Jade Factory and The Great Wall

On the way to the Great Wall we stopped at the Jade Factory. A guide took us through and told us about the different types and colours of jade. We saw them working on jade - carving and buffing. We were taught how to decifer real jade from fake jade and then we were let loose to shop! This factory is regulated by the Chinese Tourism Board (or whatever it's called) and so everything is real and of good quality. There's a Chinese tradition that when a couple gives birth to a girl, the mother will wear jade (either a necklace or bracelet) and when the daughter reaches a certain age or gets married, it is passed onto her. Mike and I purchased two jade pendants - circles to represent family unity - and when Victoria and Samara reach a certain age, they will be passed onto them.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words and anything I say won't do it justice, here is the Great Wall:

(Victoria and Austin: Mommy and Daddy searched high and low for Big Bird but we couldn't find him and Barkley anywhere - we must have just missed them!)

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for lunch at Yu Long Restaurant. It was our best meal yet! The restaurant was part of the Cloisonne Factory where we got to see how they make Cloisonne and of course we did some more shopping!!!

And for those of you who don't care about any of the above and are just looking for pictures of Samara, here you go: