11 April 2010
Hello again,
I realize I just sent out an update, but thought I would go ahead and send one out today while it's fresh on my mind!
This morning, Rod and I went to the dirt market together with another American lady. She lives here in the hotel and is a real God Send for us! I ended up getting a personalized "chop" which is a stamp that has what ever message you want or your name. Since I just got my business cards (1 side in English, 1 side in Chinese), I had my Chinese name in characters, so I had the guy carve one out with my name in Chinese characters. The chop is about 4 inches tall piece of jade with a little dragon carved on the top, then my name carved into the bottom in relief so that when you press the chop into the red ink (the red ink has the consistency of creamy makeup rouge...but is much more permanent!). Here's some of pictures of the guy carving my name and then a picture of the finished product!
Miller, Sarah in Chinese characters.
After the dirt market, we had lunch at a nice little restaurant behind the hotel, then we went to Beiling Park. This park is where one of the emperors of China is buried in a huge tomb. This emperor died in 1647 and his tomb is still preserved and intact an is not open to anyone. The grounds around the park were opened to the public in 1927. The tomb itself is underground and is covered by a large dome with a lone elm tree planted on top. There is a large circular wall around the tomb and a large walkway with several intermediate building leading to it. The emperor was very protected even in his death. Today, it's a beautiful park with kites flying, people walking and just enjoying the hint of spring! We were asked to have our picture taken with some Chinese girls...I'm sure WE were their tourist attraction!
The tomb of the Emperor with the entrance to the tomb down on the lower level. Legend has it that there are holes in the door that can lead to the door being opened, however, if you have the wrong combination, a poison dart will come out and kill you...consequently, not many have dared to open the tomb, and thus, it is still preserved. Sounds like Indiana Jones to me...maybe that's where they got the storyline!
Some pictures of the Tomb area:
Some pictures of Rod & Sarah visiting the tomb area
Sarah & Rodney Miller at Beiling Park in Shenyang, China, 11 April 2010.
Inside the Tomb area were many lovely traditional Chinese roofs. I took some detailed pictures below:
No visit to a tourist area would be complete without a trip to the Gift shop! In this case, I bought a little bobble and the lady painted my name inside the thing with a 1 hair paint brush..amazing to watch her work!
I was born in the Chinese year of the rat (OK, I prefer mouse!), so I bought a bobble for the year of the rat and had my name put inside!
So, we've had a busy weekend! Tomorrow, back to work and hopefully we'll get our residence permits and get a little better oriented!
That's it for now...more to come with the Adventures of Rod & Sarah Miller in China!
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