Dim Sum

Yummy yum yum! Who can resist tasty dim sum?

And these were purported to be the best in Shanghai! Unfortunately, we did not try them as the queue was more than 50 persons long and there are limits on how long I can wait - even for the best dim sum.

Cloisonee

While we were in Beijing, we visited a cloisonee factory. The tour was actually quite interesting and informative. We saw these vases just coming out of the fire - quite impressive. It takes 10 - 15 layers to fill up the spaces on a vase, that's pretty tedious work. But the results are worth it, the works are quite beautiful. We took home two Christmas ornaments. Funnily enough - there was even a Mississippi State Bulldogs ornament all the way in China. I should have taken a picture of that!

PS: This is my 365th post - one full year's worth of pictures.

Yu Yuan Bazaar

The Yu Yuan Bazaar is just next to the famed Yu Yuan Gardens in Shanghai. Although everything may look old, this is actually a small section of streets which have been restored to former Chinese glory. It's filled with tea shops, souvenir stands, department stores and restaurants. It's a lovely place to visit in the day, but it definitely gets more magical at night.

Spectacle

My husband and I went to an acrobatic show in Beijing. It was actually quite disappointing. I don't know if the performers were tired from the show just before ours or if they weren't very experienced, but there were quite a few mistakes. The costumes were beautiful though and I got a few good photos.

I will continue posting China highlights until the end of the week. Next week Jackson will be back!

December Theme Day: Circles/Spheres

This is the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai. When you go up to the observation deck, you can look down on the Shanghai Grand Hyatt. It's pretty spectacular.

Take a look at how others across the world have interpreted today's theme.

Terracotta Soldiers

These are the terracotta warriors of Xian. Archeologists have uncovered around 2,000 men so far - they believe there are more than 8,000 in total. They are believe to have been commissioned by China's first Emperor - Qin - to protect him in the afterlife, although there is no written record of the project. Amazing!