Journals

June 25

This was our final full day of adventure together, before departing Beijing. Our morning journey was to The Temple of Heaven, The Echo Wall, The House of Heavenly Lord, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The Temple of Heaven is Ming and Qing Dynasties (1420), the same time as the Forbidden City. It was built as a site for royal families to worship ancestors, who lived in heaven. Each year, on Winter Solstice, royal families went the Temple of Heaven to worship. The buildings are not so huge, but the park surrounding about 273 hectares (compared to the 72 hectares of the Forbidden City). The architecture is very symbolic of Beijing, and the roof tiles are glazed with cobalt blue glaze to represent heaven. The forests surrounding this site are quite vast, and Ms. Hong’s father saw wolves here when he was a child. We saw people dancing and doing karaoke! The walk from Gate entrance to raised circular altar, to The Hall of Supreme Harmony was once again awe inspiring. We left the site through the east gate and went to a very nice restaurant where we lunched on an array of tasty dishes.

Our afternoon was spent at a mall, where students purchased suitcases to carry home all of their treasures. This place was amazing. Stall after stall of every imaginable type of merchandise filled 5 or 6 floors. Our kids have become quite good at bargaining, but Ms’ Hong was there to help, if needed! We returned to the hotel for dinner and packing.

This has been an irreplaceable and unforgettable experience for all of us. We have become closer from the experience and share this common bond with one another. We each have enormous gratitude for Ms. Hong and her family for their hospitality and desire to share their country and customs with us. We also appreciate the endless hours she put into planning this trip so that we could experience all of the amazing times together. We also want to thank our guide Zheng hui, Cynthia, who will keep a bit of each of our hearts here in China. Hopefully we will be able to host her in the US if and when she ever comes for a visit!

Tomorrow, we will fly home!

June 24

This day was an experience arranged by Yuchen Wong’s parents. We began our adventure by traveling to Happy Valley, a Beijing-style Disneyland. The size of this amusement park was astounding! We entered as a group and explored until kids found a ride they wanted to try. We went from site to site, until time for lunch. Then we walked just outside the park and across the highway to a Chinese style pizza buffet restaurant, where kids enjoyed themselves.

After lunch, we bussed to a water park, where we spent the afternoon. This was all indoors and completely sculpted and designed to feel spacious and inviting. Kids enjoyed riding down slides in rafts, and various other water rides which were exciting. The swimming area was designed much like a beach, with lounge chairs along the edge of a gradually deepening pool. Other areas contained hot tubs and herbal pools containing various Chinese herbs for various purposes. Ms. Hong and Ms. S-P really loved those hot pools! One pool was located in the direct center, outside, with a grape arbor shading the pool.

At the end of the afternoon, we all showered, dressed and rode into the city for dinner at a Muslim-Chinese restaurant, where the specialty is lamb. We were seated in a private dining room and were joined by David and Nicholas Liu and their parents, as well as Alan Tang and his Mom. These Bementers were also at the water part with us. The meal was quite amazing, with appetizers, veggies, noodles, yogurt and many dishes containing lamb. The main entrée of the evening was roast lamb with hot spices. And to top it all off, we were entertained by costumed dancers, performing to music which sounded very Middle Eastern. We were all quite ready for bed after a day of hot sun and water play topped by copious amounts of food! Many thanks to Youchen’s parents for hosting us in a splendid fashion!

June 23

This day was devoted to exploring a rural area northwest of Beijing, referred to as the Green area. Ms. Hong’s parents live in this area and it was so much fun seeing her become excited the nearer we came to familiar streets. We began exploring at the Summer Palace, where the Emperor and his wife Ci Xi (fondly referred to as The Dragon Lady!) built their summer home. This retreat was designed to be a cool refreshing site for the Emperor to spend summers. The lake is man-made and the earth taken from digging the lake was used to create a mountain to house a temple and a palace. A large gate marks the entrance to the walled acreage. There are numerous structures which date to the Qing Dynasty (pre -1911), and all of these were used for governmental matters. They are located near the water’s edge, and the huge lake creates cool breezes. We wandered into and around these buildings, exploring interiors and gardens. There are many large boulder-size stones on pedestals scattered throughout the gardens. Eventually we arrived at the Chang Lang (long corridor), which is a long roofed walkway stretching 728 meters along the edge of the lake. It is painted brilliantly inside and out. As we walked along the Chang Lang, Ms. Hong told us about visiting here many time as a child. The paintings inside tell stories of many legends, and Ms. Hong’s father would tell her these stories. At the end of the walkway, we saw a huge marble boat at the river’s edge, surrounded by many other styles of boats, including large dragon shaped boats. We all boarded one of the Dragon Boats and set off for a ride across the lake! It was perfect!!

