Flat Panda Goes To China

Acrobat Show

2009-03-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

As an end to a very busy day, we went to an Acrobat Show in Beijing. The Chinese are known for their Acrobatic skills and it was an enjoyable show.
There were lots of spinning plates and standing on heads.
This man changed his mask into different colors without his hands. Here it is red.
Then it was blue with a different expression. His headdress was amazing with long feathers sticking out the back.
We also saw girls doing yo-yo tricks, guys doing back flips and all sorts of tumbles, and a girl who could balance a table on her feet while laying on her back. She spun the table around and around. She also spun a large jar with a man from the audience sitting inside it. The last act was the bicycle with ten or more people on it waving fans. It was amazing.
What a great ending to a full day!

Signs

2009-03-03T23:00:00.001-05:00

We saw some interesting signs while we were in China. This is a road sign. Hope you're not driving too fast, you might not be able to read it all!
The Olympic motto carved into a rock.
Sign outside the ride that Abby did while in Nanning. Glad there were no psychopaths or intemperate pregnant women around that day. They might have been mad that they couldn't ride!
And then there were the familiar signs. We saw this sign in the Beijing airport.
Coke has definately made it to China!! In a big way.
Love how they incorporate the wavy lines of the Coke logo in with the Chinese writing.
Even the Chinese need nice looking skin.
We ordered pizza from Papa John's. It was good. And even the Colonel has made it to Asia.
Wizzing past the Pizza Hut. We actually ate at a Pizza Hut twice in Nanning. It was a nice restaurant.
And, of course, good ole WalMart. What would we do without it? And Abby's favorite, McDonald's.

Which one is your favorite?

Olympic Stadium

2009-03-03T21:53:00.000-05:00

Our first day in China was so jam packed with events that I never got around to posting all the pictures from that day.

After the Great Wall, we went to lunch and then drove to see the Olympic Stadium from the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. After so much climbing and walking, Abby was very tired (not to mention the travel time and lack of sleep). She fell asleep on the bus on the way to the stadium. So we had to wake her and she was not up to walking around. Plus, I forgot to get her coat before we got off the bus and it was windy and cold. Flat Panda was, once again, too cold to get out of the bag for photos.
The "Bird's Nest" as it was called during the games.
Even the walkway lights were in the same design.
We got to go inside the stadium. It was very big inside. The track and the field were covered, so we did not get to run a lap. Oh, well. We already had our exercise for the day at the Great Wall. As with all the other tourist spots we visited, there were TONS of people there taking pictures and taking pride in their nation's history and culture.
This is a sign that has the Olympic Mascots for Beijing.
Once outside the stadium, I zipped Abby up in my coat to help keep her warm. That made her happy!
Flat Panda waves from the warmth of the tour bus.

Good-bye from China

2009-02-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

Abby and Flat Panda will be leaving China in a few hours. They are sad to go but happy to be going home. They have enjoyed their time here.

We stayed in some nice hotels and Flat Panda is glad he didn't have to stay here (the blue sign says, "Youth Hostel").
Here are Abby and her sister, Sarah walking to the restaurant for their last dinner out.
We went to our favorite American restaurant, "Lucy's."
Sarah is showing Flat Panda around.
and taking him for a little ride.
Good night, and Good-bye, Guangzhou.
For more pictures and stories, click on my mom's blog, Shaggabear.

Museum

2009-02-23T04:05:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning, we visited a museum here in Guangzhou. I think it used to be the house for a very rich person. Some of their furniture was on display. It had huge doors that opened into a courtyard and many rooms and hallways surrounding the courtyard.
This is a very intricate bone carving. The artist starts with a camel bone and makes it into this beautiful scene.
Abby seemed to be a little bored looking at the artwork.
This piece of art was a little more interesting. That boy looks like he's in trouble.
And having a cousin around always brightens her smile!

Flat Panda seems to have a thing for trees. Maybe because he can stand up by himself in them!
This is one of the main doors to the museum. That guy looks like he's guarding the place well. I would be scared to come in if I wasn't supposed to.
Here is a bush outside the museum entrance.
Later on in the day, Flat Panda relaxed with a nice game of ping pong. The Chinese are very good at this game. Our guide beat everyone in the group.
Only a few more days until we come home. Flat Panda and Abby have enjoyed the trip, but they're glad to be coming home soon.

