Dinner in Beijing meant going to an unusual restaurant for an experience, not just a meal. Nothing in this restaurant resembled anything you might imagine in a fine dining restaurant in Alabama or in NYC!!! Here is the setting... No pictures allowed. Ihad to take mental pictures so I could do the blog justice. It was called The Green Tea Room. You had to have a combination to open the door to the restaurant. Once inside, we pushed our way through black silk drapries that were about 25 feet tall. When we were inside the restaurant, we were seated at a table for 42. It was one long table made of glass. The chairs we sat in were wooden. The backs of the chairs were at least 10 feet tall. They were black in color and it took two servers to pull them away from the table so you could sit down. The lighting was all candles. There are candles lowered and raised to different heights all down the table. The candles were on glass plates suspended by fishing line from the ceiling. Very ingenious. It had a wonderful atmosphere. The bar area had chairs much the same height, but were white. The bar was what was so amazing. If you can imagine 18 inches in front of you to place a drink and appetizer, then beyond that before the bartender was about 18 more inches of bar that had hundreds of votives on it, all lighted and wonderful. There was a "candle" that was about 4 feet across and about 4 feet hight that lighted the way to the restrooms. It was a magical room. Chopsticks were made of silver. That made them a little bit harder to maneuver but Kathleen and I managed, Charles and Nicky asked for forks! The meal consisted of many things that Charles and Nicky would not ever consider, some poached fish of sorts, a big platter of asparagus, many other steamed vegetables that I'd never seen before, some spicy pork, steamed buns??, not sure and rice. Charles made a meal of the rice and Nicky was trying to remember the last KFC he saw o the way there! Nadia, our hostesss for the trip, tried very hard to order to make us all happy but I don't think if we stayed there until the 2008 olympics started that Charles and Nicky would eat! We had a Big day ahead so I will do my best to tell you all about one of the most fascinating experiences we have ever had. However, the first picture is of Kathleen i the restroom of the Green Tea House. No pictures were allowed at dinner but I thought I'd snap one in the ladies room! Everything in there was on motion detectors. Even the basin to wash your hands. It took us a few beats to figure it out but we got it! The lavatory was all limestone and had a large copper pipe that fed the basin with rushing water, so much, it went onto the floor!
Here is the entrance to The Great Wall of China. At least, this is where our driver let us out! The Great Wall of China at one time was the border between China and Mongolia. Now, China has taken some of that land and it is called inner Mongolia. The wall when it was built was put together with sticky rice and egg whites!!! Who would have thought that?? They used material that was availale and cheap. The wall extends the lenght of China, going through many different climates. The Gobi desert is to the west and the wall there at some points was only made of built up sand. I never knew that. Many parts of the wall are now gone. Due to fighting with the Mongols. Cannons shot through parts of the wall and they have not been rebuilt. To stand on the wall where we were, the wall was about 20 feet across and about 50 feet high. That is a guess on my part. Huge.
The great wall snakes across the tops of many mountains and looks very majestic as you can see from the pictures. The wall dates back to 207 BC. Old!!! In early times many Greeks and Hebrews enclosed their cities with walls. The Chinese took this to a new level! They wanted to proect their whole territory. When at the time, their emperor unified China, he joined the walls along the northern frontier to exclude military refugees and to prevent the incursions of barbaric northern tribes. Thousands of slaves were sacrifced for the completion of this wall and it was viewed by the people as a symbol of oppression and tyranny. As each subsequent dynasty saw the expansion or contraction of its territory, so some sort of wall was built to delineate the Northern frontier. It wasn't until aafter the Ming dynasty swept away Mongolian rule in the 15th century that the great wall was constructed as the regal fortification that we saw on our trip there. Thosands of people died as the wall was being built. To me it is probably one of the largest graveyards in the world, as the people that died were just put under it all and they kept building. While some Chinese gloomily regard the great wall as a symbolic of China's insensitivity to new ideas, others prefer to view it as a remarkable, historical achievement. There was a quote from Richard Nixon there, "This is a Great Wall and onl a great people with a great past could have a great wall and such a great people with such a great wall surely have a great future."
Here we are Alabama goes to the great wall!! SNOW!!! Nicholas and Kathleen were thrilled beyond belief! I however, was miserable! We had bought the kids down coats in Shanghai before we left, I thought my $7 cashmere sweaters would do the trick. Wrong! I was cold. If my feet had not been cold it might have been okay.
Look at the piles of snow on either side....
A breathtaking view of the wall as we neared the summit of the mountain.
There are thousands of "posts" were there were always people stationed for lookouts. This is one of them.
A view of the wall at a lower altitude. No snow and magnificent.
Kathleen and Nicky hugging for warmth?
A family portrait! I have my "lifebag" with me!!!
Kathleen thought the sticky rice might be wearing out. She gave it some support!
icholas found a chunk of snow that he thought looked like an arrowhead he might find this summer at Lake Martin. Had to have that picture!
We definitely got a bargain in Shaghai with the coats. They were happy and warm!!
We left the wall, had another meal that Charles and Nicholas starved though and off we went back to Beijing. This time to go through a neighborhood they call a "Hutong". They are very narrow streets and enclosed by walls of all things! Walls are big here! Here we are as we get ready to go for a pedicar ride. Two people per bicylcle, and a lot of fun!! They did the work and we enjoyed the ride!
We had blankets and coats and whatever they offered! We were cold!
Typical housing in the Hutong area.
A "bar" of sorts in the neighborhood.
