China II Beijing continued

Journal Continued:

Saturday, March 21st- Yesterday was wonderful! We started out by going to the Jade Factory. Very interesting and awesome amounts of beautiful objects, including jewelry. I shopped! Bought a bangle and a ring and earrings and earrings for Mom, got Kim a horse, got myself a dragon, bought some additional gifts, and got a free "family ball", an intricately carved series of balls inside balls carved from a single piece--got that for being a "big spender"--ha!

This ferocious jade cat carving graces the lobby of the jade factory.

This woman is carving a jade piece. The size of items ranged from tiny ornaments to huge sculptures. Jade is a semi-precious gemstone, revered in China for centuries. Originally used for tools in Neolithic times because of its hardness and strength, later jade appeared on ornaments and in funerary treasures. Pure white jade is the highest prized, but the stones vary in translucency and color, including many shades of green, brown, and black.

So many beautiful things! It was a shopper's paradise. Prices were surprisingly reasonable. (My daughter tells me that's because the stuff is "made in China". LOL!)

Then we went to the cloisonne' factory. My gosh, who knew how intricate this process is! We toured the factory, had lunch there, and of course, SHOPPED!

This sculpture was in the lobby of the restaurant adjacent to the cloisonne' factory. Not a Buddha, but another revered Chinese figure whose name, sadly, I did not write down.

This worker is soldering individual metal cloisons to enamelware. The lines of cloisons form separate designs which eventually will be inlaid with various colored enamels.

This woman was our local guide in the cloisonne' factory. Here she's pointing out the details of a partially painted vase. The items are fired after each application of enamel, painted, fired, painted, fired, etc. then finally polished to a high gloss. Large items can take months from start to finish. Cloisonne' is one of several traditional Chinese arts.

Such beautiful items! So many choices! Picked up gifts and a small vase for myself--all carefully wrapped and boxed and ready for my suitcase.

Pictures just don't do it justice. The shopping area was huge and filled with these dazzling works of art. The largest piece I saw was a vase that must have been 6 feet tall!

This sign in "Chinglish" attempts to explain something about Cloisonne' to English-speaking visitors. It is typical of signs we saw in other localities illustrating that literal translations are often just not possible.

In the afternoon we went to the Great Wall. What an awesome sight! Something I've seen in pictures and heard about, but actually standing here is a special experience.

Group picture! This is one of several that were taken during our China trip. Most of the travelers were from Solvang, CA or nearby, but I was there from Illinois, Barbara from San Diego, and Bob and Mike from Malibu. I'm in the center in the red jacket. Carol is on my right and her brother Bob is on my left.

Carol and I have been planning for months to "dance on The Great Wall". And here we are, along with Barbara! Notice who is out of step.

I climbed the first set of steps, took lots of pictures, and came back down. The stairs are treacherous and I figured better safe than sorry.

A few sections of the thousands of miles of the Wall have been restored and are open to the public; however most of its length is in various stages of crumbling ruin and is too dangerous for visitors to climb. Originally a series of unconnected earthen ramparts built by local chieftains to protect their own states, the Great Wall was created only after the unification of China in the 3rd century BC. Watch towers were spaced two arrow shots apart to leave no part of the wall unprotected. The towers also served as signal towers, forts, living quarters, and storerooms for provisions. Many parts of the wall were reconstructed during the Ming dynasty (1468-1644). Those Mings were busy guys.

The section we visited, I believe, was called Juyong Guan, a quieter section than the more frequently visited Badaling section. Apparently in the summer, all the public sections of the Wall are overrun with tourists.

Impressive as The Great Wall is, the myth that it is the only man-made structure that can be seen from "outer space" is just that, a myth.
As it snakes and twists, crawls and climbs over the mountains, deserts and plains it is not distinct enough from the surrounding terrain to be seen from space stations. The Wall can be seen from a low earth orbit, but so can many other man-made structures, including wide freeways.

Despite its impressive battlements, The Great Wall was ultimately breached several times, most notably by the Mongols in the 13th century and the Manchu in the 17th century.

Of course, there was the ubiquitous series of gift shops near the Wall. I got a cup of coffee, a sweatshirt that says "I climbed the Great Wall of China", and some gifts for friends.

It was in one of these gift shops that a Chinese lady nearly had a meltdown because I paid another clerk for my purchase with a $50 bill (USD) that had some kind of small mark on it. She fussed and followed me out of the store hollering about "No good money!" The place didn't take credit cards, and at this point in the day, I didn't have enough cash with me to exchange the bill. I offered to give back the sweatshirt and other items, but she changed her mind and decided to keep the $50 bill. Since it came from the bank in Carbondale, I knew it was OK, but it was funny to see how the Chinese hate "dirty money"!

This is as good a time as any to tell you about Chinese toilets. This one was cleaner than many I saw, but is typical of most of the women's toilets in public restrooms. More enlightened businesses and restaurants are gradually adding conventional sit-down toilet stools, and many places there would be 1 or 2 "sitters" along with a half dozen or more "squatters". The women in our group quickly divided into two camps: those who could and did mange the "squatters" and those who held it until they could access a "sitter". Fortunately most of the time I was able to manage the "squatters", so I seldom had to stand in line very long to use the facilities.

Another interesting point about Chinese bathrooms is the toilet paper, or lack thereof. Most public restrooms simply had no paper. You brought your own or did without. Occasionally there would be a tp dispenser on the wall just outside the bathroom so you could get some before you went in--which is fine, as long as you know how much you're going to need for that visit! Forewarned, I had prepared several small plastic ziplock bags of pre-torn and folded strips of tp, complete with a light spray of perfume applied to each. (This suggestion came from a friend who lived in China for several years and knew that many public restrooms were less than pleasant regarding odors. She suggested holding the perfumed paper under your nose until you were ready to apply it to the other end. It works.) If you note the wastebasket in the picture, it explains why some of the toilets were malodorous. In many areas Chinese plumbing simply cannot handle paper along with the other "stuff", so if you see a wastebasket, you're meant to put your used paper in it to avoid plugging up the works when you flush.

Happily, all our hotel rooms had "regular" and in some cases spacious and well appointed bathrooms, so the more discerning women only had to deal with the "sitter" problem when we were out and about.

After leaving the Great Wall we set out for an unusual but interesting experience combining relaxation, a meal, and entertainment.

We went to a facility that is part Chinese medical treatment complex and part restaurant and entertainment center.

We got neck, back, and foot massages while enjoying Chinese beer--about 15 of us all in a big room with recliners, foot basins, and foot stools. A "legion" of Chinese practitioners swarmed in and we all got delicious massages at the same time--for an hour! I could get used to this!

I don't know where the rest of the group went who chose not to get massages--and I didn't much care!!

Two beers and a massage...I may never go home again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After that we went to dinner, which was a buffet and dinner theater--Chinese acrobats--very good and entertaining. At 8:30 we returned to our hotel and collasped into bed exhausted.

It was a little difficult to eat and watch the performers at the same time, stopping often to applaud, but we managed.

Here ends Part II of the China trip, to be resumed on tomorrow's blog.