Our final afternoon in Beijing before we continue on..

Lunch in the mountains. It had warmed up nicely and we all sat outside on a deck with the Great Wall and surrounding countryside as our backdrop.

Another strategic stop for the Brenda – a jade factory. This was something she had researched well before the trip and was eager to tour. A store clerk who speaks English is giving us the history of jade, where it’s mined, how it’s processed. The final pieces of art are crafted here in this village.

A show of one of the local workers.. using a small mill to craft a “ball within a ball within a ball” pieces. The final product can have as many as 8 inner layers. The final outer piece is carved with dragons and other flourishes.

More training on the various qualities of jade, color & etc.

On to the showroom. We are coming home with something modest from here.

Late in the afternoon we toured the summer place, located about an hour outside of Beijing. It is a complex of palaces, gardens, and lakes that was used as a retreat for members of the ruling family from the time of the Jin dynasty. The first stage of construction on the Summer Palace building was commissioned in 1750 by the emperor Qianlong—the fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty—as a gift for his mother. It was completed in 1764.

The Summer Palace was “devastated by invading European forces” – both the French and the British took over and destroyed much of the architecture during the Opium Wars in the 1860 to 1900 time period. On both occasions the palace was rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi. As our guide explained it, to Chinese people the palace has become a symbol of national and cultural resistance in the face of foreign barbarism.

The place is overwhelmingly photogenic; we got there as the sun was setting (the “golden hour” to photo nerds) and there were a lot of ladies dressed up in period Ming and Qing dynasty outfits. On my last day here I grew bold and got right in there to take my own fair share of photos, welcome or not!

Changlang long gallery – over 2200’ in length. Each section has hand painted depictions of Chinese history and folklore.. over 14000 individual images.

Final shot of Beijing with a less than enthusiastic partner.