When we stepped off the boat, each of us felt the ride could have gone on all afternoon! Our next stop was lunch nearby, Chinese food, of course. Then on to Wo Fo Temple and surrounding park. This area is also near Ms. Hong’s home, and gave us the opportunity to have a lovely time hiking and strolling through exquisitely groomed gardens, lake, and wooded areas. Teahouses and resting sites, reflection pools, and areas for meditations are scattered along the way to the temple at the elevated end of the walk. At the end of our walk we came to a gate, a pond filled with brightly colored carp, and two floating rafts of turtles lying in the sun. We walked over the pond on the stone bridge and came to the temple, where the reclining Buddha is sleeping on his side. Wo Fo means reclining Buddha. The night before, we asked the kids to write in their journals about their most memorable experience and be prepared to read it for a video the next day. Each chose a special spot in this lovely park and read from their journals.

After we walked from the Wo Fo site, we went to a special Hot Pot restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was located in the largest mall in Beijing….it was HUGE! We took the opportunity to shop in the large supermarket downstairs for local snacks to take home for sharing with families!

Then we ventured upstairs to the Hot Pot restaurant, where we cooked our meal in boiling water by ourselves. The pot of broth and fragrant spices was built into the counter in front of each person. A huge tray of veggies, noodles and tofu as well as selected meat was placed at each pot. We took a piece of meat and some veggies and placed them in the pot, were they cooked for a while, and then were lifted out with chopsticks, dipped in sauce and eaten ravenously!

We raced from the restaurant to our bus and on to the Temple of Heaven Theater, where we saw a performance of Chinese Opera, complete with the Monkey King and his entourage of playful actors. The costumes and masks were colorful and so unusual. We snacked on Beijing snacks and green tea. This performance was quite different from our earlier opera experience at the Bubble, but the body language used to communicate comedy was amazingly similar.

We returned to the hotel, ready for bed!

June 21

On this day, we slept a little late, and then set out for the Great Wild Goose Pagoda and Music Fountains. There is a huge plaza at the foot of the pagoda. The plaza stretches in terraces down an expanded area, and is built with fountains inserted throughout the terraces (the largest music fountain in Asia). At certain times of the day, music begins and the fountains spray in rhythm to the music. Some music is traditional Chinese, some is Classical Western, but all of it is synchronized to the fountain’s spray. It was extremely hot, and the kids just couldn’t resist jumping into the spray. Eventually, every one of them was dancing around in the spray, cooling off and getting soaked. Believe it or not, the show lasted 30 minutes, and they enjoyed every minute of it. Drying off was not a problem, because it was so hot!

We walked through a beautiful garden designed by the monks of the pagoda, and went into an amazing restaurant which is part of the pagoda. The restaurant serves only vegetarian dishes, and it was one of the best meals we’ve eaten. We even have photos! Ms. Jackson would love visiting here if she ever comes to Xi’an again.

After lunch we crossed back into the park, climbed up the steps to the top of a knoll and looked across a dipped area at the pagoda rising from another hill. After ice cream we explored a courtyard, where merchants were selling traditional Xi’an wares, then walked around the base of the hill to the entrance gate of the pagoda courtyard.

Some of us climbed to the top of the seven-level tower, to see the view of the city, which was quite lovely from above. There were shrines at the base of the tower containing sculptures and areas to pray or meditate.

After making our way back to the bus, we went back to the hotel for a tasty dinner of traditional dishes from Xi’an. We gathered our luggage together, made final photos with our guide from Xi’an (promising to send her a Bement hat), and walked together to the train station. This was quite an excursion, walking through crowded streets and up to the entrance of the Xi’an Train Station! This station is nothing like Beijing and we had to stick together like sardines in a can to get through the security check-in gate! Ms. Hong, Ms. S-P and the tour guides were grateful for the help from the two teachers from XBH as we made our way through this station to the waiting area. By the time we were told to board the train, we were all determined to get there together! We were so happy to once again sit in our small compartments and rest as the train began to move. We departed Xi’an around 8:15 and arrived the following morning in Beijing around 7:15. We made our way through the Beijing station much easier and found our bus for the ride to our hotel, where we all rested for several hours!

