China Day 3

On our third and final day of our whirl wind tour of China is was HOT HOT HOT. We also did a LOT LOT LOT...Our first stop of the day was the Temple of Heaven. This place was immense. The emperor would use this place two times a year to go and pray for a good harvest and to give thanks for the harvest. There is a lot of symbolism and history here. It was fascinating. It was sad to think that back in the day of the emperor people were not really allowed to go here and it is such a beautiful garden spot in the middle of the city. Nowadays, people can buy a season pass and come and sit in the gardens every day. MANY people take advantage of this. Here are some of the sights that Harry said were common in the temple of heaven.
A man practicing the art of Chinese characters.
MANY people doing Tia Chi
Trying to engage tourists and possibly sell them some fun toys...
Playing games...lots of men were playing this game we also saw a lot of people playing dominoes and cards. One thing that was amusing to all of us is how hard they slap down the domino or the card they are playing. I asked Harry about it and he said the louder the slap the better the player...it is a kind of competition...you are supposed to slap the card or domino down as hard as you can to intimidate the other players.
And playing music. This was perhaps on of the most fascinating things I saw. There were about 10 to 15 people playing these instruments and they were all playing different songs! They were all just practicing their own sheet music...This guy has a mike on his so his was the loudest you could hear and when we were far away his was the only song we could hear but as you approached the group you could decipher that they were all playing their own songs...it was strange yet beautiful at the same time.

The Temple of Heaven was a sight to see. Here is a good shot of mom and dad at the side of the temple. If you ask me they look like they are having a good time and they are happy to be in CHINA!!!
This is me...embracing the fact that I am in CHINA!
There was a group of boys there who were on a soccer team who were dressed exactly like me...or I guess I was dressed like them and they wanted to take some pictures with me. This happens a lot both in Korea and China...it is like we are celebrities or something.
After the Temple of Heaven we headed over to the silk factory. The silk factory was also very educational. We saw how they remove the worms, spin the thread, and make it into blankets, clothes, and other very soft beautiful things.
These are the silk worm cocoons.
This is me trying to be artistic with my new camera...which I love by the way thanks for asking.
These ladies are spreading the twin cocoons out to make into a comforter. We were able to take part in this process. It was really fun and I wanted to buy one...but I didn't.

After the silk factory we went to have lunch. It was of course delicious. It was a buffet and it was so yummy yummy yummy. After we rolled out of there we went over to Tienanmen Square to battle a CROWD of people. It was super smoggy and hot...but again we didn't care as we were drinking in the sights. I like this picture because I have a very similar shot of Kaley making this same face in front of the North Korean building at the DMZ...
Of course we had fun and have to act a little bafoonie..
Mom was the celebrity at the square. I like this picture because mom doesn't usually smile all that much for pictures but she sure is smiling in this one! The two kids on the end are striking the same pose and the one in the middle is like "Why do I have to take a picture with this strange white woman?!?!?!"
Here we are at Tienanmen Square.
Once we made it through the square we went to the immensity they call the Forbidden City. Forbidden City is HUGE! I was shocked and amazed at the size. There are three gates you have to pass through to get to the city. There is a path down the center of the city that leads all the way to the Temple of Heaven...this is the Emperor's road. He was the only one who was allowed to walk in the middle, cross the middle bridge, use the middle stairs, everything in the middle belonged only to him. The Forbidden City was the Emperors domain. He lived here with the Empress and his 2,000 concubines and eunuchs. There are 9,9991/2 rooms in the Forbidden City. The emperor thought he was the son of the gods. Apparently the gods have 10,000 rooms and the emperor wanted to be as close to the gods as he could be without offending them so he build his city with 9,9991/2 rooms. Everything in the Forbidden City is breathtakingly beautiful. There are white marble statues and staircases, gold plated culdrons and incense burners, and the roofs are golden. The carvings are amazing. The dragon and the phoenix are the two most represented characters in China...they are very symbolic and there presence is seen everywhere in the Forbidden city.

I decide to take a rest, dad takes a break against the pillar, and Harry flashes the peace sign!
Just some of the beauty...sad to think that hundreds of thousands of people built this city and died while doing it and none of them were able to enjoy any part of it...it was strictly for the emperor and his posse.
The golden roof tops...
White marble carvings as far as the eye can see!
The gardens at the back of the Forbidden city...the ONLY place where there were any trees...Mom said "Ahhh I understand the phrase 'strolling in the garden' it is the only place you can get ANY sort of respite from the SUN!"
It was an amazing trip. Short but jammed packed full of adventure. We landed in Korea and we hit the ground running. Saturday we headed into Seoul to meet Carol and Vernon for dinner and then we did some shopping in Insadong. Sunday we went to church and then had some Korean barbecue. Monday I headed back to work and mom and dad went into Seoul to see the Palace, the city river, and City Hall. Tuesday Kaley took them to the Korean Folk Village and then we met for curry for supper. Wednesday I sent them back into Seoul to go to Namsan tower, Myeondong, and Namdaemun market. Thursday they went on a tour to the DMZ, Friday they are going to come to school with me and we are going to check out Oido. Saturday we are meeting John, Laura, and Ian for lunch, going back to Insadong, and catching JUMP a Korean TaeKwanDo show. Then Sunday they head to the airport for the long flight home. This has not been a relaxing vacation in the least...but dad has taken over 600 pictures and they have some great subway stories to share...Hopefully, when they get home some of you will stop by for a visit and they can tell you all about their grand Asian Adventure.

Holly