We made it! We arrived Beijing at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, local time. The Beijing Airport international terminal just opened last month. We arrived to a gorgeous airport ready for the Olympics. And the best thing was there was not a single line for immigration. We really feel covered in prayer as this first leg of the journey has been just about picture perfect. Our BLAS (Bridge of Love Adoption Services) guide, Vivian, met us at the airport has not left our side. She's wonderful! We're staying at the Capital Hotel of Beijing. It's been newly renovated and, well, it's just the best here. We feel very spoiled! We got a good night's rest and got ready for our first big day in China, Friday.
We awoke to a great breakfast buffet and ran in to the other family joining us in adoption, James and Amy. Together, with our guide Vivian, we set out for a VERY full day. We started at the local jade factory. We learned about the origination and hand-made production of jade and jade products. We toured their showroom and I got to buy a beautiful jade carved bracelet. :o)
The next stop was on to see the Great Wall that morning. It was overcast with light rain, but it was perfect weather for climbing this monumental Wall. It's crazy steep and it's steps are so varied in height. It's a hike for the most seasoned athlete! Randy, Elizabeth, and I made it to what they call a Hero Card. That means we climbed enough to get some credit! Wow. Elizabeth got lots of applause from the locals. She and two other little boys made the hike. We enjoyed this gorgeous mountainous part of Beijing.
After the Great Wall expedition, we toured a Cloissone Factory where they handmake the elaborate Cloisonne enamal vases. This work is incredibly intricate from the pounding out of vase structure to complicated iron art, paining, and firing of the final product. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch upstairs of local Beijing cuisine. Yum-o on the lazy susan of dishes!
After touring the Cloissone Factory, we traveled to tour the Summer Palace. Words and pictures can't begin to detail the expansion of these palacial properties. We tourned the entire palace area and even took a dragon boat ride back to the front gate at the end. The Summer Palace has the world's longest..."outdoor hall" for lack of better word at this point. We seem to walk for miles.
When we finished the Summer Palace, we then toured the Heaven Sent Silk Factory. This is where they handmake the silk products (scarves, linens, apparel) from the tiniest of silkworms. We got to wet and tear apart silkworm cocoons and see how strong and substantial the fabric is. We were walked thru the entire process and sure have a new perspective on silk!
We finished the day at 7 p.m. and returned to the hotel after 2-hours in traffic. The commute was long, but did get to see a lot of the Olympics venues being built. Jet lag had set in and all three of us were asleep by 8:30 p.m. Day two was to be equally filled with excitement and awe!
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