The Chinese Spring Festival is January 22-28. The last day
of the year is Jan. 22 and the Chinese New Year is Jan. 23 rd. This is the time
when the people of China rest for 7 days and majority of the businesses close. The
festival consists of the Lion/dragon dance, cosmic dialogue, and family
celebrations. It's not even the New Year
yet and the people have been celebrating every since I arrived on the 16th.
All day and all night…fireworks are going off. It sounds like a mass production
of canons being fired. I was told that it will become more frequent once the
festival begins, because people across the country will fire off firecrackers
when the first person in the family leaves the house each day, to ward off the bad
spirits.
-Week two started (Jan. 23rd), when Kellie and I
began our journey back to Beijing to pick up our friend Jimele from the
airport. We took the bullet train to Beijing and the express train to the
airport. Our timing was perfect because we only waited 20 minutes before Jimele
walked through the customs exit doors. We gave her a warm hearty greeting and
began our journey through the Beijing transit systems. To make good use of our
time, we stayed in Beijing a couple days to do some sightseeing. We stayed at
the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel which was absolutely beautiful inside and
out. The next morning on Jan.24th, we went on an 8 hour tour where
we visited The Ming Tombs, we ate at a traditional Chinese Restaurant, and went
to The Great Wall. That day the winds were so high and it was so cold, that my
fingers and toes were at the point of hurting. I believe I was on the verge of
getting frost bite. I had the opportunity to ride a cable car up the Great Wall and the view was
absolutely amazing. After, seeing different areas of the Great Wall, took the
Tabagon car, in which I had a long slide down the side of the mountainside. On Jan. 25th, we took it upon
ourselves to sight see without a tour guide. We went to the Silk Market and The
Temple of Heaven. After we finished, our day we caught a bullet train back to
Tangau/ Tainjin City. The rest of the
week we rested and listened to the constant ongoing sounds of fireworks going
off throughout the city.
Hello Tracy. I'm enjoying reading about your life's travels.
ReplyDeleteKeep the updates coming. Enjoy yourself and be safe.
Shelia Janifer
Thanks Shelia for reading my blog. I really appreciate it. Being here is truly an experience and I am thankful for the opportunity. Many blessings to you and the family. Take care lady.
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