Harder Family

Harder Family

Friday, March 3, 2017

Day 2: Beijing

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!"

Our second day in Beijing did not disappoint. My sister Rachel traveled to China last year and had an amazing guide named Olivia. I contacted her a few weeks ago to see if she would be available to take us sightseeing for the day.

We met up with Olivia after breakfast and headed to Jingshan Park. What a beautiful park that was to visit!! I only wish the air quality was better today so that the pictures and views would have been more clear.  







This older gentleman wrote Obama and Trump in calligraphy. They practice writing, dancing, exercising, and even clapping to a beat to keep their bodies and minds active. 










View of the Forbidden City (tour tomorrow)






After Jingshan Park, we headed to the Summer Palace. The pictures don't do the architecture justice. They were beautiful!! Olivia was an amazing guide. She gave us detailed history about every stop today and about China in general.
























Emperess' bed



















Marble dragon boat.




Next, we headed to lunch. I was told by my Chinese tutor that I had to have Peking duck while in Beijing. Olivia took us to an amazing Chinese restaurant and ordered us some of the best Chinese food I've ever had!! The duck was phenomenal! 







After lunch we headed to the Temple of Heaven. Once again the architecture and beauty of the place as astounding! One funny thing that happened quite frequently today was people asking to take a picture with me and Daniela. Pete, I'm watching your daughter closely because one guy only wanted a picture with her!! Olivia told us all about the history of the buildings and what all the colors and designs represented in their culture. All of this information is invaluable to me as I prepare to bring our two boys into our home. We want to incorporate as much of their culture into their lives as we can.
















































We ended our day by attending the Peking Acrobat Show. What a phenomenal show!! I highly recommend it if you are coming to Beijing!





They ended up with 6 motorcycles in this cage!


Tomorrow morning we will be heading out to visit the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. In 41 hours I will be meeting DJ!! I'm so thankful for these few busy days to keep me preoccupied as I count down the hours. DJ called me today while we were at the Summer Palace. He wanted to know where I was today. It is cute to see his excitement and how he wants to be part of what I am doing. 

Please continue to pray for the transition that will be taking place on Sunday for DJ and then on Wednesday for Shan Chen. Thank you for all of your prayers for our family!!






2 comments:

  1. Love seeing places that we've been. You will love the Great Wall (Chángchéng!). Fun that DJ can call and text you! I am going to share your journey with my 13yo son, Samuel, home 20 months. It's good for him to see other older children being adopted. :)

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  2. So glad you got to visit these places! Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven are incredible. And your lunch pictures made my mouth water... Yum!

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