Beijing. Day 1.

Immediately following our last post, we hopped on a taxi and visited the Temple of Heaven, a place of frequent use during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was amazing to visit these building from the 1400's. The top two pictures show some of these structures. You'll also notice Anne with two new friends, Frank and Gloria from China. They approached us outside the temple and wanted to practice their english skills. Most everyone has been very friendly. One girl even came up to us and asked to have her photo taken with us.

One thing really struck us while wandering the many pathways and parks around the temple complex -- tons of people were out and being active. Tai chi, modern dance, hacky sack, etc. After you've seen a group of 70-year-old women playing hacky sack, you realize that Americans need to start moving a lot more! There was even a "playground" for adults, and there had to be at least thirty people in their 50s, 60s and 70s doing gymnastics, swinging, etc. There were also quite a few musicians just playing for the enjoyment of it, which was wonderful.

While at the park, we also bought three small, original oil paintings of Chinese minority women. Absolutely beautiful, from an art school and quite inexpensive. Amazing find.

Let's see - what else. Can't forget the massages at the hotel - we think the jet lag disappeared after that. And, we had supper with Shiyan, Bethany, and Jaclyn, all representatives from our adoption agency, Bethany. We felt quite honored to have them to ourselves before the rest of the group arrives!