We had the opportunity to meet a local artist and visit with him inside his home. A real treat. He took the time to show us his art and gave us a lesson on caligraphy! His brushes were art themselves, all made of different animal fur. We listened intently and our hostess told us what he was saying. We were in his kitchen/studio. I noticed that there were many magnets on his refrigerator. All of them were from states in the US!! I wish they had told me to bring a magnet from Alabama because he did not have one! I picked up my lifebag and started going through it to look for some sort of gift for our appreciation of being in his home. I reached into a side pocket and found an Auburn pin!! One he could wear proudly though his Hutong area! Thank goodness Kathleen and I both had on Auburn warm wear and could show him the same AU on the shirt. He waas thrilled, as I knew he would be and we became best friends! Well, as good as friends as you can be without speaking the same language! He showed us how to make a symbol of "longevity". He was patient with us! We all had a turn to try our best to impress him. He was very gracious.
Here he is making his masterpiece.
Here I am saying to Kathleen, "will you please go first?"
No dice. I had to go first!!
Kathleen then gave it a go. Nicholas was next and then Charles decided he better try it too.
Here we all are proudly displaying our Chinese art! I am sure you will see it again, framed in Alabama!
He gave us paper and brushes so we could keep up the good work! We had a full day and were off to the hotel to shower and get ready for a fun dinner.
Here is the entrance to The Great Wall of China. At least, this is where our driver let us out! The Great Wall of China at one time was the border between China and Mongolia. Now, China has taken some of that land and it is called inner Mongolia. The wall when it was built was put together with sticky rice and egg whites!!! Who would have thought that?? They used material that was availale and cheap. The wall extends the lenght of China, going through many different climates. The Gobi desert is to the west and the wall there at some points was only made of built up sand. I never knew that. Many parts of the wall are now gone. Due to fighting with the Mongols. Cannons shot through parts of the wall and they have not been rebuilt. To stand on the wall where we were, the wall was about 20 feet across and about 50 feet high. That is a guess on my part. Huge.
The great wall snakes across the tops of many mountains and looks very majestic as you can see from the pictures. The wall dates back to 207 BC. Old!!! In early times many Greeks and Hebrews enclosed their cities with walls. The Chinese took this to a new level! They wanted to proect their whole territory. When at the time, their emperor unified China, he joined the walls along the northern frontier to exclude military refugees and to prevent the incursions of barbaric northern tribes. Thousands of slaves were sacrifced for the completion of this wall and it was viewed by the people as a symbol of oppression and tyranny. As each subsequent dynasty saw the expansion or contraction of its territory, so some sort of wall was built to delineate the Northern frontier. It wasn't until aafter the Ming dynasty swept away Mongolian rule in the 15th century that the great wall was constructed as the regal fortification that we saw on our trip there. Thosands of people died as the wall was being built. To me it is probably one of the largest graveyards in the world, as the people that died were just put under it all and they kept building. While some Chinese gloomily regard the great wall as a symbolic of China's insensitivity to new ideas, others prefer to view it as a remarkable, historical achievement. There was a quote from Richard Nixon there, "This is a Great Wall and onl a great people with a great past could have a great wall and such a great people with such a great wall surely have a great future."
Here we are Alabama goes to the great wall!! SNOW!!! Nicholas and Kathleen were thrilled beyond belief! I however, was miserable! We had bought the kids down coats in Shanghai before we left, I thought my $7 cashmere sweaters would do the trick. Wrong! I was cold. If my feet had not been cold it might have been okay.
Look at the piles of snow on either side....
A breathtaking view of the wall as we neared the summit of the mountain.
There are thousands of "posts" were there were always people stationed for lookouts. This is one of them.
A view of the wall at a lower altitude. No snow and magnificent.
Kathleen and Nicky hugging for warmth?
A family portrait! I have my "lifebag" with me!!!
Kathleen thought the sticky rice might be wearing out. She gave it some support!
icholas found a chunk of snow that he thought looked like an arrowhead he might find this summer at Lake Martin. Had to have that picture!
We definitely got a bargain in Shaghai with the coats. They were happy and warm!!We left the wall, had another meal that Charles and Nicholas starved though and off we went back to Beijing. This time to go through a neighborhood they call a "Hutong". They are very narrow streets and enclosed by walls of all things! Walls are big here! Here we are as we get ready to go for a pedicar ride. Two people per bicylcle, and a lot of fun!! They did the work and we enjoyed the ride!
We had blankets and coats and whatever they offered! We were cold!
Typical housing in the Hutong area.
A "bar" of sorts in the neighborhood.
We had the opportunity to meet a local artist and visit with him inside his home. A real treat. He took the time to show us his art and gave us a lesson on caligraphy! His brushes were art themselves, all made of different animal fur. We listened intently and our hostess told us what he was saying. We were in his kitchen/studio. I noticed that there were many magnets on his refrigerator. All of them were from states in the US!! I wish they had told me to bring a magnet from Alabama because he did not have one! I picked up my lifebag and started going through it to look for some sort of gift for our appreciation of being in his home. I reached into a side pocket and found an Auburn pin!! One he could wear proudly though his Hutong area! Thank goodness Kathleen and I both had on Auburn warm wear and could show him the same AU on the shirt. He waas thrilled, as I knew he would be and we became best friends! Well, as good as friends as you can be without speaking the same language! He showed us how to make a symbol of "longevity". He was patient with us! We all had a turn to try our best to impress him. He was very gracious.
Here he is making his masterpiece.
Here I am saying to Kathleen, "will you please go first?"
No dice. I had to go first!!
Kathleen then gave it a go. Nicholas was next and then Charles decided he better try it too.
Here we all are proudly displaying our Chinese art! I am sure you will see it again, framed in Alabama!
He gave us paper and brushes so we could keep up the good work! We had a full day and were off to the hotel to shower and get ready for a fun dinner.
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