We set out to visit Tian'anman Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Bird's Nest and also the Water Cube. We also had the famous Peking Duck at a special restaurant. It was very good.
Beijing seemed a lot cleaner, prettier, and friendlier than I remember from visiting here 5 years ago. The streets seem to be wider and decked with holiday lights. Many beautiful skyscrapers abound. For me, the most exciting place had to be inside the Water Cube. It was so amazing to stand there and see the beautiful pools where the diving, swimming and other water competitions took place during the Olympics. I could almost hear the cheers when Michael Phillips took so many of the gold medals.
One of the pictures showed the platform for the symphony orchestra in the Water Cube. They hold concerts there on weekends with a water dance show on the pool to the right. I can imagine it must be beautiful.
Shopping was a lot of fun. You all know I can shop until I drop. :-) On this Beijing Tour trip, Wynn Ferrell should get the medal for being the champion bargainer and he didn't even speak Chinese. Vendors flocked the tour bus wherever we stopped, and Wynn always came back with stacks of hats, purses, knick-knacks purchased at unbelievable prices. We visited the jade factory and the cloisonne factory. We didn't get anything there even though I fell in love with a beautiful jade bracelet which the sales lady claimed would calm the spirit, lower blood pressure and a few other things (like my wallet weight). The cost, $4500 USD. Hmmm...I don't need anything like that.
To top of the list, we went to the Silk Market and it was unbelievable. Vendors lined every possible space in the building. They had all sorts of knock off brands for a fraction of what they really cost. How do they do it? I wonder. I also was able to find the glass place at the Pearl Market (Hongqiao). My friend Glenda took me there 5 years ago when I went to Beijing the first time. They had LDS temple globes that were exquisite. I didn't get one at that time because it would take a week to get the temple I wanted. I have been dreaming about going back to this place. This was a 3-story building with rows and rows of shops. It was as if I were just there yesterday. I went up to the 3rd floor, made a right hand turn and walked up to the glass shop. I even recognized the sales lady. I told her that I met her 5 years ago, and she was amazed. She was so happy that she gave me 2 big apples from her orchard. She even had the Manti Temple globe there on display. The whole experience was surreal. Yes, now I am the proud owner of the Manti Temple Globe. You can tell Elwin was happy for me. :-)
http://hillmanwonders.com/china/chinese_phrases.htm#_map_china
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