Noodles

2009-02-21T09:29:00.000-05:00

The Chinese people eat a lot of noodles: fat ones, skinny ones, short ones, long ones. They love them all! Flat Panda got to try some tonight... with chopsticks!

Tomorrow we will visit a museum and a pearl market.

Another Outing, Another Park

2009-02-19T09:25:00.000-05:00

This is the view from our hotel room on the 14th floor. There are lots of big buildings in Nanning, the capital city of the Guangxi Region. You can't really see them well in this picture, but the bridge is lined with rows of flowers. It is beautiful!
This is another view out the window. The sun was setting and I thought the water looked pretty. When we saw this pretty bridge and saw the road that ran along the water's edge, we thought it might be nice to walk to the bridge. So today, our guide took us to the pretty bridge and we walked along the path, which is a pretty park, back towards our hotel. Here is Abby on the bridge holding Flat Panda. We almost lost Flat Panda into the water as it was very windy, and Abby had accidentally let go of him. We were glad he didn't go for a swim!
And here is our hotel from the bridge. It is one of the newer hotels in Nanning and it is quite beautiful.
The bridge led to a park area that had lots of rides for children. Abby wanted to ride this carousel. When it started, it went much faster than the ones we're used to at the fair. We really had to hold onto Flat Panda!
Abby enjoyed this car ride. Flat Panda looked a little dizzy afterward.
Sarah had to hold onto Flat Panda for a while so he could rest from the rides.
We decided to take a short boat ride in a paddle boat. Flat Panda enjoyed the slow pace, but Sarah was ready to be done.
Then we started our walk back toward the hotel. The walkway was lined with palm trees and beautiful tropical flowers and plants.
Some of the pretty flowers.
A big Ficus tree.
Flat Panda wanted to climb a small Palm tree.
We finally made it back to the hotel. It was a lot of walking on a warm and humid day, and Abby was tuckered out! She took a good nap and bounced back to normal.

Tomorrow, we fly to another city. Thankfully, it is only a short 45 minute plane ride. See you from there!

A Day in Nanning, Guangxi

2009-02-18T03:22:00.000-05:00

Today was a fun day for Flat Panda. We got to go visit Green Hill Park. It is a big area in Nanning with lots of trees and fun places to explore. We first went to the top of the hill where there is a Buddhist Temple. We did not go inside but took a picture of a big guy out front. He looked pretty scary!
This is Abby's new friend. She is being adopted by the other family here with us in Nanning. She is six years old.
Our guide told us that this is statues of Ox poop. Yes, you read that right. Hmmmm. This is the Year of the Ox and I guess it has something to do with the fact that the Ox poop helps the flowers grow. Other than that, I really didn't understand the significance. But they were pretty and lots of people were getting there pictures taken with them, so we did too.
Here is Flat Panda climbing a Ficus Tree. Because this is a tropical area, lots of plants and flowers grow well here.
Here are some of the pretty Peach Blossoms throughout the park.
Another area of the park had many statues in different Kung Fu poses. They were so cute!
Abby is posing like the statue.
Can't quite get her leg exactly like his.
Here is the big Ox. He's everywhere!
Abby is feeding the fish.
In the distance, we see a big pagoda on top of a hill.
So Flat Panda, Abby and Abby's cousin climbed to the top!! Here he is on the Fourth floor.

Wow! That's a tall Pagoda! Nine stories up.
We ate at Pizza Hut after the park. Oops, we forgot to take a picture there. But we did get a picture with the Taxi driver who took us back to the Hotel.
Flat Panda and everyone is resting now.

A trip to Wally World

2009-02-17T18:45:00.001-05:00

Today, Flat Panda got to visit W*lM*rt in China! It was quite an experience. It is really hard to find things when you can't read the language. Good thing we had our guide with us.
We didn't take any pictures inside the store, but there were many interesting food items for sale, including chicken feet and fish jerky. The Chinese people have just celebrated Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival as they call it, and all the decorations are still up. This is the Year of the Ox in their Zodiac calendar.

Introducing Sarah

2009-02-17T00:39:00.000-05:00

Abby meets her sister for the first time!

Dressed in matching pjs and ready for bed!

