I 'China' like him! 20 year Anniversary Trip!

20 year Anniversary Trip

I 'China' like him...

(Shanghai and Beijing) 

December 2017

I have no idea how we made this one work, but I guess after 20 years, you just make it happen! 

THANKFULLY, we were able to fly Grandpa over to stay with the kids and let me tell you, they had the time of their lives. Grandpa was tutored by Gram-Gram on the finer tips of cookie making and our kids ATE IT UP! How many grandfather's cook, clean, do laundry, run kids around to their activities, help with homework, help tidy up the garden, and then when we come home, seem happy and relaxed about it all?!!!! 

ONE! That's how many! One Wayne Holt. xx

We love you Grandpa and Gram-Gram!

SHANGHAI!

We landed in Shanghai and I was BLOWN away with the vastness of the concrete jungle there. 

It was impressive to say the least.

Oriental Pearl Tower

This is the 5th tallest tower in the world at 1,535 ft.

This was my view from the tower.

I had to try oriental dumplings.

It was so much fun to watch through the window at the crew of people 

making the dumplings in a VERY systematic way. 

A sweet street-sweeper brushing the leaves as they blew around. 

Look at the handmade broom she is using.

Spencer picking out his favorite bracelets with the street salesman.

Beautiful golden relics at the Jade Buddha Temple

The ceilings were decorated with these amazing red lanterns. It was so fun to walk through.

The temple offers the most peaceful atmosphere for not only Buddhists,

 but quiet a tranquil place for anyone in the bustle of a busy city. 

The famous Jade Buddha. 

The pose she is in, is in a shape called the 'lucky repose'

Walking through the streets of Shanghai was so much fun. 

There are SO many people and things to look at and there is hardly a quiet place! It is so alive!! 

These street open-air food stalls were everywhere. 

YU GARDEN

Yuyuan Garden or Yu Garden of Shanghai is a pearl of classical gardens in southern area of the Yangtze River built in 1559 in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) with a history of more than 400 years. It is a private garden of Pan family. As the name implies, Yu means pleasing and peace in Chinese. The founder Pan Yunduan invited the famous designer to build this garden for his parents as the tranquil place to spend their remaining years in comfort and happiness. (Taken from the historical site description)

 I love how someone called this place "A sanctuary in the madhouse".

That is exactly what this felt like. So beautiful with ancient Chinese architecture, gardens and water pools/features. Inside seemed a long way from the hustle and bustle of modern Shanghai right outside.

The dragon is a symbol of power, strength, and good luck for people 

who are worthy of it in East Asian culture.

It was honestly the most beautiful gem in the midst of Shanghai. What a tribute to their amazing culture. 

So one of the fun things about this day, was that because Spencer had to be in work meetings all day, I was determined to get out and discover this city. I ran into the LOVELIEST woman from the Netherlands named Getty and we became fast friends. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon walking around the city. I was on my way to pick up a coat that I had made the day before with Spencer. She asked if she could join me!

 (Yes! They make customs coats in one day!) We walked and walked to get to the Fabric District. 

It was so much fun making a new friend. 

When you walk into the Fabric Market...it's literally ROWS AND ROWS AND ROWS AND ISLES AND ISLES AND ISLES of everything you could ever possibly imagine. SO easy to get lost. We totally did.. for about two hours, but we found the stall and I got my coat. Plus Getty found one too! 

Some of the backstreets were very unique, modest, run-down, and had smells I hadn't smelled before. But I knew that this is where these wonderful people lived and I wanted to appreciate their way of life. But I must admit, it did not seem to be an easy lifestyle. These people are hearty, humble, modest and from what I could tell, kind. I felt honored to be walking were it was so very different from where I grew up.

I love this picture because this is Getty and the SAME street salesman that Spencer had bought from the day before! He tried to sell her jewelry at a much higher price and when he gave her the price (which they show to you on a calculator) I giggled at him, pushed it away and typed in the "correct" amount. (It was half the price.) He looked shocked, then he looked back up at me, smiled, started to laugh too, and nodded! Getty was a bit confused...I hadn't told her until then that this was the same gentleman we had met the night before. When I told her she just laughed and laughed. It was a good day. (And she got a great price.)

The Bullet Train to Bejing

 I had never been on a bullet train before, so this was fun to see. WOW! It can go so fast, 

It's 819 miles from Shanghai to Beijing. What should take 12-13 hours by car take 4.5 in the bullet train.

I had three wishes when we decide to come to China...to get a custom made coat (check!), see the Great Wall of China (almost check) and see Yuchen again (CHECK!) Some of you may remember...Yuchen was a student in England where the missionaries met him and he joined the church. We practically adopted Yuchen that year he was here. Oh it was SO great to see him again and he came in from a city over 7 hours away to spend time with us in Beijing. He LOVES his country and it was incredible to have our dear friend as a local tour guide take us through Beijing. It made ALL the difference. The trip was perfect. 

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

 This was the place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and Quin Dynasty (1644 - 1911) held the Heaven Worship Ceremony. It is the largest and most representative existing masterpiece among China's ancient sacrificial buildings

 Yuchen has the most kind disposition. He does not get ruffled, is OVERLY generous and interested, patient and literally taught us and was so excited to share the beautiful historical landmarks with us. He honestly could have taken us anywhere and I would have loved it. He was such a joy to be with. 