June 20

This is the day set aside for our visit to Ling Tong, site of the Terra Cotta Warriors. This town is located 50 minutes east of Xi’an City, and the site is at the foot of Li Mountain. This location in ancient times was the location for the home of the 1st Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and he chose this as his burial site. We learned from our guide about the history of his rise to power, how he unified all of China, and his death. He standardized many aspects of governing during his rule, to create order, and he began building the Great Wall. However, he was guilty of eliminating anything that he believed to threaten his rule.

Our time in the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum began with a film in a theater with surround sound and vision. The film documented the history of the Emperor’s rule, building of the tomb and the warriors, along with their discovery in 1974, by farmers digging a well for watering crops. One of the farmers is still alive and he was there, signing books about the site. We began with the largest site, which is completely covered with a modern building, and climate controlled to protect the site. It is overwhelming to describe in words the experience of seeing this amazing archeological site!! I well leave describing it to the photos and your children. We spent several hours going from site to site. It was difficult to leave!

We lunched at a restaurant in the same town and afterwards too a cable car to the top of Li Mountain (Black Horse Mountain). The top of the mountain is the site for a Taoist Shrine and Monastery. The peaceful beauty of green fragrant trees and soft breezes is welcoming after the extreme heat at the bottom of the mountain. The Shrine at the top is quite wonderful, and houses several structures with large sculptures and places for meditation and burning fragrant incense. We could purchase red ribbons from the shrine, each containing prayers printed in yellow calligraphy, and tie them to branches of a tree outside. Prayers for health of family and continued wealth were popular. Too soon we rode the cable car down the mountain and returned to Xi’an by bus.

In Xi’an, we visited the Banpo Village Museum site, where the archeological excavation of a 6000 year old pottery making village is located. This site, like the Terra Cotta Warrior site is enclosed and protected. We learned that the village valued women more highly than men, because the women till the land, grew plants, and made pottery for cooking and other functional uses. The women and children were buried with their pottery. An ancient kiln is part of this site!

Our dinner of local dishes was in a restaurant where we met up with another group of eighth grade students from Vancouver BC. We compared notes on our trips and enjoyed the visit.

Our evening was spending at the Da Tang Fu Rong Yuan, (Big Tang Dynasty Flower Garden). It is a removed site built for the Tang Dynasty royalty to spend lovely summer evenings surrounded by a huge lake. There we strolled the grounds and in the evening, when it was dark, saw a light show and water film (Monkey King). This was a film projected on water, sprayed from fountains. It was quite a show. We returned to the hotel once again ready for bed.

June 19

We arrived in Xi’an around 8:00 in the morning and found the temperature to be in the 90’s! Our guide from Beijing, Cynthia, accompanied us on the trip, and she located our Xi’an guide outside the very crowded train station. We hiked quite a distance to our bus, and began our journey into an ancient city of Xi’an surrounded by city walls (the Ming Dynasty Great Wall).

After having breakfast at the hotel, we showered and met in the lobby for our first day’s adventure. We rode outside the city for 1 1/2 hours to the countryside, where the Qian Ling Mausoleum is located in a hillside. The surrounding area is agricultural, with fruit trees and gardens lining the roads. Wheat fields in process of being harvested are interspersed with garden veggies. We say the farmers separating wheat from chaff by laying the wheat bundles in the road, where cars drove over them until they were totally broken apart. Then farmers used rakes made of branches and lifted the chaff up into the air to toss it away from the grain. This is repeated until they are able to sweep up the wheat grains. By the time we arrived at the tomb site, the temp was over 100 degrees, so we all opened our umbrellas and began the walk to the base of the tomb. Our guide explained that the Tang Dynasty emperor Gao Zong is buried here with his wife Wu Ze Tain (The Dragon Lady). This was very unusual for a woman to be given this type of honor. We passed along an upward sloping walkway lined with stone figures and animals. At the crest of the slope are large stone structures marking the entrance to the mound. The kids wanted to hike to the top, so we split into two groups of hikers and non hikers for 30 minutes. Thaddeus tried his bargaining skills with the marketers, and we left around noon for lunch. This lunch was traditional Xi’an foods, including a flat cornbread, white dense pancake for beef soup, whole chicken and mixed greens topping omelet.

