Ni Hao from Beijing!

We have just completed our first full day in China!  And what an exciting day it was!

I'll start off with yesterday as it was quite a day for me.  I have to admit I was pretty anxious to get on the airplane, for multiple reasons, and it took some great encouragement from some great friends to remind me of our purpose for this trip.  We've got a child waiting for us here and we have to go.  There are times in life you have to decided - do I trust God with everything or not?- And I got on the airplane despite my anxiety.

When we got on our airplane to Beijing we had great bulkhead seats with an empty seat next to me.  Just perfect.  Then a Chinese woman comes to sit in the empty seat with her newborn baby.  Not so perfect.  Turns out the baby slept the entire trip and the woman seemed very sweet.  The flight was exhausting but uneventful and we arrived about 9:45 pm in Beijing.  After walking through a temperature scanner we had to stand in a long line to get our visas checked to enter the country, then onto get our baggage and our guide took us to the hotel.

The hotel is really amazing with soft beds and a wonderful breakfast - even if it did include some unique breakfast items like fried rice and baked beans.

After a few hours of precious sleep, we met the rest of the people in our group this morning and headed off to the Great Wall.  The bus ride was an adventure because apparently no one follows the street signs or stays in their lane.  I just tried not to look out the window.

I have been excited to visit the Great Wall, but it was even more amazing than I expected.  Truly one of the most spectacular things we have ever seen.  We were also not prepared for how challenging it would be to climb up!  The stairs are very steep and each step is a different height so it's quite a workout! We found a alternate path down the wall that was much less crowded and very scenic.  We loved sitting at one of the tables near the bottom and just taking it all in.  We were able to pray there and thank God for his creation and for his faithfulness in bringing us here.

We then moved on to a jade factory where they hand carve beautiful jade statues and jewelry.  They showed us all the different kinds of jade and how to tell the difference between high quality jade and imitation.  Some of the pieces were so amazing!  Lunch was at the second floor of the factory and was very good.  Some complained that it was kind of "American Chinese food" but it was right up my alley!

After lunch we went on a tour of Hutong Lane which is a very very old and expensive part of Beijing.    Living there costs an exorbatant amount of money, but the living conditions are far below what we in America would accept.  The homes don't even have bathrooms in them and many of them are super tiny but the history and importance of living in that area is worth much more to them.  It was very interesting to see this part of their culture.

About 3pm we were dropped back off at the hotel and it hit us both that we had not slept much in the past few days like a ton of bricks.  We ordered pizza in the room - called the best Italian restaurant in Beijing - so we'll give it a try.  Then off to bed for some much needed sleep!!

Here are some pictures from today's adventures:

Driving through Beijing

At the Great Wall of China!

The steps were so steep!

Man carving Jade at the Jade Factory

We drove by the bird's nest stadium from the Beijing Olympics!

Riding the rickshaw through Hutong Lane