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 We
slept
well and woke fairly early, around 6:30 am - no signs of jetlag. We ate a large
breakfast and decided to head for the Temple
of
Heaven. Again it was sunny and cold, beautiful weather for a walk. As we walked
along Jianguomenwai, people were out on the street washing (!) the sidewalks and
fences. This was probably due to the forthcoming annual
party convention. A large crowd had gathered outside a BMW showroom near the hotel, as BMW were
launching their new sports car - which generated a lot of interest (a sign of
the changes in China).
 We took some of the side streets, and
the change was almost immediate – the buildings became progressively less pompous – turning
quickly into what we would consider as slums. New buildings were replacing the
slums, but the slums remained, sometimes as part of the building site - with
people living in them. These areas have small alleyways, communal toilets and
small shops with public telephones hanging on the wall. I wonder where all these people
move to once progress flattens their homes? We were a great source of attention
- even though we were close to downtown Beijing
and one of its main thoroughfares, we can't imagine that many westerners venture into
this area. Nobody approached us, and we certainly didn’t feel in any
danger. As much as we'd have loved to film, we didn't feel it was appropriate,
so this will just remain a memory for us.
 Down
one of the streets, we found an exercise park; here the Chinese (and tourists) have the
possibility to do many different exercises - we saw a number of these spread
around Beijing, and not least Yanmei thought they were fun.
We walked past one of
China’s central stations (east)
– it was swarming with people - coming from or going back to the provinces. We
felt as though everybody was staring at us - not least because we were pushing a little Chinese
girl around. We continued walking and taking in the life on the streets, but realised that we couldn’t make it to the Temple
of
Heaven
– as we had to be back by
13:00.
We stopped off at a new
Department store; with lots of very, very expensive shops; but not a lot of
people. We took a break at Starbucks (we don’t have Starbucks in Denmark
so
we're excused!) and walked
back towards the hotel. We were surprised by the number of traffic wardens that
controlled each and every crossing - we didn't feel more secure though, the
Chinese drivers can still take right-hand turns whilst you're walking over the street at a
crossing.
Back
at the hotel, we ate the rest of the fruit, bread and cheese from the day
before, and went to the
introduction meeting with Christina, DanAdopt’s representative in Beijing. Helle, Claus and Melanie
had just arrived with the flight from Copenhagen. Christina described the itinerary and
the adoption procedures for the coming days in Hangzhou.
  Afterwards
we promised the girls that we'd take a swim in the hotel pool (i.e. the girls,
Lene, Helle and Claus).
Whilst
Lene and Yanmei relaxed before dinner, Steven went for a walk along Dongdaqiao to the Chinese Workers
Stadium in
Beijing.
There wasn't much to see. It turned dark and began to drizzle. On the way back,
Steven saw a large French group with newly adopted babies - soon it would be our turn.
We
ate dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel – very mediocre. On the way
back to the hotel, we bought cakes for dessert (it was a good deal as they were
closing and sold them for half-price), saw some TV and had yet another fairly
early night.
NEXT DAY (26th)
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