As we rode we learned that during the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Qian, the first general to travel outside China, was sent to look for horses. He carried goods for barter and his excursions were the beginning of what we refer to as The Silk Road. He wrote a book about his travels which is part of Xi’an history. Papermaking also started here, near the Ba River, where plant fibers were pounded to create the first papers. Textiles were once the main industry here (silk and cotton), however, since the discovery of the terra cotta warriors in 1974, tourism has become the main focus of the city. Xi’an has a population of 8,000,000 people! It is surrounded by 8 rivers.

We drove back to Xi’an and explored the city wall for a while. Here we listened to a lecture on Feng Shui by a local expert. Following this we explored the Muslim section of town, located near our evening restaurant. This was a true experience in marketing! After 45 minutes, we adjourned to the Dumpling restaurant, where we had an amazing meal. The dumplings were shaped in the form of whatever filling was inside (duck, chicken, fish, walnut, flower…). We ate so many tasty dumplings, and were very stuffed!

We ended the evening with a performance of Tang Dynasty dance and music with costumes and sets! Mr Snedeker and Ms Pelletier would have loved this! We got back to the hotel around 10:30 and fell into bed！

June 18

Today we went to the Beijing Capitol Museum，a very new and extremely modern structure in the heart of Beijing. There we saw exhibitions on life in Beijing, traditional customs and exquisitely beautiful art work of every kind. The traditional work is housed in a separate structure within the building, and the art collection of bronzes, jade, porcelain and paintings is housed in another structure. We saw many lovely objects and learned about traditions, such as wedding ceremonies and traditional dress and celebrations. Then we went to McDonald’s for lunch, because it was just across the street. This was the first American style food the kids have had!

After lunch we went back the XBH Academy and picked up our friends for the afternoon. Each Bement student was paired with two XBH students. For the afternoon, we went to the Qian Men Street (a traditional commercial street) for shopping. This is a very old section of the city which has been the home for merchants dating back hundreds of years. Recently the buildings and street have been renovated with lovely stonework, but some businesses are in the locations they have housed for centuries. The kids spent all afternoon together, speaking Chinese and bargaining for goodies. Farewells were long and the kids really didn’t want to say goodbye, so we promised to try to get the kids together again after Xi’an.

We all had dinner at the hotel, and then left for the train station, for our trip to Xi’an. The Station is HUGE, AND CROWDED! We kept the kids together in a close group with the help of Mr. Gao, and two teachers from XBH who were to accompany us to Xi’an. We made it through the waiting area and onto the train, where kids were grouped four to a sleeping car for the night trip. This was a real adventure. It felt like a trip on the Orient Express! We arrived at 8:00 in Xi’an!

June 17

Today, we slept in and gave ourselves a bit of extra rest. We wanted to be well rested for our visit to Xu Beihong Academy, the school that Ms. Hong’s mother founded. It is a visual arts focused school located nearby our hotel. We were so lucky that our day at the school came on a day when the weather blessed us with rain! (It has been very hot here.) Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Ms. Feng (Ms. Hong’s mom) who led us into the foyer of this lovely school. We passed by the entrance where giant bronze murals, designed by Mr. Gao (Ms. Hong’s husband) grace each side of the doorway. Crossing over a lovely inlaid image of a phoenix, also designed by Mr. Gao, we gathered in the gallery on the first floor. Here another image of a lion covered the center of the floor. Greetings were exchanged and photos made and then we were escorted upstairs to a room with comfy chairs surrounding a central square of tables laid with platters of tasty treats, fruits, snacks and beverages. The kids were delighted with all the new flavors and found their favorites very quickly. Hannah loved the “jiang mi tiao”, while Eliana preferred the honey soaked “mi san dao”, Thaddeus enjoyed the cherries, and we all sampled the lychees. After snacking for a while, the head of school, Mr Zhou, joined us. He welcomed us graciously, and expressed his wish for a continuing connection between our schools, and his hope for a visit to Bement with students. He presented each student and teacher with a gift. Then Ms. S-P tried her hand at speaking Chinese and thanked him and the school for hosting us, and sharing their school. We presented the school with a print of the Susan Pakora painting of Bement. Then we all moved into a tea room set with long tables and a large screen for videos. The XBH students (assigned partners for our students) had prepared videos about themselves, their interests, families, homes, and artwork. They each took turns speaking, and we were delighted! Following this, we all shared a lovely lunch, prepared by the school’s chef. The food was amazing: dumplings, stir-fried meats and veggies, rice, and festival packages, zong zi, of flavored rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, (a traditional food served this time of year for the boat festival). This was an amazing meal and we wished Roseanne could be with us to enjoy the meal

