Day 2 ... Great Wall, Jade Gallery, and Hutong Culture

Today was filled with tourism adventure.  We started our day by visiting one of the seven wonders of the world.  We were joined by a group of 3 other adoptive families and our guide Lily.  The part of the Great Wall we visited consisted of 5 (or 6 or 7?) guard towers perched on rugged mountain terrain.  Each tower was connected by stone pathways that followed the curvature ground below.  Most of the path was up, up, up and some of it was in great need of repair.  I imagined this human domino effect that would happen if a stone came loose and someone fell backwards.

Matt made friends with one of the guys from the travel group, and they hiked up to the highest guard tower they could find.  The wives stayed together to chat at tower number two.  We were given two hours to explore and made it back just in time to enjoy some bottled water and grape flavored ice cream near the base of the wall.

Next, we had lunch at a jewelry store of all places.  The lunch was served traditional style at a large round table with a “lazy Susan” in the middle.  We were told that they were serving us “American-style” Chinese food.  It tasted OK for the most part.  Deanna found a chicken dish she like.  After lunch, an employee gave us a quick tour of their “museum” downstairs and then dumped us into the jade gallery.  Basically, imagine going to a jewelry store in the U.S. where they explain to you all of the things to look for in a “good” diamond.  Then, they show their Med-High quality pieces at a very expensive cost.  Today, we learned the same can be done for jade.

Our last stop of the day was spent soaking in the culture in the Hutong.  This preserved part of town is just outside of the Forbidden City and dates back 100’s of years.  We took pedal cart rickshaws around and made stops at a food market and a family’s house.  The house basically consisted of a small sitting room filled with antiques, a bedroom with just enough room for a bed, a small courtyard with a few tables for eating, and a separate kitchen area.  We were told many of the families that live in the Hutong have a lot of money (we saw Mercedes and other higher end cars in the alley ways), but they don’t have private showers or toilets.  Apparently it is impossible to connect these houses back to the public sewer and water lines.

Our night was spent buying bottled water at the local supermarket, washing clothes in the bathroom sink, and eating room service pizza in our hotel room.  The icing on the cake was getting to talk to Nathan and Claire on Skype just a few minutes ago.  Now, it's off to bed to get the rest our bodies probably need.  Good night to all.

 

#Matt's first post