Dehuixin Hotel Beijing

... The exact location of his room is a chicken ~ ~ ~
Asked him if he needs you to help him to do a task, he will
tell you he needs people Shearing to help him, and ask
you to give him 20 wool Mission [20Balls of Wool]
Shearing To the general store [General Store] used the
scissors 1gp buy [shears], and then to Sheep pen stores
the north, and then use your scissors to cut the fat that
looks Sheep ...

... nor have I met Yao-Yao. Their resemblance and mannerisms to my daughter Pia is striking. Like Pia's amazing intelligence and sweetness. I has to be genetic. One thing that is definitely genetic are Pia's teeth. She has an under bite, and guess what Ying and Yao-Yao had the same issue. Pia will of course have to seek orthodontic treatment in the fall.

It is Friday morning and we fell asleep around 4 in the afternoon yesterday, then woke up around 11 pm and ...

... started counting in Mandarin, but I don't think we got past liu (six.) After that we headed to the Pearl Market. There used to be separate markets for the best stuff like pearls and silk, but over the years there has been so much cross over that you can get everything everywhere. It looks like a huge department store, but acts like a flea market. Each floor has a designation: clothes, bags, pearls, art, electronics... Everyone has the same things, and is ...

... to vistors after that weekend. It was brilliant to walk around the park, see the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube up close. There wasn't even any events on, but there still must have been about 50,000 people there and a great atmosphere. On Sunday we went back to Tianamen Square early and went to Moa's mauseleum. All very respectful, though has been done an a much huger and grander scale then Lenin's mauseleum...we wondered if that ...

After much joking around and poking fun at the traffic conditions here in Beijing, today I was confronted with the grim reality of the craziness here. When walking to the train ticket station to buy tickets for an upcoming trip, I saw the aftermath of a pedestrian vs bus accident. The pedestrian lost his/her life and was covered in a blue tarp, very sad. Judging from the damage to the bus, the ...

... around us, just watching what we were doing! It was really offputting to start, but after a while you learn to love it - where else would you get this amount of attention?! The sleeper train is cramped and grim. There are 6 beds to a bunk (3 each side) and 66 people in a carriage! Following on from the station, the staring continues on the train, but this goes on all evening until lights out at 10pm. The toilets are squats but given that the train is in ...

... Beijing on January 31, 1949, where Chairman Mao Zedong proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1st of that year, with Beijing as its capital. The 1950's were a boom time for Beijing and China with much welcomed stability and prosperity. Then Russia started to get too eager and Mao lost control of his senses, initiating the conservative Cultural Revolution, an economic, agricultural, artistic, and ...

... some of the markets tomorrow as Sunday is probably a good day for that. Apparently there are also lovely parks and gardens to wander around in. We are here for 5 days so we have plently of time to do everything we want to do. We then plan to take a train to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors and then another train on to Shanghai. We certainly needed this peaceful oasis...as this is what it feels like after being in Hong Kong. We woke up today quite refreshed ...

... so much fun, with so much energy in the air. We finally found the group and crossed back under the street to get to the entrance to the entrance of the Forbidden City. We waited for our turn to go through the first entrance, then waited for almost an hour before we were able to go inside. While we I met a woman whose sister had done Semester at Sea almost fifteen years ago, so we chatted about our trip so far, and she told me that her sister is now living in ...

... fantastic, no frills but just pure relaxation. Most of the rooms backed onto an open air couryard with fruit trees growing around and within. It was soo peacfull and the beers were only 3yuan so everything was amazing. We move there on the wednesday from Leo and i have to say i was glad to leave. The only thing i would miss would be the hutong backdrop and the street food venders!! :) When we arrived we had only managed to get a twin room for 2 nights which was fantastic ...