Day 4 was probably our longest and busiest day in China. We fit so much into the last day leaving early in the morning around 8am and returning about 945pm. Needless to say we were exhausted by the end of the day.
We started the day off at the Temple of Heaven. The Temple was built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is enclosed with a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2,700,000 square meters.
Leading up to the Temple of Heaven it was filled with crowds of people, more like performers. They ranged from dancers, even just couples dancing, to games of people playing sports. We even saw some men playing a game that looked like checkers outside of the restroom.
Next, we were off to the Hutong area where we toured a traditional Chinese town, market, had lunch in a traditional family's home and rode a rickshaw through the area. Yes I did have to ask the man if they ever had to tell someone they were too heavy to get in, they said no. The Chinese are a lot smaller than us Americans. They do have very strong leg muscles.
After lunch and the Hutong area, we took a bus ride to the Olympic stadium area. We were allowed about an hour to walk around the area. For us this was an hour too long. We felt we could have just drove by and took pictures. Sadly, the area is already starting to fall apart. The concrete outside of the birds nest was already coming up. It was put up so quick and does not look like it was taken care of. We saw and took are pictures but ended up just getting back on the bus and resting for our next stop the Silk Alley where it was floors of shopping.
The Silk Alley had several floors, I think around 6 floors of shopping. This is where you could buy all the knock offs your heart could possibly want: North Face, Columbia, Timberland. You name it, they had it. You really put your bartering skills to the test. It was so crowded and overwhelming though. It was truly an experience. The vendors would be "Hey lady, you like. How much?" Your son so handsome, I make you a deal." This is also where the kids truly got pawed at and so much attention to where Kyle finally had to start yelling at people to leave him alone. They were actually pulling at his ears and on his cheeks. We actually had enough of that. We did get some great deals. Don got an awsome North Face ski jacket for about $40. Our last dinner was at a more Western style buffet that served pizza, french fries, less Chinese food. Again, after dinner before we hit the bus we were mobbed by street vendors selling bags, pashmina scarfs and other treasures. Yes, we did buy from them at some great prices. We boarded the bus bound for an awesome acrobat show. I tell you the Chinese definitely are talented. I see how they won so many Gold medals. They were amazing, what they could do with their bodies. The contortionists and a young girl who had the strength to ride a bicycle while holding herself and nine other girls on the bike. We were not allowed to take photos at all.
We finally made it back to the hotel at about 9:45 pm exhausted. Our final night, it truly was a once in a lifetime trip.
0 comments:
Post a Comment