BEIJING SIGHTSEEING DAY 2!!!

Today we were up around 5-6am, usual time if at home. However, Dawn and Fred have been waking up around 3am wide awake and not able to go back to sleep...Can't say I have had that problem, I wake up but no problems getting back to sleep. The beds are pretty comfortable overall. We had a pretty slow day compared to yesterday and we were back in the hotel by 5pm.
I was trying to talk Marsha into taking us to an actual apothecary in china. I have a very dry, scratchy throat, cough and hoarse voice from the pollution and she said she knows just the cure. We were on our way there but had an unfortunate detour. We'll see if we can find a place like that in Nancheng.


Jade Factory
Very beautiful statue pieces and jewelry of all kinds. Yep, couldn't contain myself. We really enjoyed our time here....best tip...real jadite actually turns a different color over time and when tapped with an object has a very high pitched ring to it...just because it looks green and says its jadite doesn't mean it really is...



We all made it onto the wall we just ended at various points of the wall with Fred coming out on top as the "Biggest Hero of the Day". Chairman Mao's famous poem engraved on a stone on the wall reads "you are a hero if you stand on the Great Wall"

Group by Great Wall


Tina on Great Wall


Dawn on Great Wall


Fred on the very top of Great Wall and at the end of this section...
"its lonely at the top". But he is the biggest Hero of us all!!!


Lunch and some very interesting "chinese type of whiskey" which we all tried but this was the first shot done with Marsha our guide and "the boys".



Pearl Factory
I was able to contain myself in the shopping here....but now I know how to see if the pearls I have at home are real or not. When rubbed together do they make NO noise and produce a powder, or are they shiny and when rubbed together make a noise....


Cloisonne Factory
Hummmmm, couldn't contain myself here....everything is so beautiful and the detailed work involved in making each piece is astonishing....Fake-light in weight and rough...real-heavy in weight and very smooth.


We leave for Nancheng tomorrow at 1100, it will only be a 2-3 hour flight....nothing compared to what we have survived. Once we get there we will go shopping at Wally World (of all places) to gather baby supplies. Zi Jian, See you all in Nancheng!