Beijing, Day 3 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)

Today is the big day!  Our official visit to the Great Hall of the People!  We had special ID cards and invitations to get in the building.  We had to wear our special t-shirts for a group photo.  The photo was taken with at least 2 cameras, moving, so make a panoramic pic.  We had to stand still for several seconds while the cameras moved from left to right!  They had us lined up on bleachers like glee club.  Adults on the top 3 rows, kids over 10 on the bottom row, Chinese officials in chairs on the floor, kids under 10 on the floor in front of the officials.

We had about 1 hour of speeches from the CCCWA, BLAS, and the American Embassy.  We also had a parent representative and an adopted child representative to speak.  The Chinese officials gave the child representative a certificate and a stuffed panda.  They announced that all of the kids would receive a gift from the CCCWA.  Later, on our bus, the kids all got pandas and certificates!  It was great!

After the ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, we walked across the street to Tian'anmen Square.  Believe it or not, directly across from the Great Hall.  Vendors galore!  They were selling everything!  Mao watches, kites, books, photos, etc.  We had our group photo taken with the Forbidden City in the background for another souvenir book.  Samantha and I bought one last time, but this one had the Olympic sites in it, so I decided to buy a current book.  It was 100 yuan (about $17).  Now each girl will have one.   The Forbidden City is across the street from Tian'anmen Square, so it was our day to walk!  It was hot once again and I had on a t-shirt that was at least one size, maybe 2 sizes too small.  I was miserable.  We walked straight through the Forbidden City (seems like forever) - there are supposedly 9,999 rooms there.  This was the Emperor's private residence; he and his concubines, children and posse hung out here away from the subjects.  Last time we were told that it would take you xx years to go into one per day.  I don't remember how many years but it was a lot!  We did not have time to go to any of the buildings on this trip, we just walked from one end to the other so that we could get back on the bus.

It was so hot and the melon slices looked so good!  We had to keep moving to keep up with the group, so no one was able to try this but it did look delicious!

Back on the bus and over to the Hutong for a tour and lunch.  The Hutongs are older, residential areas of Beijing based on quadrangles.  Before the revolution, families owned the quadrangles - there were 4 buildings and a courtyard; daughters lived on one side, grown children on the other.  The quadrangles were all grouped together into a huge neighborhood.  During the Cultural Revolution, the government took over the houses and reassigned occupants.  Today, the families of owners before the CR have been able to return and regain at least part of their homes.  We rode in pedicabs (bicycle type rickshaws) through the Hutong and had lunch at one of the houses.  The owner said that his family had been in that location for several generations (displaced during the CR).  He now serves meals for tour groups in his residence.  They had put 4 large tables in what looked like his living room.  We had tiny stools to sit on, no chairs since we had to fit 10 people at each table.  The food was really very good.  The best we had so far in Beijing.

After the Hutong tour, we got back on the bus and traveled to a Silk Factory somewhere in Beijing.  I think it was near the Olympic Village.  We saw how silk is made and then saw the results!  Lots of beautiful things were available, bed spreads, pillows, bed coverings, clothing, purses, scarves, everything!  We bought a couple of things and headed out.  The girls wanted to buy some stuffed animals but I drew the line on those after the last yard sale that we had.  All those animals end up going to new homes for a lot less money than they cost!  The girls refused to even look at silk dresses, so we got back on the bus.

Next stop, group dinner, Beijing Roast Duck!

So, I've never had duck before; I have a rule that I don't eat anything that I might find in my back yard, but I decided to make an exception since this is likely my last trip to China.  The slices of duck were brought to the table (no head), along with very thin, tortilla like pancakes.  We also were given sliced cucumber and shredded cabbage to go with it.  You are supposed to take the pancake, grab a couple of slices of duck, dip it into the sauce, put the meat on the pancake, layer on cucumbers and cabbage and roll it up like a burrito and eat!  It was not bad, but I could not really taste the duck.  It mostly tasted like the sauce.  A sweet, dark, almost barbeque sauce.  Anyway, they brought out the usual other stuff too; lots of rice, noodles, chicken and veggies.  The usual drinks appeared on the tables, bottled water, beer, Coke and Sprite.  Again, no ice and the drinks were usually room temperature.

After dinner, back to the bus and finally, back to the hotel!  We're all dead tired and one more long day in Beijing to go!  Had to get to bed so that we could be down at the bus at 8 am the next morning.  By now the girls are begging to sleep in!  Sorry, no time to rest.