On our way back to Beijing proper, (as we were still in Beijing out at the wall, Beijing being 6,000 square miles!), we stopped at a cloissonne factory. They get in all these extra "tours" of things we might want to see. This was actually very interesting to see all the steps and work involved in making a piece of cloisonne. Like the silk factory, we wondered how the quantity of goods gets made. It is a long 7 to 9 step process that requires a lot of skill along the way. We enjoyed learning, viewing and dining in this huge facility!
It wore us out! A little respite before more touring.
We went to see the Olympic facilities. It was the first day they were opened to the public as the ParaOlympics had just ended. The streets were packed and you had to walk miles to get over to the buildings and surrounding Olympic Village. We opted to take pictures from afar. We had done our walking and climbing for the day!
Mom in front of the official time piece.
Just plain cool architecture. So much more money than is necessary is spent to build a piece of art rather than just a utilitarian building. This is particularly true in Shanghai where the buildings stun you in their unique presence that contribute to making the entire city a piece of art, especially at night when it all lights up.Paige and Nancy. Great buds on this trip.
The Bird's Nest with a bit of the water cube trying to sneak into the picture on the left. Incredibly grand, inspiring buildings. Of course the bird's nest, water cube and other Olympic buildings all relate to the Chinese symbols of water, earth, fire, etc. in the way they are situated and what they are called. Everything has, at the least, a double meaning.
Walking around a beautiful lake in Beijing, surrounded by shops, restaurants, pedicabs and . . . .
bar upon bar upon bar, this one particularly decked out with individual water pipes! We will miss the real action once night falls.
We ended our day in Beijing at the train station with millions of other travelers. Getting to this room was a remarkable feat as we navigated hordes of people all squeezing into the smallest of openings, elbowing, pushing, shoving, all while being overladen with luggage. There is no rancor or ill will in any of the forward movement, just each man for himself. The girls comported themselves with bravery, confidence and sheer determination to follow the fast walking Neo to our waiting room. It was a wonderful experience of China on the move.
Grammy Lu found a seat amongst some friends. . . .
and we shared seats and played UNO until the doors opened for the deluge. We were getting on the "deluxe soft sleeper", a train with two bunks per room, each with its own bathroom and closet - it even had tv's. We thought this was the high life. We soon found out that even the best description may not provide all the details. This was a much older train, and while it had the in-cabin amenities, the beds were hard, hard, hard. The tv was only in Chinese, except for the chanel that showed western movies which had no sound at all. The train was so old and rickety that all night long it moved in ways one would never expect it to move and remain on the tracks! A long night to Xi'an.
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