Excess Baggage

We met this guy in over-sized bags when we went to check our carseat. And we thought we bought too much stuff in China.

Relaxing

After a long day shopping and site-seeeing, Ella and Andrew need some down time.
And time to practice their iguana impersonations.
Time to be excited about a tiny bite of pizza.
And time to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Shopping Spree

Andrew and Ella had a good time shopping for rugs together.
Ella's checking the knot-count.
And gave every rug her best sit test.

Massages

Dan took us to his favorite spa for massages.
They provided us with these lovely peasant outfits for the massages. Next time I'm going to get a different massage every day.

Hard to get Used to

Even though we saw it everywhere we went, we never quite got accustomed to the sight of so many diaperless, pantless children. Nor did we ever get completely comfortable with the sound of a child urinating near us in public spaces.

All the King's Horses and All the King's Men...

I thought the most amazing thing about the Terra Cotta warriors was how the team of archaeologists transformed this:

Into this:
Into this:
In this photo you can see how painstakingly the soldiers are pieced together:

I guess that's why 34 years later they're still working on it.

Forbidden City

In front of the entrance to the royal city.
Standing between some of the palaces. Andrew was smart enough to wear yellow, the imperial color, so that he would match the roofs. The walkway in the right corner runs straight through the entire complex and is slightly raised. Only the emperor was allowed to walk on the path.
The love tree in the imperial gardens.
View from a hill behind the forbidden city. All the yellow roofs are part of the forbidden city.