 These are some students who stopped us to ask us questions because they wanted to practice their English. They were so cute so cute and impressive. 

 These were amazing cypress trees surrounding the temple that were 800-900 years old! 

The Circular Altar Mound is actually the Temple of Heaven in the practical sense. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emperors would offer sacrifice here to Heaven on the day of the Winter Solstice every year.

Tiananmen Square 

 Tiananmen Square is the city square in the centre of Beijing, China named after the Tiananmen ("Gate of Heavenly Peace") located to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. The square contains the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum and China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong (who proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in the square on October 1,1949); the anniversary of this event is still observed there. Tiananmen Square is one of the top 10 largest city squares in the world. It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history.

The entrance into the Imperial Palace/the Forbidden City

Monument to the People's Heroes

This was originally built as memorial for the people who died for China.

 The most sad even that took place was the 1989 massacre that occurred when students and civilians were demonstrating for more freedoms. The exact reports are not known, but it has been estimated that 10,000 people were killed at the demonstration. Yuchen didn't know anything about this massacre as it is not in their records, only rumors. He did not ask about it, and we did not pry. 

 The National Museum of China

The taking down of  their country's flag ceremony at dusk. 

The wall engravings were spectacular

 There are no words to describe the magnitude of this palace. It went on and on and on. We walked for almost 3-4 yours and didn't see all of it. Yuchen told us that 'Forbidden' doesn't mean the same thing in China as it does to us in the West. It has a more 'heavenly' meaning. So it sounds to them, more reverent than feared. 

 The details were astounding and overwhelming really. It was SO much to take in. 

I cannot imagine the man/woman hours it took to build this structure. It was nothing shy of impressive. 

The Forbidden City is the largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex in the world. Fourteen emperors in the Ming Dynasty and (1368-1644) and ten emperors in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) worked and lived there with their imperial families.

 Yellow is the official color of royalty so the rooftops were all in this yellow tile.

Look at the buildings and stone work...intricate and so beautiful.

The web said there are over 8,700 rooms, but Yuchen said there were 9,999.5 rooms. 

(Half less than heaven which has 10000 rooms.)

Chinese guardian lions or Imperial guardian lions.

Ming Tombs

 We drove for about 30 minutes outside the city of Beijing to the Ming Tombs.

This is the best preserved mausoleum area with the most emperors buried.

Sites for the burial were scouted out immediately a new emperor was named. The area was VERY secret and kept safe and started to be built, with all sorts of diversions, so when the emperor did die, it was ready, protected so that robbers and thieves could not find it and take any of the treasures inside. 

Very similar to the ancient Egyptian burials.

 The intricate random designs to get down into the tombs was again...impressive...

it would have been almost impossible for an outsider to figure it out. 

I just died when I saw these trees growing OUT OF the wall!! It was incredible!

Back inside the city of Beijing. I thought this was so picturesque.

 This was SO cool..These are public bikes that people use to get from one place to the next. 

Then they leave it and find another one in a different location. 

 I just had to share this part of the reality of living in Beijing...

These are public restrooms...MOST people DO NOT have bathrooms in their homes and must come out and use these. They don't have any conveniences, including a toilet...they were squatters...and yes...we had to use them.

 I just loved these streets we walked down to find souvenirs and just walk around. 

 The Great Wall of China

Oh my hecking heck! I actually got to see this amazing structure! 

TOTALLY worth it and we were blessed with a very beautiful day to see it. We got to walk on it and see the vastness of it and go into a museum to learn more about it. MIND BLOWING! 

History...It was built starting with the Ming Dynasty and was to reinforce strength against other feudal lords. The main mode of transport for war was by horse, so a wall was the most effective defense for stopping invaders.It was almost continuously being built for almost 200 years! It today reaches a span of 8,800km's. 

Yuchen was the PERFECT host. We were in constant care and he only concerned himself with what he thought (and even asked) we wanted. He INSISTED on paying for things like meals and tickets and taxi rides. We kept trying to pay, but he would push our hands away gently saying, "no, no, no. This is my pleasure. Please no."

I love this picture. We are so blessed to have a friend like Yuchen in our lives. He is good, and kind and generous. Spencer and I were continually humbled by his hospitality towards us. 

I have one very funny story...As we were walking on the wall, a man asked if we wanted to buy a souvenir. Spencer stopped and looked at it, then after a minute decided not to buy it. As we started to walk away, the man muttered something in Chinese (but you did not have to speak the language to know that he was highly annoyed with us for not buying) and OH MY GOODNESS! Yuchen laid a tongue lashing into him about being respectful to guests and that he should show more dignity to people. The man was very apologetic to Yuchen. 

It was an impressive, protective side of Yuchen that I had never seen before and imagine RARELY comes out. 

I would be a bit remised if I didn't mention something about this guy and our marriage. 

I can't believe it's been 20+ years now. Why does time fly so quickly? 

Spencer is loyal, ridiculously optimistic, passionate about family and spending time as a family; he's supportive, hard woking, generous and serves others (including me) that humbles me. I am so grateful for this journey we have been on so far. Many ups and downs and round and rounds.  And I LOVE this picture because I think it is a bit symbolic of our marriage....It's big, it's taken years to build, not all of it's pretty, but it has many impressive points, and it's also (now to add my Idahoan lingo... :)), freaking amazing. I love you Spence. xxx