Today held more in store than we thought! We began the morning at the local Jade factory. This government-run factory was responsible for making the Olympic medals this year; all three medals have jade on the back. We watched people carve amazing things and then shopped in their showroom. We picked out a hand-made stamping tool with a little jade chicken carved on the top. M was born in the year of the chicken (which supposedly will mean that she is clever). We watched as the craftsman etched her Chinese name, Hui Hui, onto the jade. Beautiful!
After the Jade factory it was off to the Great Wall. In all of our times of seeing the Wall on television or in books, we have seen a flat surface that you tootle along on. We didn't know that to GET to the tootling part you must climb almost straight up. The steps are rugged and very uneven, ranging from 2 inches to 24 inches per step, with no rhyme or reason in between. We are proud to say that we climbed very high up! J stopped near the top after realizing that it was too hazy to see anything more. R, of course, HAD to finish the climb! What a memory!
Next, we stopped at a cloisonne factory and toured the workers. With great precision they glue tiny pieces of copper to the pieces, painstakingly marking out the patterns. Then artists will paint in between the copper lines and put it in a kiln at lest 6 times!We ate lunch at the cloisonne factory. JR and MA P's, it was SO similar to our experience with you in Chinatown in Queens! They did serve a deep fried fish, complete with head...unusual! And cabbage dumplings.
We finished our adventure by visiting Olympic Square and seeing the Bird's Nest. Such a contrast between the new buildings and the older ones in the town!
We finish our day happy in spirit, but exhausted in body. We're still trying to get comfortable with the time zone. We were up today at 4:45 for the day. :-(
Tomorrow we will tour the Temple of Heaven before catching our plane to Hunan. According to our understanding, it's very possible that M will be at the hotel when we arrive tomorrow...it's possible we will catch a glimpse of her in a hallway. We've heard lots of stories of people receiving their children EARLIER than expected so we need to be prepared!
Please pray that M's transition into our care is smooth and that she feels safe and loved. Pray that we have wisdom to see her needs despite the language barrier. Thanks!
