August 13, 2010 Touring Beijing: Hutong Tour by Rickshaw, Silk Market Tour, Tai Nationality Restuarant, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City

So, it seems like I already can not keep up with my time and we don't even have Kate yet!!!  I keep trying to find time to write posts and upload pics and there is never enough of it!!  So, I am uploading lots of pictures from today and I will give a short post.

 

We met our new Guide from our adoption agency (CCAI) this morning.  He is a young man named George who was born in Inner Mongolia (a province of China) and later moved to Beijing.  We joined 7 other families adopting with our agency and boarded a large bus.  This mode of transportation is definitely a little more "cushy" than the subway!  The families are adopting from orphanages all over China but we are joining them for the Beijing and Guangzhou portions of the trip.  There are 1 or 2 that are also adopting from Yulin where Kate is.  We are still trying to get to know the folks.

 

Our first stop was in a Hutong Neighborhood where we hopped on a rickshaw.  Caroline, George and I rode together and Gailie and Sean were on another one.  It was a little harrowing driving through the very busy and very, very narrow alley ways into these neighborhoods.  We stopped at a local family's home and were invited inside for a tour.  It is very, very small, but interesting to see how the local families use the space and communal living areas.  The family takes great pride in the home and was very gracious in answering questions ans showing us around. 

 

We boarded the bus again and headed for a Chinese Silk Market Tour.  Here we were shown the life of a silkworm!  Caroline loved it and kept saying...let's go back and see the worms!  The worms were NOT actually my highlight of the tour!  It was very interesting though. 

 

Once again...back on the cool air conditioned bus and we headed to Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City area.  Tiananmen Square is the largest public square in the world.  It is very historic and was packed with people milling around...mostly Chinese.  This is also where Chairman Mao's tomb is and the Chinese People's Republic Congress is located.  There is a large Monument of Heroes in the center of the square.  Our group was like celebrities. Everytime we took a group photo, locals wanted to be in the photo or have their children be in the picture.  They also stopped us and asked if they could take a picture of us.  Such a strange feeling!!

 

On the other side of the Square, we entered The Forbidden City.  Incredible...the scope, space, architecture of the palace.  The scale of the Palace is daunting.  There were tons of tourists...again mostly Chinese.  It has only been open to the public about 50 years since the revolution.  Prior to that only the royalty and their staff were allowed in...usually only about 100 people occupied this huge space.  As we exited The Forbidden City we walked through a beautiful garden. 

 

Sorry so short on the post today...running out of time...more later!

 

Please keep the prayers coming for all of us!  We are doing great...especially Caroline.  She is such a trooper!  I could not be prouder of how she has handled herself and kept up with all of the sightseeing.  She is truly an angel!

 

Only 2 more days until we get Sweet Kate!!