Beijing Tuesday July 3

6:00 AM wake up call arranged by Ming, our national tour guide.

7:00 Breakfast at the hotel. Yummy scallion crepes, pork dumplings, omelet.

7:40 lobby meeting to leave.

On the bus there was an interesting but censored lecture as there was yesterday. Today we were given information about Qin Shi Huangdi, the First Chinese emperor, and how he united China, including the use of common currency, the work on the Great Wall, and building of his own mausoleum. There was no discussion of his cruelty and his suppression of knowledge including his burning of previous books, and banning scholarly discussions of the past. He readily killed or banished those who opposed him or his ideas.

Yesterday there was no discussion of the Tiananmen Square incident. “The topic is still a political taboo in mainland China, where any public discussion of it is regarded as inappropriate.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989

Also much discussion of Feng shui.

9:00 AM Jade factory tour.
Restroom 5 *****, even had TP.
This, of course, is a government shop. There were many tour buses lined up outside. The cost for an A grade Jade bangle was approximately $800 – $900 US. My Fodor’s, © 2007, that came in right before we left says “a green jade bangle about Y280 before bargaining” (p 279). Now considering a 7.5 exchange rate, and a 40% bargaining rate that jade bangle should cost about $43.00. We were told that even the Chinese only buy valuables in government approved shops, but I sincerely doubt that the locals are buying in these government factories.

Addendum: I got the same - slide the bangle on with a plastic bag over your hand, keep it fresh with water in the case, and “see how it cuts glass?” along with a “certificate” and business card for $40.00 US in Shanghai.

10:15 AM left Jade Factory for Great Wall長城
We went to Badaling Great Wall which of course is the most heavily touristy area. Photos / info. When we entered we were told by Olivia that the steepest part was to the right, and therefore more heavily traveled since it is an honor to reach the top by Chinese people. We, along with the girls, moved along to climb the easier path to the left. It was only on our way down that we found out that we had in fact climbed the steeper part! We got some pictures but the haze and smog made it difficult to see very far.

On our way back down we were again accosted by the myriad of vendors along both sides of the street. In fact there were vendors even at the flatter points on the Great Wall itself. We were glad we had the experience, but would probably find a more serene area to climb if we were ever to return. Our meeting place was in a tea shop that also had jade, tee shirts and other tchotchke for sale. There was however a 5 ***** restroom.

Also along the street was one of the only Official Olympic Shops that we came across. Unfortunately we didn’t know this until after we got on the bus.

Also, one family and 2 of the other tour members found a type of roller coaster ride down. They found some good bargains at the bottom, but had to take a taxi back to our meeting point.

25 minute bus ride to the “Friendship Restaurant” which was upstairs in the Friendship Cloisonné factory. This was a fairly winding road down the mountain from the Wall. The tour itself was interesting and short – about 15 minutes. A small 8” vase will run about $100. The vendors here are not as pushy, but they still will tend to follow you around.

Lunch was very good: dumplings, spicy eggplant, garlic shoots, rice, chicken fried tenders, beef, pork. They also served us some type of 56% alcohol wine – YUCK!

The restroom here was very clean, western style with TP.

3:00 to bus. 1 ½ hour bus ride on a very modern highway to our “optional” Kung Fu show (280 Y). The show was OK, yet others seemed to really like it. There was only a 1 – 2 ** restroom, with squat toilets only.

http://www.etours.cn/china_nightlife/shownews.jsp?news_id=241

"The Legend of Kung Fu focuses on a young boy found wondering outside an ancient temple somewhere in China. He dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master. But things don’t go smoothly according to his plan. The young monk is called Chun Yi (the pure one) has to overcome many difficulties and temptations before he conquers and finally gets his sacred goal of enlightenment. Many places of the show are presented like a dream in appearance. In the show you can find the flying fairy created in Chun Yi's mind and brimstone of the blacksmiths workshop, where the tools and armor are made. The ceiling of the theatre lights up like the night sky with twinkling stars. The main innovation in this show is the blend of the different parts of performance art. The modern dancers have mixed elements of Kung Fu into their performance and the Kung Fu performers have adopted some of the modern dance actions. The management and production team have been looking for the best performers all over China. You can find their hard work on the stage. The average age of the performers is only 17 years, but their performance tells that they are excellent!"

7:00 PM to Peking Duck Dinner at Pian Yi Fang in Beijing. Very good, also enjoyed spicy eggplant dish, garlic shoots again. The duck soup brought after the meal was a sort of bland broth.