Houston, (or rather Beijing) We've Made Contact

Finally!! I spoke to Constantin today. It was 3:30pm my time and 4:30am Saturday for him. He was calling me from the bathroom so as not to wake Joseph. He said it's been difficult adjusting to the time change. Duh, why else would he be calling at 4:30am? He thinks Emma is faring the best of them all. He said the hotel is beautiful and the rooms, particularly Emma's are very spacious. She got a deluxe King room which he claims is twice the size of theirs. She must've pulled the short straw.

Sightseeing on Friday was to the Forbidden City

HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY 
In the heart of Beijing, the Imperial Palace remained the residence of the emperors for nearly five hundred years, from the 15th century to the early 20th century, and was the actual and symbolic seat of imperial power. Popularly known as the Forbidden City, it was built in the Ming Dynasty between the 4th and the 18th years of the Yongle period (1406 - 1420 AD).
FUN FACTS

1. The Last Emporer (1987) was the first feature film ever authorized by the government of the People's Republic of China to film in the Forbidden City.
2. Giacomo Puccini's Turandot was performed inside the Forbidden City for the first time in 1998.
3. Yanni performed in the Forbidden City. Yanni sure seems to perform in some very cool places! The Acropolis in Greece and the Taj Mahal in India being two others.

I've posted some pictures that I pulled from a website since I AM STILL NOT GETTING ANY PICTURES!! Constantin said he was going back to the phone store today to see what he can work out. When they leave for Nanning Monday morning, I'm guessing his major sightseeing in Beijing will have been the phone store.


Unfortunately, Constantin and Joseph missed the bus to the Forbidden City. They were in their room resting after the morning session, fell asleep and missed the bus by 15 minutes. The Energizer Bunny (aka Mom) made it. She's a trouper!

The air has been very poor because Beijing is being blasted by a sandstorm caused by winds coming down from Siberia. The air is a yellow/orange and it's hard to see and it's hard on the sinuses. Apparently this is a very frequent occurrence in Beijing but usually occurs in the summer. Imagine how delightful the 2008 summer Olympics might be for the field and track competitors.

Today they are going to the Great Wall. Only 2 more days till "Gotcha" day.

CHINA FIGHTS TO HOLD BACK DESERT SANDS China declared its first victory in a centuries-old war against the desert on Monday after a campaign to plant 12-billion trees in five years finally made a small green dent in an ocean of sand dunes and dustbowls. Every March, government leaders join three million people who take up shovels on tree-planting day.