Day 10 - Qing Dynasty & Jewelry Market

We had a wonderful Sunday touring a museum and seeing the jewelry wholesale market! Delight!

Our day started out really lazy. We slept in until 8am! Woohoo! We have needed the rest for a while.  After waking we enjoyed the hotel breakfast buffet where they have a mix of different cuisines to satisfy multiple pallets.  Yum!

After breakfast we met Miko at 9:30 am for a day of touring and shopping. It was so much fun to see some Chinese history.

The Qing family built the building, now a museum,  out of wood carvings over 150 years ago. Massive wood pillars hold the structure together. Inside we saw many original chinese pieces such as furniture,  scrolls,  hand paintings,  art, carvings,  a temple room,  gardens, etc. Just gorgeous.  See the pictures below with captions for a mini tour. 

After the museum we visited the Jewelry Market.  A massive wholesale market filled with hundreds of stores containing different stones such as pearls,  gems,  turquoise, and more. We liked the pearl market the best,  wink!

When we got back to the hotel mommy went with Miko and bought tickets for the train ride to Hong Kong on Wednesday.  Yeah!  Buying tickets and getting closer to home!  Can't wait to see our girls! 

Miko showed our family a couple good places to eat chinese food near or hotel.  We were looking for inexpensive,  good chinese food. We can usually feed our family, be stuffed,  and have leftovers for about 60¥ = $10. We enjoyed sweet and sour pork,  beef rice noodles,  and Kalyn loved the pork stew.  Oh my! Mommy's in trouble. Our boy loves traditional Chinese food.  Mommy better get learning how to cook chinese,  stat! There is always Kalyn's favorite watermelon and good ole rice! 

After lunch we crashed for a nap. Woke up at 6:00pm. Oops! 4 hour nap,  yep much needed!

We ventured out after dark to the local market.  Another huge store - everything is huge in China (must mean that we miss our small,  clean,  fresh air hometown KS) - five levels and quality/price similar to Target in the U.S.A. On the top level there was a Subway. Yum!  Our tummys can only handle one chinese meal a day.  Joys!

Daddy and Kalyn went to the room for a bath and Jeremiah and mommy went late night kids clothes shopping.  It was fun Quality Time together. 

Thank you for praying for us.  Everyone seems to be feeling well now.  We are all getting rested too. 

It was a fun day - here are some highs and lows

Jeremiah's High: I liked the bonsai trees at the museum and shopping with mom for Kalyn. I picked out a "Shaun the Sheep" onesie to remember the 2015 chinese new year - the year if the sheep!
Jeremiah's Low: Seeing puke and loogies on the ground outside. Yuck, watch your step!

Daddy's High: I enjoyed the Chen Dynasty Museum and the jewelry markets
Daddy's Low: I'm tired

Mommy's High: I have enjoyed seeing Kalyn bond with each of us. We all have a little special way we care for his needs - each working together to make him happy and comfortable (like a well-oiled machine) & late night shopping with jeremiah; he is so much fun!
Mommy's Low: Went to Starbucks with Jeremiah. I ordered a cappuccino thinking it would be sweet so we could share it.  Nope!  Showing my lack of Starbucks experience.... it tasted like the traditional coffee (aka. Dirt). Yuck! 

Until next time....keep praying. We leave China in 4 days!  Woohoo!

Our consulate appt for Kalyn's U.S. Visa is on Tuesday at 8:30am. That is Monday at 6:30pm CST - please pray it goes smoothly with no flaws.  

Last step people!!!!!!!! Time to get Kalyn on U.S. soil! 

Chen Dynasty Museum over 150 years old

Chen Dynasty built this hand carved wood building along with many characters on the roof to symbolize various things like power, wisdom, rich, hope for rain, etc.

Chen Dynasty

Photo by the male lion guarding the gate.  Lion means powerful.

Cool Dude didn't like the bright sun.  Mommy LOVES it because it was the second day we have seen the sun since arriving in China.

Bed.

Our guide, Miko, was getting Kalyn to pose for a picture.  Silly boy listens well!

This man uses his hand to paint wall art.  Beautiful pictures of China landscape, waterfalls, and our favorite panda bears.

Our Lifeline guide, Miko.  Another gift from God!  Thank you Lifeline!

Kalyn's chinese name means "Good Fortune".  Kalyn has brought us good fortune for sure-he is pure joy in our lives!  This is a piece of art that means good fortune.

Jeremiah was fascinated by the mini trees.  They are trimmed regularly so they stay small.  They bloom flowers in April.

Pearls, perals everywhere!

They even dye pearls.  Check out the K-State purple strand.  Yeah..WAY too expensive but beautiful to see!

There are hundreds of stores with all kinds of stones.  People come from all around the world to hand pick stones.  Then have the stones sent to factories to mount them in jewelry pieces, and then sell the completed pieces from their own stores back home.

Here is a picture of the whole sale jewelry market.  Many stores-that is an understatement.  Jeremiah says, "check out all those escalators!"