Imperial China Day 8

OAT Day 2-04 - Sunday, April 13, 2008 - Visit Cloisonné Factory-Explore Great Wall of China - Beijing, China

We woke up to sunny skies and a cool day; it was 57° and 59% humidity. It is interesting that the sun brings out the smile in all of us!

At 8:30 we met the bus and headed for the Great Wall by way of the cloisonné factory. Our Beijing city guide, Hong passed out a Chinese horoscope list with descriptions of each animal. How true they were for the year of the Boar (Gennie) and Rooster (Vic and our son Eduardo).

Hong explained the 12 animal signs and the powers that these mythical symbols mean to the Chinese people. She also said that parents want to have children during the year of the certain positive and very strong signs. The birth symbol also brings personal fortune and good luck and can suppress evil spirits.

As it was Sunday morning the traffic was still heavy but along the roadsides gardeners were planting trees, bushes, and bedding plants continuing to beautify the city in preparation for the Olympic Games this August.

Hong explained the importance of the Chinese seal or chop that each person uses to legitimize their documents. The carved jade zodiac symbol is the base of the chop, with the person’s name and Chinese sign as the stamp.

Our first stop was a factory specializing in cloisonné, the beautiful copper and enamel artwork that predates the Ming Dynasty and is known for its colorful glazes and patterns. The first stage of its creation begins by making rough casts of vases, dishes, jars, and boxes with red copper.

Then, intricate flower patterns are fashioned with copper wire, and welded onto the roughcasts. The resulting designs are inlaid with enamel and glazes, and then placed in a special 800˚oven to cure. The nearly finished pieces are then polished several times to bring out their characteristic brightness and luster.

As a special OAT challenge, we had a chance to try the process. Each of us was given a plate or vase and then we tried our hand at cloisonné. It is certainly harder than it looks. Jeanette, Don, and Connie won prizes for the best work!

There was an opportunity for shopping but very few people actually bought anything. We had 40 minutes to shop but we were able to leave earlier for our journey to the Great Wall.

We traveled along the Badaling Highway and Hong gave us information about the tradition of walls in China. She told us that even in prehistoric times people here built dividing walls.

The first emperor, Qin, was instrumental in unifying the country in 221 BC and built the first Great Wall. This segment was to ward off the invading Mongolian tribes.

Qin also built the first major road systems, standardized the currency, system of measurement, language, and the written character script.

The Qin Dynasty was very controversial as he was cruel and inhumane. He destroyed books, executed scholars, and basically ruled by fear and punishment.

As we continued out of the city into the countryside we could see how much more arid and unfertile the land is. There were many small gardens, fruit trees, and small dwellings.

We started to see the surrounding mountains through the haze. Most of the hillsides were terraced. Very poor peasant homes dotted this part of the landscape.

In keeping with the Overseas Adventure Travel philosophy, we bypassed the two tourist sections of the Great Wall. Hong took us to the Badaling Wild Wall near the city of Yanqing.

As we began our exploration of the Wild Great Wall, the most authentic sections of the Great Wall, we saw that it had not been rebuilt for tourism. China’s Great Wall easily qualifies as the world’s greatest civil engineering feat.

The massive ramparts were begun in separate strategic sections between 403-221 BC. During the reign of China’s first Qin emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, some 300,000 men were put to work connecting the segments into one huge, snaking fortification.

Archaeologists estimate that the wall once ran for 6,200 miles through an expanse that now covers 16 provinces. Today, the wall is still impressive at 3,750 miles in length, stretching from the Bohai Sea to the Gobi Desert.

This part of the Wall was very remote. We parked the bus and were taken in two vans along a bumpy dirt path up into the hills. We began our trek up a rocky, steep, and very difficult section of the crumbling Wall.

Most of us made it to the top and to the end of area. We were allowed time to take photos and gaze at the magnificent views of the surrounding areas seeing the flowering wild plum trees and the clear blue sky.

We started down the Wall and met our entire group for a “survivor’s photo” before heading back to the vans and then bus. We drove a short distance to a nearby farmers’ village where we had our lunch.

Our meal was very simple but generous and tasty. We were served by Mongolian decedents of this area. At 2:30 we began our return trip to Beijing, about a two hour drive.

Mr. Gao, our driver, took an alternate route passing through the Olympic Village so we could see the progress being made. The huge pavilions and stadiums are almost ready for the games in August. Two of the most distinctive are the “Water Cube” for the

Aquatic sports and the “Bird’s Nest” for the opening and closing ceremonies and soccer finals.

We returned to the hotel at 4:30 with plans to meet Matt at 7 PM for a dining discovery. Eight of us and Matt went to dinner at Guolin and had some really different things. We started with shots of Chinese rice wine. Then Coke and water.

Our dinner included:

Donkey and Vegetables

Monkey Brain Mushrooms and Bock Choy

Peanuts and Spinach

Ducks Feet and Cucumbers

Fish Lungs and Eggs

Egg and Spinach Dumplings

Pork Kidneys and Garlic Shoots

Two Ball Squash

Wild Vegetable Noodle

White Rice

When the bill was presented, Matt asked us to guess the individual cost. All of us were at least twice over the price - $4.50 US. We all put in $5 - what a great experience.

Accommodations: Shangyuan Hotel - - - Meal: B, L

Picture 4 - “Great Wall Survivors”

Top Left Back

Marvin, Diana, Vic, Caryl, Connie, Duane, Don, Jim, Matthew (Dong)

Front Left

Charlie, Mary Ann, Jeanette, Joanne, Gennie, Jan

If you wish to travel with OAT Click Here.

To receive $50 per person off your first reservation with OAT, mention the following information when reserving your Overseas Adventure Travel Trip: Mr. Victor Garcia Customer #673062

Really great journal.

Day 10: Mediterranean Navigation

Antonio, Our Guide

Gardens at the Alcazaba

Roman Theater

Visiting with Picasso

Gennie & Vic, Malaga 2004

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