After stuffing ourselves, we joined a class of students for an art class. The lesson was introduced by Ms. Hei, and focused on communicating with images. She had planned this lesson to help the kids feel comfortable expressing themselves visually. She introduced the Chinese artist, Xu Bing, who is a very important Chinese contemporary artist. He is now the Vice President of The Central Academy of Fine Arts, (where Ms. Hong graduated) and lives in China, but he lived in the US for a number of years. During that time, he and his family were guests of Ms. S-P and her husband at their home. His work consisted of a progression of visual symbols linked by arrows. Ms. Hei explained the links between the symbols and talked about linear progression of an idea. She also explained two other ways of relating ideas. Students were then asked to translate the pictographs. We alternated between Bement and XBH, then she challenged us to create our own narrative. This was such a fun exercise and a great ice breaker as the kids alternately drew images on the blackboard, and linked them with arrows.

We then went to the bottom floor of the school, to a room where the kids had painted every wall with giant murals depicting Van Gogh’s famous paintings. It was arranged with small tables and chairs and a video projector. Pottery wheels lined one side, but it had the feeling of a café atmosphere. Our students introduced themselves in Chinese, saying a few things about themselves. Then Ms. Hong showed Mr. Young’s videos of Bement and introduced our school. We also saw Mr. Jackson’s video of the DR trip. Then Ms. S-P showed slides of the student’s artwork and spoke about visual art at Bement. Then the kids cleared the room for dancing, Ms. Hong brought some music our kids enjoy. Everyone tried dancing until the rain stopped, then outside for basketball! The game began with Sam, Makai and two XBH boys, but by the end there were two teams, and the Headmaster and two teachers changed clothes and joined in the fun. It was great! After a while, the girls went inside to play ping pong. We had such fun and the kids chose partners for the next day.

We had dinner at a local restaurant, trying new dishes, and then on to an acrobatic show at a local theater. Jugglers, acrobats, contortionists, and tightrope-walkers entertained us with amazing tricks and skills. We were truly ready for bed!

June 16

Today was packed to the brim with wonderful adventures. Leaving our hotel for our journey to the Great Wall, all of us were filled with anticipation and excitement. Great Wall means “long fortress” in Chinese, and was constructed over Thousands of years and during several dynasties to protect the country from the Mongolians in the north. The portion of the wall that we visited lies north of Beijing, and this portion was constructed by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC – 210 BC) of the Qin Dynasty. It took 1,000,000 people 100 years to build this portion of the wall.

We stopped to visit a jade museum along the way and observed artisans as they carved lovely pieces of jade. We learned that the character for “jade” is incorporated into the character for “China”, denoting the importance of this lovely stone. It is believed to have an effect on body and spirit when worn. We saw pieces of ancient carved jade dating back hundreds of years. The kids loved browsing in the adjacent shop.

As we continued our journey, we began to see the most gigantic mountains in the distance. The craggy peaks and layered ranges are awe inspiring and dwarf the tiny cars and busses as they approach the foothills. Our climb began at Jia Yu Guan pass, which is very high and gives the brave and hearty climber the view of a lifetime. We started the climb with light hearts and lighter steps, and slowed as the elevation grew! Though crowded by many climbers, we forged ahead and upward to the first, second, and third towers. Several of our troops braved it all the way to the top tower. Sam, Makai, Hannah, Whitney, Eliana, Claire and Juliana made it all the way, and claimed this was their most favorite part of our very full day. The descent was much easier than the climb! We treated ourselves to t-shirts to proclaim our accomplishment!