Forbidden City and Silk Factory

2009-02-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

Sunday was another big day for seeing the sites of Beijing. Only this time it was SUPER cold!! And Flat Panda is used to Ohio cold, but we were not prepared for him to be this cold! We didn't bring him a hat or mittens. So for the first part of the day, he stayed in the backpack. (Actually my brain was so cold, I didn't remember to get him out for any pictures. Sorry!)

First stop was Tiananmen Square. This large open area is surrounded by the Chinese government buildings. There is a famous portrait of Chairman Mao hanging on the side of one of the buildings.
Next stop was the Forbidden City located right behind the building in the previous picture.
There are many buildings and statues in the Forbidden City. When China was ruled by emporers, this is where he lived with all his servants.
Because of the recent Olympics, many of these buildings are newly restored and painted. They were very colorful.

A statue in the emporer's garden.
Next, we went to a Silk Factory demonstration store. The bottom floor had silk rugs for sale. The one that Flat Panda was trying out only cost $8000 (US). It took two-and-a-half years to make by hand. It has more than eight thousand knots per square inch!!
Upstairs, they demonstrated how they get the silk threads from the silk worms.
Here is the various stages of the silk worm. Lovely!
Flat Panda visiting with his Silk Panda friends.
Next, he tried on some new silk pajamas! They were a little big.
Back in the bus, Abby fell asleep. She had woken up around 4AM and never went back to sleep. This time change difference is hard to overcome!
She slept all through lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing. Mommy had nachos. Similar but not entirely the same as in America. The cheese was definately different!
Here's Abby's hot dog and fries. We had them wrapped to go.

Then we went to the airport. Most of our group was flying to a different city on an early flight, so we had to hang out for four hours waiting for our plane to leave. We met some new friends at a play area in the airport. We couldn't pronounce their names but they were very friendly!
Next up, Abby meets her new sister!! She can't wait. We're going in about an hour.

The Great Wall of China

2009-02-14T07:03:00.001-05:00

Today was a big day! We climbed the Great Wall of China! Because the Wall is so long, there are only portions of it open to the public. We went to a part of the wall that is open and safe to climb. Here we are at the base of the Wall.
Look how steep the stairs are! And they are not uniform in size or height. One step was a couple inches up and others seemed to be a couple of feet up.
Can you see Abby?
Abby and Flat Panda made it part of the way up!
Flat Panda is enjoying the view!

We actually climbed up and around a portion of the Wall. Abby climbed all the way herself. She was a trooper. And I'm sure you can tell most of it was pretty steep! Her mom kept up fairly well, but was quite tired when it was done!!

Afterwards, we went to a store for lunch and Flat Panda had a little fish to recuperate from the morning's exercise.

We are in China!

2009-02-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

After a very long travel day, we finally arrived safe and sound. Flat Panda enjoyed the ride and the new sites.
At one of the airports, Flat Panda needed to go potty and couldn't find an appropriate place.

We finally found a suitable place for him. Whew!
At an airport shop.
Getting ready for the long flight.
Abby fell asleep right away.
Finally at our hotel in Beijing. Ready for bed!
Tomorrow, we'll visit the Great Wall!

A Goodbye to the Class

2009-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Abby's class said "goodbye" to FlatPanda this morning.

He's ready to pop in the suitcase and go for a plane ride.

Next stop, CHINA!!

Introduction

2009-02-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

We would love to take Abby's preschool class along on our trip to China. However, the airfare for 22 people would bankrupt a small country let alone trying to keep that many hands and legs inside the aircraft for 16 plus hours.

So we're doing the next best thing. Her class has made a "Flat Panda" to send with us. He will see all the sites, meet some people, and taste most of the food and report back to the class about his trip. He is very excited to get to go on this trip.

I have added his picture to the sidebar and he will wave to you from various spots in China. I also put a map of China and a clock to tell you what time it is. China is 13 hours AHEAD of our time zone in Ohio.

We have two more days of preparations and I plan on making Flat Panda earn his keep. I hope you enjoy reading about our adventure. You can even join in the fun by letting us know what you think. Just click on the "comments" word at the bottom of each post and leave your comment. You can use "anonymous" if you don't have a blogger profile. Just be sure to put your name so we know who it is from.

Next up, a picture with the class.