Today is Monday, November 24th. We woke up in Shanghai and are preparing for a long day to get home.

Today is our last full day in China! We spent the entire day in Shanghai today. It is hard to describe how big this city is! Today was a typical Seattle day with some off-and-on drizzle.

Today we woke up in Suzhou, before we left we first visited the Lingering Garden, one of the 4 classical gardens of China, then we went to the largest silk factory in the country to discover the mysterious processing of silk, had lunch then went to an Embroidery Institute to see how they make silk embroidered stitched ‘paintings’. Weather today was again sunny sand 60 degrees, just perfect for our activities.

Today it is Thursday, November 20th and we flew from Beijing to Shanghai this morning. From there we took a bus ride to Suzhou. We visited Tiger Hill and took a boat ride in the famous canals. It is much warmer here in Suzhou which is more South - today it was 52 degrees for a high and sunny again!

We started by visiting a Chinese medical facility and learned about naturopathic medicine and theory. Next we left for Temple of Heaven which was built in 1420 A.D. Weather today was a bit warmer, sunny and less windy with a high near 42.  

Today we visited a Jade Factory, Ming Tombs and the Great Wall.  Dinner included a Chinese Acrobatic Show. Weather was sunny, with a breeze which made the 39 degrees plus a 10 mile-per-hour wind a bit cooler than it appeared. Another day of great sites!

Today we visited Tian'an Men Square, the Summer Palace, Lama Temple, and the Forbidden City, as well as a Pearl Market.  Weather was sunny, with a breeze which made the 44 degrees a bit cooler than it appeared. Lots of walking and some incredible sites!

This day will always be known as the ‘travel day’! We met Saturday late morning, November 15th at SeaTac Airport to board our plan for China!

Welcome and thank you for joining us on our trip to China. This trip is hosted by the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce and Citslinc. I would encourage you to post comments on this blog, I will be downloading photos nearly everyday as well as providing commentary so you can see and get a sense of what we are experiencing along the way. We are flying out today, Saturday, November 15, 2008 from Seattle at 1:10pm and will be arriving into Beijing directly on Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 4:20pm. My next post will be Sunday evening which will be Sunday morning for you if you are in the United States.