contained several "balls," each one inside the other. They represented different generations of a single family, all one but separate. The outer ball had the carvings of the dragon and phoenix which represented the male and female head of household overlooking the entire family. We passed on actually purchasing the artistic item which was fine since I found I was more intrigued by the artwork than the material itself.

Next we went to the Great Wall. Since traveling to China to get Jeremy in 2005, I have had to tell people that we did not have an opportunity to see the Great Wall while in the country. Now I can say that we have seen this world wonder. Apparently there is a Chinese legend that says one can not be called a hero unless he has climbed to the top of the Great Wall. To be honest, I had previously thought we would just climb a few dozen steps to get to the top of the wall and then walk along the "sidewalk" once on top. It didn't occur to me that the wall itself went up the side of the mountain and therefore you had to climb stairs the entire time until you reached the summit of the mountain. Being the obsessive compulsive guy that I am, I pointed out that we would likely never have the opportunity to go all the way to the top again so it was going to be all or nothing. It took us about 40 minutes to climb to the top-most tower and then the rest of the time to descend along the same path. It might have been easier going if not for two critical issues: 1) the entire stretch was covered in ice and 2) the handrails were designed for Oompah Loompahs while the stairs were designed for the Jolly Green Giant. We opted to skip the souvenir stand for the certificate of proof that we climbed to the top in favor of some photos.

Lunch was next on the agenda. Of course, to get to the table we had to take a tour of the factory that shared the restaurant's building where they made cloisonné items. Lunch was of the dim-sum variety again. We wound up sitting at a table with the same group as the day before and again enjoyed the local beer with our meal. Following lunch, we again endured time for shopping although this time we decided to purchase a cloisonné Christmas ornament to mark our time spent in China for this Christmas season.

With a second round of shopping done, it was off to see some of the buildings from the Olympics. We were told that the Olympic Village was closed at the time so we would only be allowed to park at a distant lot to take some photos, and then told that our next activity was to begin soon so we only had five minutes for photos. I quickly jumped off the bus to take a picture of the "bird's nest," the "cube," and a hotel building designed to resemble the Olympic torch which included huge LCD screens on all four sides of the building. When the bus pulled into the parking lot, the lot was empty. In the time it took us to get off the bus and take a few pictures, we were overrun with peddlers trying to hawk their ripoff Olympic goods. One of the children from our group was accidentally poked in the eye by an eager seller and got himself a free souvenir for his troubles.

Once our group was safely aboard the buses, we made our way back into the downtown area to attend the theater where the Chinese acrobats were performing. Now we had heard of this attraction when we were in Pigeon Forge a couple years ago but had passed on the $40 tickets. We paid about $6.50 to attend the show here in Beijing and I can say that it was easily worth the $40 we would have paid in TN if not more. It was simply phenomenal. At any given time, either Angela or myself was saying "that's not possible" under our breath. If they would have allowed cameras, we would have happily posted some pictures, but I suppose you will have to pony up the money to see the show for yourself.

Following the show we returned to the hotel to pack our things and prepare for our departure to Zhengzhou the next morning. We opted to skip dinner and go to bed early. We are now in Zhengzhou, it is Sunday night and we will be meeting Leah tomorrow morning. I know that her pictures are what you keep checking back for -- we will try to "introduce" her here tomorrow. Stay tuned!