From Rags to Riches: A day spent across Beijing

Today started with another enormous breakfast. Many of our travelers are getting more adventurous with their meal choices. Yesterday I saw a lot of plates with waffles, yogurt and variations of bread items pass across the tables of the dining area. Today there were several more items selected from the traditional Chinese side of the hall. How many of you have had Fried Rice or Lo Mein by choice before 7:30am?

While we were waiting in the lobby for our groups to come together, the sky outside started to drizzle a bit, and I'm glad most people went back to their rooms to grab a rain jacket. 

Off to the Pearl District we went!

Do you know the different ways to tell if a pearl is real or fake? We spent 20 minutes with a wonderful representative of the factory who gave us these tips and explained the differences in pearl colors and quality. Then we got a chance to shop.

Next, we trekked to the Summer Palace, home of Kunming Lake and the residence of the Dragon Lady. This is where the Ming Dynasty emperors would vacation and relax. The sheer size of the palace, bridges and out buildings is enough to make you gasp! Then we heard the lake was dug entirely by hand! 

Following the Summer Palace, many of us were able to participate in a Hutong tour on the back of a traditional rickshaw. These fearless drivers took us through the narrow streets of the Hutong District where we then had a home-cooked meal in one of the local’s homes. This area looked extremely poor and impoverished, but many of the streets and homes are the oldest in all of Beijing.

Following our journey through the narrow streets we ended up at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square is the largest of its kind in the world and is highlighted by buildings to the North, South, East and West, following traditional feng shui. Across the square we entered into the first of the three gates that create the entrance into the Forbidden City. Only after the third gate were we truly inside the Forbidden City. Each of the gates through the city were used for different political, traditional, or religious purposes, such as the celebration of the emperor’s birthday or his anniversary of his rule. 

Gate after gate we made our way through the city, 9 in total. If you have the chance to your the Forbidden City you'll notice everything was built in a series of 9. The number 9 in traditional Chinese culture is the most powerful of numbers and was reserved only for the emperor. 

The vastness of the Forbidden City is impossible to describe, especially considering there are 9,999 rooms (remember that important number 9?).

Dinner for us was a wonderful meal of Peking Duck before heading to The Legend of Kung Fu-an acrobatic show telling the story of a young boy as he travels through the difficulty of training and becoming a master. Before the show we were warned to never try the moves at home and now I know why! True Kung Fu artists are incredible athletes and I was (and still am) in awe of what they can do! 

Tag along with us tomorrow as we tour the Temple of Heaven and our much anticipated trip to the US Embassy. Remember, we're meeting with former Montana Senator and now US Ambassador to China, Max Baucus and 300+ representatives from the American Chambers from across every Pacific Rim country and the leaders from many of the world’s largest companies.