Beijing - Day 1 & 2

Wow - what a whirlwind 2 days in Beijing!  We have seen The Temple of Heaven, Tianamen Square, The Forbidden City, rode in a rickshaw through a Hutong, eaten at a "local person's" house in the Hutong, visited a porcelain making facility (Diane bought a small plate), climbed the Bell Tower (rung one time per year) learned about Chinese Tea (we tasted too), watched the Peking acrobat show, ate hotpot at a local restaurant, and swam in the hotel pool...that was day 1 ;-)

 

Today we went to the Great Wall and Summer Palace.  On the way we stopped at a Jade factory - I bought myself a very nice jade bracelet and Grace and Ruthie each got a Jade pendant carved in their Chinese Zodiac animal.  Expensive, but nice.  We also made a quick stop to see the Olympic venue - the bird's nest and the cube.

 

Impressions - Beijing is a big sprawling city with - as you might expect - lots of cars (Fords, Hondas, Buicks, VW Bugs), buses and trucks, but also lots of bicycles - motorized and regular as well as small scooters, one person cabs, and itsy trucks.

 

Beijing has impressive, interesting architecture and lots of contruction, but often the new sits right next to the downright ugly & dirty neighborhood.  First look may you think no one lives here - sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.

 

You might see huge outdoor video/TV screen and 1 block away a family are drying their clothes from a tree on the street. 

 

We've also encountered squat toilets and discovered that the practice is not to flush to toilet paper after use, but to deposit it in the small trash can in your stall - no wonder those places stiiiiink!

 

Weather so far: We've had WONDERFUL weather.  It has been warm, very low humidity, and usually a nice breeze.  We are dressing in t-shirts and shorts.  The adults usually are wearing t-shirts and capri pants.  We carry a light weight fleece jacket, but need it only here and there.  The locals might be wearing ankle length parkas (some of the attendants were wearing these and had the hood up), long sleeve shirts and light weigh coats....crazy!

 

That's it for now - I'm tired and need to go to bed...it's 9:30pm on Sat eve. 

 

Joyce

long plane ride

 

Grace

 

The plane was very big and had a small TV ,I was not expecting that! At the end of the ride we hit air bumps (a lot of them )and of corse I threw up two times.After we got out of the airport we went to the hotel and had dinner. After we had dinner Maggie and I went down to see the pool it was giant.

The plane ride is bumpy

me  and  grace  throwed  up 2 

 

 

Ruthie

Safely Arrived in Beijing!

We made it after two delays.  The first one from Charlotte to Newark, but we still arrived in Newark in time for our connection - EXCEPT that our flight to Beijing was delayed by 3 hours.

 

Apparently a plane from Houston was using the same call number as our flight and FAA won't allow another plane to take off with the same call number....you say - so just change the call number...well we were flying over Russian airspace and you must file your flight plan the day before and once it's filed there is no changing it....

 

To top it all off - the flight was a little more bumpy than I've experienced in a long time...so basically 4 out of 7 of us "lost our cookies!"  We weren't the only ones - it was a common occurrence.

 

We are all feeling better and we are going downstairs to get some dinner, maybe go let the kids swim, and then to bed by 8 or 9pm Beijing time.

 

There is exactly 12 hours difference between Charlotte, NC and China.
 

Joyce, Grace and Ruthie 

Less Than 24 hours

Hard to beleive...we leave in less than 24 hours.  Tomorrow we board a plane at 9am bound for Newark and then from there to Beijing, China!

Everything on my "To Do" list is complete - yahoo! And I am all packed, except for a few items - like extra pair of glasses, sunglasses, an extra pair of shoes for girls - so we are in good shape.

Grace and Ruthie are very excited...I am hoping that the rain holds off and we can go to their soccer practice - so they get a little tired out and sleep well tonight.

My plan is to arrive at the airport around 7:15am - leaving us plenty of time to check in and get through security without worrying and scurrying.

Can't wait!

