We are "touring" for three different days and the rest of our time is mostly spent at the orphanage. The day after the Great Wall we went to the Summer Palace. An incredible place that the emporer built to honor his mother. It has a manmade lake in the middle (maybe two or three times the size of Lake Padden) and buildings, temples, and walkways all around the outside. The paintings on the buildings and walkways are so detailed and ornate. Some painted scenes are 600 years old and have never been touched up with new paint.
We also did some shopping at the Pearl Market where everything is bartered for. We have all decided that we don't like bartering and would much rather pay higher prices for things and just have a price tag on them. We bought Converse tennis shoes for less than $10 ... but it took a lot of work to get the price down to where Shelby, our Chinese tour guide, said that we should. Once we finally settled on a price, the seller-ladies were mad at us and wouldn't look at us. The whole thing was funny to us.
In the evening we went to an acrobatic show. I guess the parents put their children into acrobat school at very young ages and the training is very rigorous. There were 6 and 7 year old performers. It was amazing too.
And we finally found a Starbucks! We just happened to drive by it and had the driver stop so we could go get pictures and buy Starbucks mugs that say Beijing on them. Those coffee frappaccinos were the best!
We also did some shopping at the Pearl Market where everything is bartered for. We have all decided that we don't like bartering and would much rather pay higher prices for things and just have a price tag on them. We bought Converse tennis shoes for less than $10 ... but it took a lot of work to get the price down to where Shelby, our Chinese tour guide, said that we should. Once we finally settled on a price, the seller-ladies were mad at us and wouldn't look at us. The whole thing was funny to us.
In the evening we went to an acrobatic show. I guess the parents put their children into acrobat school at very young ages and the training is very rigorous. There were 6 and 7 year old performers. It was amazing too.
And we finally found a Starbucks! We just happened to drive by it and had the driver stop so we could go get pictures and buy Starbucks mugs that say Beijing on them. Those coffee frappaccinos were the best!
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