First day out in Beijing
Each day is a day closer to Lina, and we’re enjoying experiencing her birth country. Today, we shared a cab ride to the Forbidden City with Debbie & Roy Finch from our adoption group. The trip across Beijing only cost us 26 Yuan, or about 3 bucks–at first we weren’t sure that was right, but it was. Later, we met a couple of Chinese English students who were happy to practice their English skills with us. They walked with us through Tian’anmen Square, some of Beijing’s last hutong neighborhoods, and the “First Walking Street”, a shopping district. The highlight of the afternoon was a Tea Ceremony–a “priceless” experience that gave us a surprise at the end (more on this adventure on Shane’s page.
Later, we shared a family-style meal with three other CHI families (Debbie & Roy, Laura & Mark, Kathleen & Eddie). It was great to finally meet these folks we’ve gotten to know electronically over the past couple of months. Lina (our in-country CHI coordinator for Jiangxi) took us to a nice but inexpensive restaurant (less than $10/couple, including beer) near the hotel.
Roy & Debbie Finch in the Forbidden City
The sheer size of the Forbidden City is amazing, and the architecture is beautiful
The children here wear “split pants” for, er, convenience
Most of the tour groups we saw (and we saw a lot) were Chinese
Lion Mama (with cub) guarding one of the palaces
Just like home
Yes, I had a latte in the Forbidden City. Stephanie had a mocha. Strangely, soy milk was not available…
Stephanie with “Coco” (left) and “Shadow”
After walking around the Forbidden City, it’s nice to take a little rest
Detail of the Monument to the Heroes in Tian’anmen Square
The Hutong [who-toong] district is one of the oldest and poorest parts of Beijing. It will probably be gone by the time the Olympics come here in 2008. Coco and Shadow referred to this style of living as “traditional”, but they used that word in such a variety of ways that it seemed to have little resemblance to our definition of the word. Is it traditional to live in buildings of cement?
Hutong doorway
Another hutong scene
A hutong doorway with holiday inscriptions of luck for the family