Day Four!

Sorry this is so late! As I get wifi throughout the day I shall update the last few days.

First of all: Great Wall!!!! We started the day by going to a jade and cloisonné factory and buying some neat things.

Then we had the main attraction! We went to the Great Wall! The wall is more spectacular than anything you can imagine. It is in beautiful mountains and the rain had just cleared leaving a beautiful mist behind.

At the wall there were two options to climb. We had the cable car route which is easier, and we had the hero route that was most difficult. Most of us went the hero route, but a few of us braved the crowds through the cable car route where we got some neat pics.

After our excursion we grabbed some dinner and then made our way to the overnight train. These trains were interesting to say the least. They were much nicer than they could have been, but they still were not quite as... Clean... As many of us would have liked. Overall, they were a lot of fun. In the morning we got some fantastic views of the mountains as we approached our next destination: Xi'an!!

Day Three!

On Thursday we awoke to the unfortunate presence of rain. Regardless, we traveled to one of the most beautiful places in the world: the Summer Palace. This palace has a long history, but is mostly well known as the summer home of the Empress. Honestly, I am kind of glad that we had rain. The palace was still beautiful and there was way less of a crowd.

One of the more interesting aspects of the site is the world's largest corridor. This is beautiful, as each pillar and rafter has a unique mural of everything from the country side to scenes of Chinese history.

Along with the corridor, the palace is dotted with beautiful ponds full of lotus blossoms and willow trees.

The crowning part of the palace, however, is the marble boat that one of the empresses built. It doesn't float (of course) but it is truly an interesting spectacle.

After this we went to lunch and then to a pearl factory where we learned how pearls are harvested and how to tell fakes from real ones. Many of us bought some lovely jewelry.

We then went to Capital Normal University - Conservatory of Music for a workshop with Mrs. Li Meizhu. Just like the day before we were all extremely lucky to work with this brilliant woman. She truly taught us so much in such a short period.

After that we had an extremely well received concert. The audience was fantastic and everyone played beautifully.

We then went home and crashed again.

Day two!

We awoke on Wednesday refreshed and ready to go! Our first stop was the breakfast buffet. They have a variety of both Chinese and Western breakfast foods. Everything from eggs to warm milk and meat filled buns.

After fueling up we hopped on our buses and headed to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Square is the largest Square in the world able to hold one million people and it is truly a beautiful sight. The whole complex has a giant National Museum and the equivalent of Congress. There is so much history with the site and statues honoring founders of the Republic.

The Forbidden City is huge!! And only half is available for public view. The city was the home to China's emperors for hundreds of years, up until the early 20th century. Today the site has been beautifully renovated so that it looks like it is still in use by an emperor. The only downside is the ridiculous crowd of people constantly present.

After the Forbidden City we had a wonderful lunch and then went on to the Temple of Heaven. This site begins with a huge garden where locals come to play music, cards, and even crochet. As you walk along the pathway, a giant pagoda appears. This is the shrine where the emperor would pray for a good harvest. The whole complex is intricate and has several buildings for the ceremonies. I am trying to figure out how to upload pictures to my iPad, and when I do I will post some of the pictures.

After the sites we went to our concert hall and had a rehearsal. One of the crowning moments of the day was a small clinic with the famous Chinese conductor, Mrs. Li Meizhu. We worked with her on an arrangement of the Chinese folk song, A Lovely Rose. This was definitely one of the best experiences of this trip for me.

The concert went well and we all went to dinner and then a very deep sleep!

Our first day!

Hello folks! Finally some time to write!

So our first night here we got to the hotel and had about 30 minutes to get into fresh clothes. We ran to a restaurant and had the most glorious of foods: Peking Duck. The duck is slow cooked and has crispy skin and tender meat. You wrap it in a thin, flour pancake with sliced onion and cucumber with a plum sauce. Divine!

After dinner we ran to a Chinese Acrobatics show. I'm not going to lie, we were all extremely tired. Many of us (having opted out of sleep the night before the flight) fought back the sand man to watch the incredible contortionists balance on stacked chairs, fly through the air, and drive motorcycles (8 of them!) in a giant caged sphere. We then went back to our hotels to one of the best sleeps we have ever had!

Made it!

Hello folks! I'm honestly not sure if this will post, hopefully it will!

We made it through the flight... A whole 13 hours. Honestly, not as bad as I thought it would be.

I will post more later!

Countdown!

2 days to go!!