Today we toured the Temple of Heaven, a silk factory, ate lunch at a local Chinese restaurant and went on a rickshaw tour through the Hutong district. The history in China is just amazing. The Temple of Heaven was so quiet and peaceful with groups doing Ti Chi, playing hacky sac and just enjoying each others company. They were mostly older retired people and it was so nice to see.
At the silk factory we learned how silk is spun from a silk worm's cocoon (who knew). It was fascinating to see all of the steps they go thru to make a silk blanket and it's mostly done by hand.
Next was the rickshaw ride. Our guide, Angela, uses a rickshaw company that the drivers are all native of the Gansu province, which is Mei Mei's province. So that was an added bonus. He took us to a traditional home that is centered on a courtyard and we got to speak with the homeowner's son. He then drove us through the Hutong district, along a nice lake and it was just a peaceful way to see another section of Beijing. It's amazing how you can be right in the middle of the city, surrounded by trees and not hear any of the hustle and bustle.
Angela needed to go pick up another family from the airport, so Aaron and I went to a couple local malls and walked around. 4 stories and stores everywhere. It was very overwhelming. We took a nap after that and then Angela met us and took us to dinner at another local restaurant. We were exhausted. My pedometer clocked us walking nearly 8 miles!! We were asleep again by 8 pm!
Temple of Heaven
Silk Factory
Rickshaw ride and Hutong house tour
The two malls we walked through
No comments:
Post a Comment