Our next stop was lunch in a restaurant adjoining another artisan workshop which created Cloissone pieces. We enjoyed more wonderful Chinese dishes and yummy treats, before leaving for the Ming Tombs. These are located in an agricultural region, where fruit and veggies are grown in abundance. Farmers lined the road selling cherries and apricots, and their small gardens, larger fields, and orchards were packed into every available plot of land. In this region, the earth color is much like that of the south with red iron creating a terra cotta hue. The Ming tombs hold the remains of the 1st emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, who built the Forbidden City. There are a total of 13 Ming Dynasty tombs in this large area of land. We climbed the stairs, entered the gate and climbed again to the top of the large structure which is placed in front of the tomb. The actual tomb is buried beneath a large, tree covered hill behind the structure. This tower is where the soul of the Emperor was said to float to heaven, and those who visit it are warned to ask their souls to return to them as they go down the steps and out the gate. The shouts of “Wo hui lai le!” – “Soul come back to my body!” echoed as we passed through the gate!

Onward to the Sacred Way or Sacred Road, which was the walkway to the tombs, lined with huge marble sculptures of a variety of animals. The kids had a blast making photos with the animals and frolicking along the willow-lined walkway.

June 15

Today is a full day. We began our day with traditional breakfast in the hotel. Everyone is enjoying noodles for breakfast! Our first adventure was to visit Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing. This vast public square is an area that dwarfs an individual! We joined thousands of families, who were celebrating a national holiday vacation from school. The temperature in the morning was already in the 90’s, so most of us purchased silk umbrellas to shield ourselves from the sun. The kids found many Chinese people were asking them to pose for photos! We walked the length of the square, seeing the monuments, gigantic video screens with huge running images, and ended up across the way from the enormous structure bearing the image of Chairman Mao on the front. Crossing underneath the highway and passing through inspection of handbags, we emerged directly in front of this huge structure. We walked up and around and finally climbed the stairs to the high level where Mao delivered his famous speech many years ago. The interior is a museum, filled with famous images and objects of political significance.

After retracing our steps down, around ,under, and up to the street level, we passed by the huge National museum which sits opposite the Square. We then traveled to a section of the city, containing traditional arts and artists materials, as well as antiques. We explored stores selling handmade brushes, handmade papers, inks, paints and lovely antiques.

On to an amazing restaurant which is famous for Beijing Duck, where we lunched on traditional dishes of duck, chicken, fish, pork, veggies and tasty goodies. Our afternoon was devoted to the Forbidden City with its 99 courtyards and endless buildings, palaces, halls and passages. We explored for hours and ended up passing from one gate entrance through the city and exiting through another gate. Our dinner was in a traditional noodle restaurant, where we sampled jellyfish, gluten noodles, Beijing snacks, and tasty toppings. WE ended our adventure by walking along the Wang Fu Jing Street vendors who sell street foods of every kind. Wait until you see our photos! We ended our day with plans for big adventures on the Great Wall!!

June 14

Today was pretty awesome! We started with a Chinese breakfast here at the hotel. We boarded the tor bus and went first to Beijing Zoo to see the GiantPandas. They are quite large and not so active in this heat (95), but we saw them moving around in their habitat. The Zoo is gigantic as well, and we only covered about 1/4 of it, or less in 3 hours!! Along with Pandas, we saw shi’zi (lion), lao’hu (tiger), hou’zi ( monkey), dai’shu (kangaroo), da’xiang (elephant), and (xi’niu) rhinoceros. We then went to have lunch, and on to the Hutong Alleyways. This type of housing dates back to pre Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644) and was the main type of housing for hundreds of years. They are very quaint, traditionally designed, and crowded into small areas. We visited a Si He Yuan (courtyard) and a gentleman told us about the housing and his families as we sat in his old house. The rickshaws were fun…the drivers are fearless in traffic!! We walked along a huge lake in this area and had a great time. We made lots of photos. On next to the Red Theater to see a stunning performance of acrobatic kungfu, told in an operatic style with all the drama and staging complete!! Then we went to dinner at a fancy restaurant, where we were served many traditional dishes around a large round table. Here, we are having a REAL Chinese food and we’re enjoying the experience. The kids are becoming more adventurous! Tomorrow Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City!

June 13

We made it to Beijing after a 13 hour flight. The sun was with us all the way, so we pulled down the shades and tried to sleep or watch movies. The ride was a bit bumpy several times, but nothing to worry about. Our route took us over the arctic, Greenland, Russia and Mongolia. Traffic was tough, and it took 2 hours to get to our hotel. We are now in our rooms, having eaten a lovely meal. Everyone is totally exhausted, and ready for sleep.
More tomorrow ~

1 Comment(s)

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI