Chongqing in the Morning

Before boarding the ship, we spent the morning in Chongqing. We visited the City Hall where we saw an art demonstration. There were a lot of Chinese people doing their morning dance in the square.

 

Then we went to a local market to buy some drinks and snacks for the ship. Our guide explained that many people from the countryside come into town with "sticks" to help people carry things throughout the city. We also saw a man riding a motorcycle with about 20 chickens strapped to the back.

Xi'an to Chongqing

After another delayed flight, we landed in Chongqing and rode the bus to our hotel, the downtown Sheraton Chongqing. I have never seen so many buildings in my life! Chongqing is a mountain city built on the Yangtze River. Our guide told us that 33 million people live in the municipality and that is is roughly the size of Ohio! I don't think my picture can even describe it.

Lost Pictures

After a missing camera card... here are those pictures that I didn't have before: terra cotta soldiers, a dumpling lunch (these were filled with duck), and the Xi'an city wall.

 

By the way, we are now off of the boat and in our hotel in Shanghai. I didn't have internet on the boat because their system was not compatible with Windows 7. :(

Pagodas, Pagodas, Pagodas

After spending a week looking at Chinese pagodas, I've decided that Jay should build one in our backyard. Here are some pictures to help him get started...

Keep Off The Grass

This must be the Buddist Monk nice way to say - KEEP OFF OUR GRASS!

More Xi'an

Here is a picture of our hotel in Xi'an. The bell boys at the Sheraton bowed and greeted us every time we got on or off of the elevator. They were so nice.

 

This morning we went to a jade carving factory and the to the Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda actually leans (it wasn't my camera angle!) I also have a nice picture of a Buddist Monk on his cell phone.

 

We are now sitting in the Xi'an airport waiting to board a flight to Chongqing. I am so excited to have found internet access here since our flight is delayed... again. I had to figure out a little Chinese to get online.

 

Hopefully I will be able to post more pictures later tonight

Tang Dynasty Dinner

On Saturday we saw the Qin Dynasty terra cotta soldiers... pictures to come later. Next we rode a golf cart 11 miles around the Xi'an city wall... pictures to come later (there is a story that will explain why). And finally, we had dinner at the Tang Dynasty show. The show was amazing!

Last Day in Beijing

Today we visited the Giant Pandas at the Beijing Zoo. Then we saw the Summer Palace and rode across the lake on a dragon boat. Lunch was at a fresh water pearl factory. And finally, we went to the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium.

 

Our flight to Xi'an was a little late, so we skipped dinner and came straight to the hotel. It's been a long (14 hour) day of sightseeing and traveling,,. need to sleep.

Greenlees Kids at the Great Wall

Here are the pictures of Carter, Cooper, Wyatt, Sydney, & Gui Yu at the Great Wall... well their pictures anyway! I also posted a picture of an artist writing their names in Chinese characters, and a picture of the cloisonne boxes I bought for Sydney and me. I also bought gifts for the boys as I was actually standing on the Great Wall, but they will have to wait until I get home to see those!

The Great Wall... yes, we climbed it!

Another full day... Started at the silk carpet factory. Next was the Ming Tombs (camel picture). Then on to see how Chinese cloisonne is made with a lunch at the factory. Great gift shop here! The large vases were only $53,000. We passed because we didn't want to have to drag them on the plane. :) And finally... The Great wall of China! Back to Beijing for a Peking Duck dinner, and back to the hotel at last. We are exhausted once again.

 

 

Opera Video

Video will have to wait until I can shrink my files!

Peking Opera

The traditional Chinese opera last night was was interesting... very differnt from western opera. I will try to post a video after my pictures. The actors put on their make-up in the lobby so that we could watch. Also, we were served tea and snacks at our table before the show started.

Rickshaw Ride

After our 3 mile walk through the Forbidden City, we rode a rickshaw through the Hutong district to a local family's house. The homeowner cooked us an amazing lunch! Then we toured a local market.

Our Guide

This is our guide, Meng He. We call him Michael. He talks into a mic while we walk and we all get to wear headsets so we can hear him. Also, he holds up a sign while we walk that says "Uniglobe" so that we don't get lost (fingers crossed!).

First Full Day in Beijing

So far today, we have seen Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, a local home, and the Hutong district. We are getting ready to head out for dinner and the Peking Opera. I'll post a few pictures now, and then more when we get some time.

We Made It!

We are here! Airport was very nice (and huge). Hotel is amazing. Need to sleep...

First Class

The splurge on my dad's airline miles was well worth it! We were able to relax in the Admiral's Club in Chicago for a few hours, and we had twin size beds on our 14 hour flight to Tokyo. We watched movies and TV, while we were served ice cream and fruit cups. Dinner was amazing, and they even baked cookies on the flight. Some of the extra flight crew members even stopped by for a nap! (Pilot double sleep.)

Airplanes

I thought my boys (and my husband) might like to see the airplanes we flew on. Our route was: Cleveland to Chicago, Chicago to Tokyo, and Tokyo to Beijing. We flew American Airlines for the first 2 legs, and Japan Airlines for the last one.