beijing {part one}

our first stop in china was beijing! we left LA at 2 in the morning on the 4th of july, and arrived in beijing at 6 AM on the 5th of july! we skipped an entire day, it was quite a time warp. we spent 3 days in beijing, the capital city of china. we were fascinated by the size of it, the history, and the culture. this post covers the first part of our time in beijing.

^^ long flight..tip: don't eat the food provided on air china! it is not normal!

we brought bags of trader joe's snacks instead :) ^^

^^ our first stop, the summer palace! this was formerly used by emperors in china.

it was unbelievably gorgeous, and one of our favorite things in beijing. ^^

^^ a little visit to the beijing zoo to see the famous giant pandas ^^

^^ i wanted to cuddle the cute panda bears eating bamboo ^^

^^ we got lots of yummy asian fruit off the street, and headed to the pearl market ^^

^^ they have everything you can imagine! knock offs, souvenirs, it is crazy.

lots of bartering goes on, and if you walk away they almost always give in to your price! ^^

^^ chase bartering with his yuan. the markets there were unbelievable! 

he got some polo t-shirts for around $5 each. ^^

^^ chase loved the soldiers and took a picture with them every chance he got ^^

^^ we took a boat ride on kunming lake at the summer palace. i LOVED this place. ^^

^^ we kept seeing these little containers with straws everywhere on the street, and couldn't figure out what they were. milk? nope..yogurt. they drink theirs through a straw {it's not as thick}

^^ then, the jet lag hit us on the subway ^^

 

^^ we stopped by the famous pearl factory.. i had never seen gold pearls before! so gorgeous. we also learned all about pearl powder and how chinese people eat it in the morning with hot water for health, put it on their face for better skin, etc. i'm sold!^^ 

^^ we tried lots & lots of dumplings on this trip..these were our favorite ^^

^^ the rickshaw ride was one of our favorite things in the hutong district ^^

^^ this jade museum was actually something i loved! i knew what jade was, but never realized the significance in chinese culture. i also didn't know how many different shades and varieties jade can come in. some of the lighter stones were gorgeous! if you get a real jade bracelet and wear it on your left wrist, it's good for your heart! what's not to like? ^^

^^ we even stopped at this famous pharmacy where they practice traditional medicine...AKA focus on imbalances and treat you with herbs! we got a complimentary little check-up, they told chase he has too much "fire" in him, & not to drink icy water! ha, so for the rest of the trip he refused any cold drinks. crazy if you ask me...it was HOT & humid! i was told that i have poor circulation, and as if to prove that, i fainted the day after we returned from china! not sure if that was dehydration, jet lag, or poor circulation, but i better listen to those traditional chinese doctors next time! all joking aside, i really loved this experience at the pharmacy because i realized that in america, we tend to only go to the doctor when something is wrong or we are sick. in china, they focus on wellness and encourage everyone to do what they can to feel their BEST. we may not be sick, but we all have imbalances we can improve upon, and i like the natural way they do that.  ^^

part two post of beijing on the way!

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