Shanghai - Thursday

Today we went to the Shanghai Zoo. We saw everything there, and my favorites were the pandas and the tigers, Mom's favorites were the monkeys.

We went to a Japanese lunch and I had really good beef. After lunch we went to the 400 year old Yu Garden and then the Shanghai Old Bazaar. The Bazaar is over 200 years old. We did a lot of shopping, and Dad did a lot of bargaining with the vendors. Then we drove through the Bund which is a famous architectural area in Shanghai, and we saw the Hero's Monument.

We went back to the Xintiandi Pedestrian Area for dinner and ate at an outside table. It's been a great trip, but we're all looking forward to going back home tomorrow.

Shanghai - Wednesday

Today we went (on a 2-hour drive) to the orphanage where I got to meet the same Director who was there 13 years ago when I was there, and she remembered me! We had lunch with her and I thought everyone was really nice. They had a really nice banner that said "Welcome Zhang Nan to the Parents Home" (Zhang Nan was my Chinese name). I had my picture taken with 4 other children that were also there in 1995.

The Director gave me a jade pig necklace since I was born in the Year of the Pig, and 2 Olympic pens. I brought her a suitcase of baby clothes (from Jennifer & Anna Marie) and a package of diapers. We also gave her a photo album of pictures of me from over the past 13 years. The Assistant Director rode with us to see the town of Zhang Jia Gang and then we went to Nan Feng Zhen which is the actual town (village) that I'm from. He showed us the "finding place" which was a small road that doesn't even have a name. I didn't' think that much about it at the time (I was tired & just woke up from a nap in the car) but now I'm glad we saw it. It was pretty neat.

Shanghai - Tuesday

We arrived in Shanghai today. It took about an hour to drive into the city where we had lunch, then went to see the Oriental Pearl Tower which is the 3rd tallest tower in the world. Great views! We went up to the viewing area where we could see our hotel and all the skyscrapers in the city. Mom was terrified of the height. We could also see the Shanghai World Financial Center which is the tallest building in China and among the tallest in the world. After the viewing area we went down to the base of the tower and went to the museum about ancient Shanghai.

Then we went to Xintiandi pedestrian area for the architecture. My parents said it looked a lot like a European street but I didn't know for sure because I've never been to Europe.

Xian - Monday

Today on our way to see the Terracotta Soldier Museum we stopped at a factory that makes terracotta soldiers. I got to make a soldier with clay and a mold. Mervyn gave us some history on the Qin Dynasty - Qin took the throne as King at age 13 and assumed power at 22. He then conquered the other 6 states of China and declared himself the first Emperor at age 39 under unified China. China is named after Qin, and the Chinese name for China means "Middle Kingdom." He planned his mausoleum and ordered 720,000 slaves to make the terracotta army of over 8,000 soldiers to guard him in the afterlife which for Qin came at age 50. Each soldier is an individual with a different face. Qin died before the mausoleum was completed. After he was buried with this army the peasants rebelled and destroyed most of the terracotta soldiers. The site was discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well, and every evening when the museum (which was built on the site) closes and archaeologists reconstruct the statues.

Next we went to the Huaqing Hot Springs which were the Emperor's Garden and bathing palace. The hot springs are dried up, so we could not get in them. The Emperor had a big pool called the Star Pool which was open & when he bathed he could see the stars.

We're going to bed early tonight because we're getting up early tomorrow to fly to Shanghai.

Xian - Sunday

We left Beijing on another beautiful, clear day this morning. We were met in Xian by our guide, Mervin, which means "to keep a low profile" in Chinese. Mervin gave us some background & history on Xian and pointed out a couple of Emperor's mausoleums from the Ming Dynasty. We went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda where we saw real Buddhist monks. This Pagoda was build around 700AD during the Tang Dynasty. We also saw people lighting candles, incense, and bowing to the Buddha statues.

After that we went to the city wall of Xian which has an 8 mile perimeter. We rented 2 bikes (one was a tandem) and rode all the way around which took over an hour, but was a lot of fun.

For dinner Mervin took us to a famous dumpling restaurant - Xian is famous for it's dumplings & noodles, and I really, really like dumplings. I think they served us 18 different kinds, and they were decorated in different shapes (the duck dumpling looked like a duck).

Beijing - Saturday

Today we went to a Pearl factory where they harvest fresh water pearls and make jewelry. I picked an oyster that she opened - it was a 7 year old oyster and there were 10 pearls inside, we each got to keep one. 7 years old is considered a baby oyster and the pearls were not precious. We learned of the 4 different colors of fresh water pearls.

Then we went to the Summer Palace which is where the Emperors stayed on their summer vacations. It was a very large garden on a big lake, also where the Pearl Factory gets their oysters. There was a long corridor with hundreds of painted pictures. Thousands of tourists were visiting the Palace and many rented paddle boats on the lake. We took a dragon boat across the lake. Dad made a friend at the Palace - a little boy asked him where we were from, what hotel we're staying at, do we like Beijing (yes), and are we staying for the Olympics (no). He spoke good English for a little Chinese boy.

After lunch we went on a Hutong tour and rode in a rickshaw which is like a tricycle with a bench for two in back - Mom & I rode in one and Dad rode in the other with Nancy, our Hutong guide. The Hutongs are several homes with a shared courtyard in back. Hutong is the Mongolian name for water well which is how the villages were created. We invited in to one Hutong home and met the lady who lived there and visited with her in their courtyard. The family were artists, her husband had a studio in the front and he is a paper cutter. I bought a tiger painting on a scroll that was made by her brother.

At the end of the day Jonathon took us to a grocery store that was a lot like a Walmart back home. On the drive home we saw sites of 2 more Olympic venues - one was for basketball, and the other was for soccer. We have free time this afternoon and tonight, and I'd like to go to Pizza Hut...we call that comfort food.

Beijing - Olympic Update

A few observations on the Olympic activity that we've noticed in the area - yesterday we drove past the new stadium, a fantastic architectural building that looks a bit like a bird's nest and can seat 90,000 people. Also drove past the huge indoor aquatic center for swimming & diving. At the Great Wall we saw the finish line for a bike race or possibly the triathlon. There were also about 20 Olympic volunteers in blue wind suits coming down the wall while we were going up. We saw members of the Croatia team at the garden area of the Forbidden City. The Olympic mascots, statues of different games, Olympic flags & banners stating "One World, One Dream" are EVERYWHERE. At the jade factory yesterday we were told that the Olympic medals would, for the first time, be encircled with a ring of jade.

Last night on CNN we heard reports of the poor air quality. However, the air here is MUCH better quality than it was in Hong Kong, and yesterday it was quite clear. Today it's even better with clear blue, sunny skies. - Hank