Beijing C-D!

Well I have finally decided to catch you guys up on the last leg of my trip…Beijing!  Beijing was fun!  It was however, the most polluted city I have ever been in.  The air was filthy, and you couldn’t really see anything far distances away.  By the end of the trip, we all contracted some type of congestion in the lungs, and if you blew your nose lots of black particles would show up on your tissue.  That can’t be good for your health! 

We ended up seeing the amazing Great Wall of China…If the Piano Guys can do it, so can I!  :)  It was a lovely experience despite the polluted air.  Being able to walk on a piece of history can be marked off of my bucket list.  

We also went to a jade factory and in it were guys working on the jewelry that they sold in the store.  Jade is very, very popular in China, and they believe that it gives you good health and longevity.  Maybe I should have invested in one of those bracelets…:)  It was cool to see the men at work though!

After, we went to a silk factory, and this was cool because they actually showed you the silk eggs, and how they stretch them out to make clothes, pillows, and quilts.  Some of the things were gorgeous, and wasn’t as expensive as you would imagine.  I think a pillow cost about 20 US dollars.  The clothes were cool too, but it would have broken the bank even more if I gave in to my desires!

The next day we visited the Forbidden City.  It wasn’t like I expected, and the movies make it look much more legit than it really is.  We got to see some temples as well, but the whole city is HUGE!  They also only have a one way entrance policy, so if you leave your bags inside one area (not that we did or anything :P) then you have to walk ALL the way around it again.  It takes about an hour and a half to do so…that was three hours of walking! But I am glad to say that I have been to this Forbidden City.  

Our last stop was spent walking around the Temple of Heaven.  I really liked this place because it was filled with lots of Chinese architecture.  It too is very big, and we didn’t get to see all of it, but what we did see was pretty cool. 

So that ended our 10 day vacation!  We were tired of train riding, so we booked a flight back to Guangzhou.  It was so great compared to the horrid trains we had to take.  Transportation here in China is much more diverse than in the US.  We were able to accomplish all of the following in 10 days…it would take me 6 months and creative thinking to accomplish them back home.  

·         47 Hours on trains

·         3 hour plane ride

·         Subways (way too many to count!)

·         Feet!

·         Toboggan

·         Boats

·         Bikes

·         Carts

·         Speed trains

I Love China!