January 31 part 2: Jade factory, driving sights, acrobatic show

After a half hour ride on the bus, we arrived at a government owned jade factory.  They gave us a short tour and left us to shop for a little while.  We didn’t buy anything there.  The prices were high and it just didn’t “feel” right to me.

Chunks of jade.

Carving the jade behind a glass wall with windows that were open.

An amazing finished carving.

At this point they told us we had to put the cameras away.  No more pictures allowed!  A couple people in our group didn’t hear them say this and got admonished for trying to take more pictures!  They talked about how to tell if jade is real or not and the quality of it.

After some time spent browsing the store with slightly aggressive sales people, we went upstairs for lunch.  They served lots of food but it wasn’t as good as the food the local family made us, yesterday.

We got back on the bus and saw some neat sights (from the bus windows) on our way back to the hotel.

See those buildings that look like giant nails?

The Bird’s Nest and Water Cube from the 2008 Olympics.  Our bus driver slowed way down so we could get a good view.  Lots of drivers were honking at him for this!

Apartments EVERYWHERE!  We got used to this view.

Next on the agenda was an acrobatic show.  It was an intimate setting and we enjoyed the small show.  Before the show started, we ended up meeting a couple in the seats behind us.  They were from Toronto, Canada and were in China to adopt a little boy.  Turned out the husband knew someone who works for the same company as Kevin.  Small world!

These motorcyclists were driving in the sphere, going every which direction!  They kept adding more drivers.

They ended with 8 of them driving in there at the same time.  It was crazy!

By the time we got back to the hotel after the show, we were too exhausted to go out to eat.  I ate a couple snacks we’d brought and I think Kevin had a granola bar.  I packed our suitcases in preparation for leaving in the morning.  We also did some planning to make sure we had the right amount of yuan (money) for the tips we would need, and we also reviewed our train tickets and time schedule.

January 31 part 1: Great Wall of China

My morning started early with Rebecca texting me at 4:15am, completely unaware of the big time difference.  I texted a bit with her, which was really neat to be able to do.  It just blew my mind that I could text with my kids from so far away!  I was able to go back to sleep for about an hour and then got up to start my day.

After a hearty breakfast, we packed our bag and hopped on our bus for the drive to the Juyongguan Pass section of the Great Wall of China.  I was pretty excited to see this and I think Kevin was, too.  It took 2 hours to get there but was so worth it!  What a sight!

Our adoption agency rep told us we had an hour and a half to explore and then we would meet up to leave.  It was cold and windy!  We were hoping to make it to the top of this area but ran out of time.  I probably should have told Kevin not to wait for me.  He could have made it, no problem.  My short legs were quite challenged by the steep, uneven steps!

Our first view of the Great Wall

Please watch your children!

 

We bought a Lock of Love for Kai.

They engraved his name on the back.

And we affixed it to the chain, here.

The stairs were uneven and, oftentimes, very steep.  We really had to pay attention to where we were stepping at all times!

Every time we made it to the top of another section, we would think we were almost there... until we looked ahead and saw ANOTHER climb!  I started peeling off layers as I worked up a sweat!

We finally decided we’d better head back down to meet our group.

The trip down was easier and faster but it felt like my legs were going to give out with each step!  I was never so glad to see that bus!

January 30 part 5: Food Street (beware your stomach)

After returning to our hotel from the Hutong tour, we went right back out for more adventure.  I’d seen pictures of “Food/Snack Street” in other adoptive families’ blogs and wanted to see it in person and capture some images.  A couple other families wanted to see it as well, so we headed out on foot. We found the area but it wasn’t open, yet, so we split up and Kevin and I went into the mall nearby.

One thing China sure knows how to do is build UP!  I think there were 7 floors.

I think these figures throughout the mall were meant to uh... encourage "proper behavior." ;)

Whoa!  Who’s on the big screen?!  ;)  Okay, okay...everyone else was doing it!

After spending some time in the mall (we bought ONE thing), we decided to see if Snack Street was open and we were not disappointed!

This is an outdoor area with a long row of stalls all connected together.  We started at one end (be sure to click on the pics to enlarge them)...

Anything you can think of, including things you’d never think to eat... on a stick!  What surprised us the most was the smell.  Oh, was it AWFUL!  Many times I had to step away as my throat tightened.  I thought about stopping but no way was I going to miss capturing these special photos!  Luckily, the worst smell wasn’t constant.  It hit us every 5 stalls or so.  We think it might have been the squid cooking or something.  ::shudder::

Some of the people working in the stalls got a real kick out of us Americans taking pictures!  They would call us over and try to get us to buy something on a stick, telling us it was good and safe for us to eat, and then they would smile as they watched our expressions.  And, yes, there were actually local people lined up, buying these things and eating them!

One of the guys at this stand just had to point out his duck to me.

We saw people wearing these masks all over China.  Our rep in Beijing told us they originally gained popularity as a germ control method but now were mostly used for keeping warm.

After we’d seen it all, we walked back to our hotel.

Bikes, bikes, and more bikes- a major form of transportation in China.

The church right outside our hotel window.

Across the street.

We rested for 5 minutes and then met up with another family to go eat at the noodle place, again.  Honestly, I was so exhausted and had really lost my appetite on Snack Street, so I didn’t eat much.

When we got back to the hotel, I zonked out at 7:30pm but woke back up at 10:15 due to my phone going off with texting (ahem).  It was so much fun to be able to text friends and family back home but the 14-hour time difference made it a little challenging.