Tiananmen Square

Today we woke up at 3 am and met by a convoy of 18 buses at 3:30 am to drive to Tiananmen Square.

This is the first time a foreign band to perform in the square.

The press was invited. Only some of the shadow tour were allowed in the square. Chinese TV as well as NBC and KCRA3 from Sacramento were among the camera men.

Even though it was early- 9 am when they performed- it was HOT. We encourage the kids to bring their water with them and stay hydrated.

ah shucks-

I had a great video and it didn't load-

I'll try again tonight

Dress Rehearsal

Today there was a brutal morning practice in blazing heat.
A long lunch with a siesta until 4... then more practice.
At 6:30 was a dress rehearsal for the Chinese Olympic Committee.
The orchestra is vast.
First the yellow ring (Japanese and Chinese) perform.
Then the red ring (US)
Then the green ring (Australia)
All of the percussion is blue and the color guard is purple.



The Olympic Committee sat in white chairs. Each had their own little tea pot for refreshments.



I need a camera with a wide angle lens to get the full effect...










Then a late dinner and off to bed.




Wake up calls are at 0300 to board the buses for the performance in Tiananmen Square.

Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore

Dragons Everywhere!

Today I walked the wall surrounding Epoch City. This gave me new perspectives on this enclosure.
Epoch City is to Beijing what Disney's California Adventure is to California. The trashcans are even camoflauged as tree trunks.
The cicadas buzz whenever you walk near a tree. The cicadas sang along with the band.


Buddah's temple


Joseph walking the wall.
our hotel
Our hotel from the wall

Trash can as tree trunk

More buildings- under this one is the water park.

Practice, practice, practice

The practices are grueling. The heat and humidity are taking their toll, but for the most part the kids take it in stride.

Epoch City

So, where are we?

Our hotel is the Fu'an Palace Hotel. It is part of the "Grand Epoch CIty International Conference & Exhibition Co.".

This complex was built in 1992 as a minature version of the original capital of Peking. It is enclosed in a brick wall, and abuts a golf course. There is also a water park, with a wave pool that is "pretty neat", and a couple of inoperative slides. There is our hotel, as well as another upscale hotel called Zheng' an Palace Hotel. We walk past "Grand Water Works", an interesting fountain with brass sculpures of a frozen buck surrounded by growling dogs, to get to the "cocktail garden" where we have lunch and dinner. From the cocktail garden, one can walk through the sports center, with ping pong, badmitten, and bowling, into the Zheng' an Palace Hotel.

There is a large pond with giganormous lillies with paddle boats. From here there are canals that are extensive enough for my children to get somewhat lost. There is "Oianment Street" with a restaurant and a store.

The practices have occured in front of the entrance, and with the whole group by the main "Yongding" gate. There are many steep bridges, and sculptures about the grounds.

Friday

Today was a full day of practice for the kids. They had morning practice, a "noodle rama" for lunch, afternoon practice, dinner, and the percussion and kids chosen for the IOC performance went back for an evening practice as well.

Several of the chaperones (7 of us to be exact) took two cabs into the city yesterday. Liz with her shock of blond hair, and me with my six feet of height attracted some interested looks, and a couple of requests for photos. Nothing like being an object d' art (or a freak, depending on your point of view).

We previewed Tiananmen Square, and were mobbed by people selling such delectable tidbits as a Mao Tse Tung watch, or a little red book of Mao sayings.

We enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant and then went to Silk Street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Street). The vendors were incredibly aggressive. "LADY LADY" they grabbed at us as we passed. They would have you step into their stall and then block your egress. They would drape a scarf across your arm and then not take it back. Every one would use a calculator to say "This is the usual price, but for you, special price" and then show 1/2 the amount. They could generally be haggled down to 1/10th of the original number. We came home poorer in cash, but with some pearls, silk, and chop sticks.

Aug 1

Today will be the third day of practicing. While we arrived Tuesday night, arrivals continued through yesterday. Many of the Modesto gang had a much longer trip than we did. While we had the easy 11 hour "short" direct flight from SFO to Beijing, the others were bussed to LAX, then stopped in Bangkok. They got here in the middle of pouring rain, and were deposited at the "Cocktail Lounge" for dinner.





The Cocktail Lounge is a huge room with flags hanging from the ceiling.

Yesterday, the practices were brutal. They had morning, afternoon, and the percussion and those chosen to play the "green" music had more practice after dinner.

The elevators have been fast... except right before practices. Have you ever tried to share an elevator with a couple of tubas and a bass drum?