Basic Info on Maoming

Chinese Name:茂名市 (mào míng shì)

Population: 6,793,300

Area: 11,459 square kilometers (4,424 square miles)

Nationalities: Han

Administrative Division: 2 districts (Maonan, Maogang); 1 county (Dianbai); 3 county-level cities (Huazhou, Xinyi, Gaozhou)

Location: Located in southeastern Guangdong Province, Maoming City neighbors Zhanjiang in the west and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the north. The South China Sea is just to the south of the city. It is 362 kilometers (225 miles) from Guangzhou and 121 kilometers (75 miles) from Zhanjiang.

History: In remote ages, aboriginal people were living in this region, and those aboriginal ethnics in Xia (21st - 16th century BC) and Shang (16th - 11th century BC) dynasties were called Baiyue ethnic group, an integration of the ancient Yue minority and many other minorities. According to historical records, Maoming belonged to two shires in the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). The Maoming County was established in the Sui Dynasty (581-618).

Physical Features: Mountains and hills constitute the general landform of the city, concurrently including plains and coastal beach. It also has a coastline of more than 220 kilometers (137 miles). On the whole, the terrain of Maoming is higher in the north and lower in the south.

Climatic Features:Enjoying a subtropical monsoon season, the weather of Maoming is moderate with an annual average temperature of no less than 22℃ (72℉). Maoming is a green city all the year round. The rainfall of a year lies between 1530-1770 millimeters (60-70 inches).

When to Go: During the whole year

Special Local Products: In late 2005, Maoming earned the title of largest fruit producing base in China. Lichee (litchi), banana and longan are the most famous and high-yield fruits. In addition, the fruit pit (of Afzelia xylocarpa) carvings are special souvenirs in local markets.

Attractions:

The 1^st Shoal of China Vacation Area: The 'first shoal of China' is 25 kilometers (16 miles) from the downtown Maoming, in the Maogang District. The resort has miles of fine and smooth beach outside the shelter belt, and it is definitely an ideal place for swimming and sunbathing. In addition, the resort has many sports to enjoy, including parachute gliding and sailboarding. It is also a national training center for beach volleyball, and often hosts national and international competitions.

Chicken (Fang Ji) Island: The island is the largest in Maoming covering an area of 1.9 square kilometers (0.7 square miles). This tourist resort is a fascinating diving center boasting clear and unruffled sea waters, famous for its coral reefs and recreational scuba diving. Skin and deep diving, diving of exploration are all available here.

Tianmashan Eco-Tourist Area: The scenic area is situated in Xinyi City. On the 1,080 meters (3,543 feet) tall Tianma Mountain, emerald forest, clear springs, deep and serene valleys, waterfalls of all shapes and size, strange rocks and lingering prairies, can all be found in this nature-gifted landscape.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/guangdong/maoming/

Basic Info on Hanchuan

Hanchuan (simplified Chinese: 汉川; traditional Chinese: 漢川; pinyin: Hànchuān) is a county-level city in Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Xiaogan city.

The city's urban area is located on the left bank of the Yangtze a few tens of kilometres upstream from Wuhan. However, the county-level city as an administrative unit also includes some land on the right bank of the river as well.

The city is served by the Hanchuan Railway Station on the new Wuhan-Yichang Railway.

Story-telling in Hanchuan 汉川善书 is called Shanshu. It is popular in places such as Hanchuan, Tianmen, Mianyang, Qianjiang, and Xiaogan. The art is most prosperous in Hanchuan where it has a long-standing and deep-rooted tradition.
Shanshu formed in the late Qing Dynasty and during the early Republic of China. It originated from the official campaign to promote the Emperor's instruction to enhance the morality of the people. Traditionally it was performed by only one person. In the Republic of China (1912-1949), it evolved into a duet or a multi-role play.
The vocal music includes Daxuan Qiang, Xiaoxuan Qiang, Ya Qiang, Suoluo Qiang, Nuchi Qiang, and Aisi Qiang. Popular repertoires are Dropping Blood, Honeybee Juice, Anan Sending Rice and Chastity.

Can you tell it's hard to find information on Hanchuan?  It's located about on hour east of Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province.