Travels around China...A visual tour of my time in Beijing

As my time in China draws to a close, and the countdown to my return to America begins, I realize just how much has happened in such a short period of time. It dawns on me that I didn't write as much in this blog as I had hoped to and now I find myself trying to make up for lost time. I want to take just a moment to reflect on my Spring Festival travels around China...Unfortunately as many of you know, I was forced to return home as my mother was in a coma for two weeks which caused me to forget all about documenting my travels but now, take a walk back into the past with me as I recount my time in Beijing and Nanjing through pictures.

Entrance to The Forbidden City

One of the 4 gates into the city

 This was a lake inside the city that unfortunately was frozen at this time...in the Summer when the weather is much nicer, you can take a boat ride around the lake and enjoy the beautiful scenery.









Of course, there is the obligatory "You're a foreigner...take a picture with me" picture...LOL

One of the many temples inside the Forbidden City

Inside one of the temples in the main courtyard...

This is one of the rooms they lived in at the time...rather small, no?

That thing back there is a bed...cute and small...not like the grand palaces in Europe!

I found a traditional outfit to try on...not sure which dynasty it's from, though

 He's the one who gave me the inspiration for it! LOL there were many parents taking pictures of their little boy or little girl wearing these traditional garments.

 Now the tour of the Imperial Gardens...

                               
                                  

                                                                           

As I was leaving the Forbidden City, these two girls begged their mothers to let them take pictures with me...they were so cute that I just couldn't resist!

My last picture as I left the city.

So there's a story here. After my day at the Forbidden City, one of my Freshman students who lives in Beijing and became a good friend of mine, invited me to stay with her family for a day. The only problem was that Merry's family lives in a military compound and it may or may not have been illegal for a foreigner to stay there. As her father was driving us into the gate, I was told to "keep my head down and avoid saying anything to the neighbors." I did as I was told and escaped the next morning safe and unharmed. Her house was beautiful so I took some pics in the process.

A beautiful tapestry that hangs behind Merry's TV depicting Ancient China and some historic battle.

Merry then took me to The Summer Palace and insisted it would look beautiful despite the fact that it was in the middle of the Winter. After an hour of taking so many pictures, my camera died so only a part of the Summer Palace has been captured on film...the rest remains in my memory.

My Student Merry and I at the entrance to the Summer Palace

The following pictures were from my trip to The Temple of Heaven...It was absolutely Gorgeous!!!

The view at one of the higher points of the temple...took a long walk to get there but totally worth it!

At the entrance to The Temple of Heaven, my friends and I saw this Kung Fu team practicing...It's real you guys!

Jai You!! It's Sports Day in China

The last two days have been among the most fun times I have ever experienced since my arrival in Qinhuangdao. I had the privilege of witnessing my first ever Sports Day and I must say that I felt like a proud mother watching all her children compete in various events. For those of you who are not familiar with this event, it is a mandatory event that every school is required to host every year. In other words, students participate in their first ever Sports Day in elementary school and the fun continues until university. The only difference is that by the time they reach university age, many of the students have become severely disenchanted with the whole affair and many students prefer to take the extra two days off of school and travel or sleep in their dormitories. Considering the following 3 days are part of an official holiday called "May Day" for some or just Labor Day for others, taking the additional 2 sports days off means a whole week to relax and enjoy oneself which in China means....more studying, YAY!!!

The most incredible part of the entire event for me however was the Opening Ceremony. If any of you recall (which I'm sure you do) the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics then it should come as no surprise to you that the students basically mimicked that exact format. For about 2 months, Freshman students (who are required to participate in the opening ceremony) practiced day and night for their role in the performance. There were cheerleaders chanting and marching and moving into formation more seamlessly than the University of Florida's Marching Band on Game Day. There were dancers in traditional Chinese outfits, 3 drummers who performed their pieces with a flare that only the Chinese can pull off; there were even a few dragons out on the field. I was awed by the appearance of hundreds of colorful flags, changing color on cue and making beautiful designs on the field. The coolest thing was watching each College walk into the stadium just like the Countries walk into the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremonies and yes, there was even a torch included! Someone actually ran the torch down the length of the field!!! So cool!

This stadium was the host site of the Argentina? Soccer team during the Beijing Olympics...or so I'm told

There were 4 dragons total in the center of the field

Each College/Department was represented by their own flag and their own students to accompany it.

Sports Day was not at all what I expected. To be honest, I thought it would be a track meet where people relaxed and hung out for half a day and watched the races but as it turns out, it is a rather serious affair. Every department at the school competed with each other for the grand prize and as a Foreign English Teacher that meant we were all required to participate. Activities included relays, long jump, basketball (free throws), soccer, shot put, and some rather strange activities like rolling a tire or a hula hoop while running in a straight line. I signed up a little too late so I basically served as the cheerleader. It was sweltering hot and crowded as I was reminded that after all, this is China but despite the heat, it felt so nice to cheer on all of my students and watch them as they competed in their respective events. These two days will stand out among my memories of Qinhuangdao and I am so happy I was here to witness it at least once. Video to follow soon so keep an eye out in the next week.