Cold Weather....brrrrrrr!

We started our day at the Summer Palace. When it was constructed, a 700 acre man-made lake was included. This was to help provide a cool place for the Emperor and his wives to stay during the summer. The original Summer Palace was burned down. Twice. This one was built in the 1700’s, and was used as the primary residence by the Empress Dowager Cixi in her latter years. It is very beautiful, primarily because of the grounds, including the lake and gorgeous gardens. We ran through it pretty quickly though. It was incredibly cold today, and more so at the Palace, due to the lake. Hannah did not handle the cold weather well. Also, she was the center of attention. All the Chinese tourists at the Palace loved her. They wanted to touch her hair and take their picture with her. They think she is a very beautiful girl. Anyone who knows Hannah well, probably knows how well she handled this. Not at all. At one point, she just burst into tears. Aside from this, I was scolded by the ‘clothing police’ for not dressing her warmly enough. These are the older Chinese women, who believe the children should be dressed like the Michelan Man. What is ironic though, is they run around in split pants, with their bottoms hanging out, even in the cold. This is hysterical to see. Our guide Wendy rushed us through, primarily because of Hannah. Someday, maybe we can return when it’s warmer. I just feel bad for rushing all the other families through.

The highlight of the day was lunch with a local family in their home, followed by a rickshaw tour of the Hutong district, which is the very old part of Beijing near the center of the city. We had great food that was prepared by our hosts, and even got a lesson on making dumplings. Something I will need to practice when I get home. The rickshaw ride was very interesting. We loved seeing the old section of Beijing. It’s amazing how two worlds, old and new, are living side by side in this city. We only had two mishaps. We rear-ended another rickshaw, and were pushed against a wall by a car. Nothing too serious.

Hannah and I stayed in for the night. She needs to catch up on her sleep, as do I. We both continue to wake up between 3 and 4 a.m. Hopefully tonight, we’ll both sleep all the way through. It’s tough adjusting to the time change, especially for her. Roger and Marian went to dinner with the group, and are attending a Kung Fu show tonight.

Tomorrow it’s the Great Wall! It’s our last day of the tour here in Beijing. We go to Nanchang on Sunday, then meet Lucy on Monday.