This is our second week in China, and I am with a National Geographic Expeditions tour. We are traveling with other people from America, which is good since we don't have to be alone. We also have an expert on China with us named Diane and she is our guide.
We went to the Forbidden City, where the emperor used to live. In the Forbidden City, there are huge doors that each have nine, big, gold knobs on them, which Tyler and I rubbed for good luck. Diane told us that nine is a very lucky number in China. There were also nine animals on the ends of the roofs. The Forbidden City was the only place in China allowed to have these nine animals on the roof because that's where the emperor lived.
The next day, we went to the Lama Temple. There are a lot of different Buddha statues there, and the last one is gigantic. It is about 75 feet tall and was in the Guinness Book of World Records! If you wanted to see the top of it, you had to lean your head all the way back to see the face. We didn't get any pictures of the giant Buddha because we weren't allowed to take photos inside the temple. I got good pictures of the Confucian Temple, which is where we went next. It housed a big statue of Confucius who was a very important Chinese teacher.
We went to the Forbidden City, where the emperor used to live. In the Forbidden City, there are huge doors that each have nine, big, gold knobs on them, which Tyler and I rubbed for good luck. Diane told us that nine is a very lucky number in China. There were also nine animals on the ends of the roofs. The Forbidden City was the only place in China allowed to have these nine animals on the roof because that's where the emperor lived.The next day, we went to the Lama Temple. There are a lot of different Buddha statues there, and the last one is gigantic. It is about 75 feet tall and was in the Guinness Book of World Records! If you wanted to see the top of it, you had to lean your head all the way back to see the face. We didn't get any pictures of the giant Buddha because we weren't allowed to take photos inside the temple. I got good pictures of the Confucian Temple, which is where we went next. It housed a big statue of Confucius who was a very important Chinese teacher.
We went to the famous Great Wall of China, far from Beijing, to get to a
less crowded part. You want to know what was really cool about the spot
we went to? On one side of the Great Wall was Mongolia, and on the
other side was Beijing. They made the wall a long time ago to protect
their kingdom from the Mongols. The Great Wall went on for miles and
miles. My Mom and I even did some kung fu on the Great Wall of China!
Last but certainly not least, we saw the terracotta warriors in Xi'an. They were put in the first emperor of China's tomb, which took over 40 years to build. They started building the tomb when the emperor was only 14.
When
the emperor died, another kingdom took over and they raided the tomb
and destroyed a lot of the warriors. There was a special place where
they are trying to restore the broken ones and because we were with
National Geographic Expeditions, we got to go into this special area and see the
warriors up close. We got to stand right next to them! Each warrior had
a different face and a different body. We saw Pit #1 and Pit #2 of the
tomb, but Pit #3 wasn't finished yet. They are hoping that there will
be more terracotta warriors that weren't destroyed and are still
painted.
Finally, here's a fun picture of me juggling!
So, that was my second week in China. I'll write again after my third week.
Last but certainly not least, we saw the terracotta warriors in Xi'an. They were put in the first emperor of China's tomb, which took over 40 years to build. They started building the tomb when the emperor was only 14.
When
the emperor died, another kingdom took over and they raided the tomb
and destroyed a lot of the warriors. There was a special place where
they are trying to restore the broken ones and because we were with
National Geographic Expeditions, we got to go into this special area and see the
warriors up close. We got to stand right next to them! Each warrior had
a different face and a different body. We saw Pit #1 and Pit #2 of the
tomb, but Pit #3 wasn't finished yet. They are hoping that there will
be more terracotta warriors that weren't destroyed and are still
painted.Finally, here's a fun picture of me juggling!
So, that was my second week in China. I'll write again after my third week.
Hi GBros!! I really like your blog! It's soooo cool. And i learned something too -- that you guys don't like spinach and broccoli- haha! As superbly, unbelieveably, absolutely, and gigantically fantastic China was - I really wish i could have visited those islands of Japan with your family and Satoshi. Glad your having fun Ty & Stef - i miss sharing photos and talking with you -- keeep up the good work -- heidi
this is cool
Hi, Global Bros! I didn't get to travel all around the world, but I went to China! I wish I could go to the Great Wall of China.
Eyatopia (NOT real name)