Day 3 – 31st May 2009 – Pandas, Stadiums and Acrobatic Show

Our phone rang at around 6.30am, wake up call. Breakfast was at 7am in the hotel, buffet style. They had two different styles server, the western and Chinese. I had my two eggs as usual, but had problem conveying to them that I want sunny side up. I had to stop them from breaking my egg yoke and over cooking them. After breakfast we were off to the Beijing Zoo to see Panda bears.

Panda Zoo

Souvenirs…… lots of panda in all shapes and “colors”.

Panda bears enclosed in a glass enclosure. Some of the pandas were actually from Sichuan. They were brought over after the deadly Sichuan earthquake in 2008. They should be returning to Sichuan soon.

So cute… I was lucky to have the panda craw right under my nose, sat down and posed for the camera.

I bought most of my souvenir here. The price was really reasonable and they are just so cute to resist. If you are looking for souvenirs, I suggest getting them here. It's cheaper here and worth the money you pay for.

We left for the Bird Nest stadium after spending quite an amount of time in the souvenir shops. We headed straight to the silk factory where tourist can spend more money and help the China economy.

Sales personnel explaining and convincing potential customer to buy silk.

Silk worm in their cocoon. If you can break one of this with your bare hands, they will give you a silk comforter for free. Try it if you have the chance. It’s really near unbreakable. Maybe the Shaolin monks can do it.

However, once wet in warm water, it stretches easily.

Silk worms

Workers demonstrating how a silk blanket is made. You need a lot of skill doing this, stretching it from one corner to the other. From a small tiny piece, stretch to the size of a king size bed. We tried and the silk, well ended up for the pillow instead (They don’t waste any silk; all are made to good use).

We proceeded on to the Bird Nest stadium afterwards. I thought we were only going to drive pass the stadium since that’s what the tour brochure specified. But our tour guide actually brought us in. Our bus was park quite a distance away from the entrance to the stadium, so there was great deal of walking.

The Bird Nest Stadium

A 7Star hotel. One of the most expensive hotel in Beijing, or is it the most expensive.

Interior of the stadium

They are not in their right standing order. BeiBei, YingYing, HuanHuan, JingJing, NiNi (nearest to furthest). The mascot actually means “Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni” or Welcome to Beijing. But I think they need a bath.

Even the street lights are in the shape of the stadium.

Watercube Stadium. We didn’t step in this one.

We had tea drinking session at Dr Tea House after that. No photography was allowed in the tea house.

Right outside the Tea House was the minority village. Here they display the villages of the minority group in China.

We didn’t go in any of the village. There weren’t much time and we wanted to get to the Beijing Theatre early to get good seats. Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed in the Theatre, most probably because they want you to buy their CD instead. Fantastic performance and very entertaining.

Anyway, this was the only picture I manage to take, before they ask me to stop.

Our tour ended with a good 10 course dinner and back to the hotel to rest. We had to sleep early today as it is going to be a long journey to the Great Wall.

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