Most Educational Experiences in China

I guess it's the teacher inside of me, but I wanted all of us to have learning experiences while we were in China--as well as have a great time together. It was so rewarding that both were accomplished. But here are some of the great lessons we learned:

Pearl Factory. We learned how they make freshwater cultured pearls by inserting pieces of a foreign object inside the tissues of a huge oyster shell, putting it back in the water, and then waiting for about six months. When the lady opened it, there must have been at least 20 pearls inside. They were beautiful! She then showed what they looked like all strung together. They were very expensive, so no one bought any of the strands, but we loved looking at them!

Silk Factory. We, also, went to a silk factory and saw how they boiled the silk worms and then started the single string which unwound the cocoon which is around the silk worm until all that was left was the actual little bug inside. Tyson in front of a whole case of silk cocoons.
Boiling the silk cocoons and then the left-over bug that is inside.

We then saw how they stretched the silk . . .

and finally how they pulled the silk into a wonderful silk comforter. They let us try, but we weren't nearly as good as the young girls who do it daily. This was a young lady making a silk rug.

Jade Factory. The jade factory was very interesting, too. Jade is a special stone which is found in China. It is considered a royal gem and is found in the emperors' tombs, as well as their palaces. The Chinese regard it as we do gold and diamonds here in America. We saw the workers painstakingly grinding it into many beautiful objects. Some of the objects were huge and worth a great deal of money. Here a woman is carving a many layered ball, each one rolling inside of the other. This was made out of one stone with the carving taking place inside! It is amazing.

Chop Sticks. The kids all had a great time learning how to use chop sticks. John and Alison's kids are very good at it, as well as their Uncle Jerry who spent two years in Taiwan on a Mormon mission.
Grinding Rice. The kids thought it was great fun to use the old-fashioned grinder to grind rice.

Buddha Temple. It was absolutely fascinating to go to the Buddha Temple and learn of the Chinese way of worshipping Buddha. We watched as they burned their incense and turned each way to the east, south, west, and north as they were bowing. Each Buddha symbolizes something that they pray for that is important to them.

We saw the "Laughing Buddha" many places we went--here Connor and I saw one at a restaurant. Although not part of the Buddha religion, the folklore is that if you rub his tummy, you will have wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

Other Learning Ideas. In a little canal city called Zhouzhang, we saw the people who still make their living doing what their ancestors many years before them have done. Here some women are spinning and weaving.

Here a man is making shoes and a woman is making combs behind him. Walking along the streets, there out in the open air, we saw some big racks for their noodles to dry out.

In Summary. Actually, when I started this "Most Educational Experiences," I thought I would just put a few. Who am I kidding? The whole China experience was educational!!! I will put other ideas in another section. This one is getting too long!