Day 2 - Beijing Sightseeing
A wonderful day in Beijing. Low Pollution. High in low 50's. Today, we take the city tour, beginning with the Olympic Green. We did a walk through of the Water Cube and posed for a photo that I'm sure has never been taken (much less thought of) before:
Next it was off to the Forbidden City. Huge Place. Huge. It was finished in 1420 and remains in remarkably good shape. Hint if you visit: Go to the bathroom BEFORE you visit. Apparently, the Emperors never had BM's. And they never had to use Squatty Potties.
We then had lunch family style at a Chinese restaurant (no steak houses to be had) and the food was very good. At least compared to this restaurant, the American version of Chinese food is remarkably similar.
After lunch, we visited Tiananmen Square and learned that it's the largest public square in the world. While we were there, there was a small protest with propoganda leaflets being passed out. Needless to say, it was squelched real fast by the authorities. It was no tank standoff, but in our minds it was a piece of history, nonetheless.
Matt and Tim have been the object of many stares by the locals. They've actually been approached by locals to have their pictures taken with them. It's either the blond hair or their incredibly good looks.
Last visit of the day was to a silk factory. Pretty cool stuff. Silkworm lives for 60 days. Feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves. The cocoon is a single strand of silk that is about 1,500 meters long. They harvest the cocoons with the worm inside it and cook it slightly to kill the worm. They then soak in water, get the single thread and start unwinding it. Pretty impressive stuff.
Here is a video of our first day of sightseeing in Beijing.
Last night, while Sue got a massage, the boys and I went to KFC for some chinese chicken. Tomorrow, we head for the Great Wall.
Next it was off to the Forbidden City. Huge Place. Huge. It was finished in 1420 and remains in remarkably good shape. Hint if you visit: Go to the bathroom BEFORE you visit. Apparently, the Emperors never had BM's. And they never had to use Squatty Potties.
We then had lunch family style at a Chinese restaurant (no steak houses to be had) and the food was very good. At least compared to this restaurant, the American version of Chinese food is remarkably similar.
After lunch, we visited Tiananmen Square and learned that it's the largest public square in the world. While we were there, there was a small protest with propoganda leaflets being passed out. Needless to say, it was squelched real fast by the authorities. It was no tank standoff, but in our minds it was a piece of history, nonetheless.
Matt and Tim have been the object of many stares by the locals. They've actually been approached by locals to have their pictures taken with them. It's either the blond hair or their incredibly good looks.
Last visit of the day was to a silk factory. Pretty cool stuff. Silkworm lives for 60 days. Feeds exclusively on mulberry leaves. The cocoon is a single strand of silk that is about 1,500 meters long. They harvest the cocoons with the worm inside it and cook it slightly to kill the worm. They then soak in water, get the single thread and start unwinding it. Pretty impressive stuff.
Here is a video of our first day of sightseeing in Beijing.
Last night, while Sue got a massage, the boys and I went to KFC for some chinese chicken. Tomorrow, we head for the Great Wall.
posted by Greg Franz at
11:25 AM
1 Comments:
Great talking to you tonite (morning your time). It sounds like so much fun and of course the chinese people stare at the boys because they are so cute!! Don't fall off the great wall when you go, Have fun and can hardly wait to see pictures of Elizabeth on your monday and I guess it will be my sunday... is that correct? confusing!
Love, Mom
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