Busy day in Beijing!

 

We took taxis to the Beijing Zoo where the Giant Panda house is that Brock found on the internet back at home.

Ice cream at the zoo, it was super hot out , mid 80s.

There is an aquarium inside the zoo. We watched a dolphin show, narrated in chinese, didn't understand anything.

The Chinese people stared at us and a couple families asked us to have their pictures with us.  We saw less than 5 american families at the zoo. There were several children at the zoo, which we don't see around our hotel. They all were so cute. Made us wonder what Braelyn will look like, since it has been so long since we have received pictures.

While waiting for our Kung Fu show to begin we took a walk down the streets. Jim ("Clark Jr."- DeWitt family members you know what were talking about!) wanted to show the kids how good we have it in America. We saw how some of the people live.  It was very sad to see, especially when we saw a little girl playing with her grandma on a dirty bed on the side of the road. The houses were in very poor condition, there were poorly constructed homes and tents. It is hard to believe that they live there in the winter when the temperatures can drop below freezing. 

This was us in front of Red Theatre where we saw a Kung Fu show. We took taxis to the theatre to meet Tom's dad, (Tom is our guide). When we were walking around by the theatre a Chinese lady tried to sell Brody and Brock some lazers to play with. She wanted 400 yuan for two of the lazers at first, but Blake bargained and got her to sell them at 130 yuan (approx. $20). The show was very interesting. It told the story of a young boy joining a martial arts group and how he reached "enlightenment". The show lasted around an hour and a half. The kids were very tired and if it wasn't for the loud drumming and yelling they might have fallen asleep. On the way out the same lady that sold us the lazers wanted us to buy two more for only 100 yuan! They make up prices as they go. Good lesson for us :) We took public transportation (bus) back to our hotel.