China Day 13 - June 12th

Today we had a pretty busy day!  We got up at 3:25am thanks to Miss Mhyia, also again at 4, then 4:30 etc....until finally she was up for the day around 5:30 am.

We went to a huge Jade factory on the way to the Great Wall.  I had no intentions on buying anything and somehow left there with a huge hole in Mikes wallet.  It was so amazing in there.  We had a guide who took us through and taught us all about jade, I didn't realize it came in so many colors!  We watched a Master carver working on carving out a beautiful 3 piece family ball.  It is a ball inside a ball inside a ball and they carve it out of one pc of Jade.  Each one takes approx 2 wks to complete - amazing!

We decided we wanted to get something for Mhyia and at first looked at some charms and necklaces.  We really liked the year of the rabbit one but then we thought maybe a bangle?  I love the look of the bangle but they don't make them small enough for her right now so we would have to get it for later.  We ended up getting a bangle for me which one day, maybe her wedding day I could pass it on to her, as well as the rabbit pendant necklace for her to wear to her baptism and other special occasions.  We also got a couple of gifts etc..

After the Jade Factory we headed to the Great Wall!!  We went to one section of the great wall and it was very nice.  I would have liked a different section better I think but I didn't choose where we went.  It was very hard to walk on, very steep and some steps were 3 or 4 inches high and others were up to 18" high.  The mountains and views were amazing - all in all it was a great outing and we got some great pics!!

After the wall we went for a traditional Chinese lunch, not quite a Mandarin style lunch lol.  It was very good!!

Once we got back to the hotel we went for another swim and Mhyia had a little nap and then we ate downstairs in the hotel which was of course great!  Tomorrow we go back to the Canadian embassy to pick up Mhyia's visa and we are heading back to the Silk Market.