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Hannah and Leah Learn Chinese Color Names by Playing

Camp Director Wang Hui's Special Version of "Twister"

Our reason for visiting Beijing was to participate in OCDF's (Our Chinese Daughters Foundation) excellent Language and Culture Camp.  Founded some ten years ago by adoptive China mom, Dr. Jane Liedtke, OCDF specializes in helping  families with Chinese kids maintain their connection with the children's' birthland.  We first heard about OCDF when we were paperchasing for Hannah.  We read some of Jane's commentaries on an adoption listserve and thought that she spoke with evident sincerity and wisdom.  Here in Texas, we would just say that she makes good sense!

We had planned on waiting until the girls were little older before returning to China, but after reading some of Jane's thoughts on the importance of establishing the birthland connection early, we decided to travel this year.  Instead of focusing on orphanage visits this time - our goal was to have the girls fall in love with China!

Our Home in Beijing - The Ya Yuan Apartments at the Friendship Hotel (Haidian District)

At the Beijing airport, we were met by OCDF guides and transported to our apartment at the Friendship Hotel.  Wang Hui (Culture Camp Director) was waiting to greet us and welcome us to Beijing.  The girls liked her right away and we could tell that we were off to a good start.

The Friendship Hotel is a very large complex that includes several hotel and apartment buildings along with seven or eight restaurants.  We ate dinner at one of the hotel restaurants and looked forward to starting class in the morning.

Our Schedule for Week 1

Monday AM - Pinyin basics, ideaographs, greetings, Chinese names, 4 tones.

Monday PM - Tour the Forbidden City

Tuesday AM - Numbers, time, foods, dining out.

Tuesday PM - Tour the Great Wall, dinner at Jane Liedtke's home.

Wednesday AM - Chinese sentences, colors, body parts.

Wednesday PM - Free time.

Thursday AM - Animals, Cloisonné art lesson.

Thursday PM - Minority Culture Park, carpet factory tour, Peking Duck Dinner.

The morning classes gave us the opportunity to learn a little Chinese - then we could practice what we learned while touring Beijing in the afternoon.  The Chinese was a lot to remember - and the girls picked it up much faster than their parents.

While Beijing was much less humid than Guangzhou, it was still hot.  After walking through the Forbidden City, a round of popsicles helped cool everyone off.  Our guide for the afternoon tours was Tony, a young man from Mongolia who came to Beijing to go to school and really knows the city.

The Forbidden City is undergoing renovation in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.  The renovation involves removing many layers of old paint, replacing all of the roof tiles, and then repainting every building and pavilion in the city.  We wondered how many gallons of Chinese red paint they would need?  Given the awesome size of the Forbidden City - probably enough to keep a paint factory at full production for at least a year.  

At the Great Wall, we visited the section at Badaling.  The wall at Badaling is visited primarily by foreign tourists.  On our previous two visits to the Great Wall, we toured the Water Canyon section. 

Badaling is close to Water Canyon but is an entirely different experience.  The wall here is much more crowded and has a lot more vendors selling mostly ordinary souvenirs.  The wall itself is a wonder as it ascends the ridge line of the surrounding steep hills.  At Badaling, there are very few steps and you walk on a smooth stone surface.  From anywhere on the wall, you can see a huge sign reading "Beijing 2008."  It reminded us of the famous Hollywood sign in L.A.

The Water Canyon location is, we are told, intended to be more for native Chinese.  We think that most people would like it better because it is less crowded and the views tend to be more authentic (no signs and less commercialization).  There are still shops at Water Canyon.  When we were there in 2002, a group of what looked to be ancient guard houses had been restored an turned into a collection of very nice shops.  The wall at Water Canyon is, however, steeper and has lots of steps.  It would be a more difficult to climb for some people.

On Thursday morning we had a art lesson from Chen Zhonghua at her Beijing studio.  Madam Chen is an excellent teacher, as well as an accomplished artist in her own right, in the art of Cloisonné.  If you are like us, you probably associate cloisonné with the beautiful vases that are sold throughout China - and even on eBay.   Madam Chen has applied that same art form to two dimensional painting.  In the photo above, you can see some of her paintings on the wall behind us.

We really enjoyed our time with Madam Chen.  All four of us, with considerable assistance, completed our own small, floral, cloisonné paintings.  These paintings are now displayed proudly in our living room.  We purchased two of her original paintings and they continue to remind us daily of what a wonderful time we had learning about this ancient Chinese art.

Cindy and Hannah Take Break From our Cloisonné Lesson

After touring the park we saw hand-sewn carpets being made in a factory workshop and toured the company's product showroom.

Finally, we gathered with Tony and the other families participating in the culture and arts camps for a Peking Duck dinner at a local restaurant.  The duck and the company were most enjoyable!

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