Jon's March Trip - Spring Blossoms and Makeup!

Jon spent two weeks visiting me in March and our trip to Inner Mongolia was just the beginning. We had a few more days during my spring break holiday before I had to go back to work.

We visited Chaoyang Park and saw the beginnings of spring!

And also some clean trash and unrecycling:

We went to the old Summer Palace with too many other people.

Jon visited my classroom and all the kids were excited to see Mr. Jon again. One student even brought us kimchi for lunch.

The day before Jon left, we got all dressed up in the style of Peking opera. Jon was suffering through terrible allergies so he wasn't enjoying it much, but thankfully I think our photos turned out pretty great! I have to wait until June to get the retouched photos back but here are a couple of the originals. I'll have to put up a post just for this soon.

We also finally lit Jon's birthday candle that our driver bought for him in Inner Mongolia. This birthday candle is the most amazing birthday candle I've ever seen!

Jon took my cat, Lao Wai, back with him and she is learning to get along with his cat and dog.

I have 45 more days of school and only 79 days until I repatriate!

--Sarah--

Saturday: Summer Palace

We began our Saturday at the Summer Palace.  This is the second time I have visited.  The first time was with my mom in March.  The Summer Palace is a pretty large area though so I saw some things I had seen before and some new things as well.  This time it was pretty crowded and hot.  

We found neat doorways and bridges.

  

 

This guy was writing calligraphy with a wet brush.  When several kids were watching, he painted bunnies on the ground with his water brush.  He had a pouch attached to his waist so that water could be added to the brush when needed.

 

Jessica with the Marble Boat:

Of course we saw the Summer Palace itself.

Here's a video Jessica took in the Suzhou Street area.  We liked hearing the flute music while we walked around the palace grounds.

After the Summer Palace, Dad headed home and Jessica and I went shopping.  Walking around where we were shopping, Jessica got a chance to see the exercise equipment that is in little parks around the city.  I usually see older people using this equipment.

 

That was pretty much it for Saturday!

--Sarah, Dad, & Jessica--

Summer Palace

On Sunday, March 22nd, Mom and I went over to the Summer Palace. It was the summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi. In 1998, the Summer Palace was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO says that the Summer Palace is "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value."

In the next few weeks, all the trees will bloom and the place will be packed with visitors. The day we went was crowded but not nearly as crowded as it soon will be.

We saw some animal statues.

Here is the Seventeen-Arch Bridge. (We were on the far side of Kunming Lake.)

Yu Feng Pagoda in the distance.

We were going to walk up a tall hill. Mom thought we should take this path:

...but this one was nearby:

We minded the hilly road.

And saw the Palace.

We admired the stained-glass windows on the Marble Boat.

And we weren't quite sure if this sign was warning us or insulting us.

The day was beautiful and Mom and I had a great time walking around the grounds of the Summer Palace.

--Sarah and Mom--