WAB Tiger Field, Beijing, China

Track and field day is an annual event in the elementary.  Each class is part of a greater color team and they work together to earn points.  It was an all day event and the girls loved the time to hang out with their friends and do some fun track and field events.

Being at WAB has provided our family with many new and amazing opportunities.  Many schools have track and field days, that is not unique.  But what we are absolutely loving about this experience is the chance to be more present in the girls’ school lives.  Because we work at their school, we can take 15 min. out of our day to watch them compete, cheer them on, give them a quick high five and go back to work.  It is an amazing opportunity that we do not take for granted!

Haidian District, Beijing, China

An important part of our life in the US was running races together.  As we are creating our new life here in China, running is still part of that.  We signed up to run a trail race with our friend Paul and other foreign runners we connected with on a group chat.  It was our first trail race and our first race in China, so we had no idea what to expect.  Turns out the ‘trail’ meant almost 2 miles climbing up a mountain!  It was much more challenging that we thought, even more so for Matt and Paul who did 21K.  But the whole experience was exciting, fun, interesting, and exhausting!

Capital Paradise, Shunyi, Beijing, China

Winter in Beijing is cold (not nearly as cold as Minnesota), but it does not usually snow.  Beijing is close to a desert so it is very, very dry.  It was weird for us to experience a cold winter devoid of snow and the girls really missed it.  We were thrilled to wake up one morning to see snow on the ground.  It didn’t last long but we enjoyed it while it was here.

Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China

The Hanging Temple, also Hanging Monastery or Xuankong Temple is a temple built into a cliff (75-metre (246 ft) above the ground) near Mount Heng in Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. It was VERY cold up on this mountain, so the grandparents and grandkids decided to stay in the visitor center.  Matt and I ventured on with our guide to endure the long lines and bracing cold winds.  The temple was absolutely stunning, in spite of the cold.  (Click any photo for a larger view.)

Datong, Shanxi Province, China

The Yungang Grottoes, formerly the Wuzhoushan Grottoes, are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong in the province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. They are an outstanding example of the Chinese stone carvings from the 5th and 6th centuries. There are 53 major caves, along with 51,000 niches housing the same number of Buddha statues. Additionally, there are around 1,100 minor caves. A Ming Dynasty-era fort is still located on top of the cliff housing the Yungang Grottoes. In 2001, the Yungang Grottoes were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Words can not capture the stunning experience of standing in these grottoes, some of which were carved in 450 AD.  (Click any photo for a larger view.)

Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces, China

Xi’an City Wall, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China

Xi’an City Wall, represents one of the oldest, largest and best preserved Chinese city walls. It was built under the rule of the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang as a military defense system. It has been refurbished many times since it was built in the 14th century and as recently as 1983. The wall encloses an area of about 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi) and tourists can rent bikes to ride along the wall.  We had fun riding the tandem bike for awhile, but did not make it all the way around as it got too cold.  We drew some attention from locals that wanted to take pictures with the girls and grandma and grandpa!

Island Tours, Phuket, Thailand

In my research for Phuket, I found many options for island day trips.  Some people advised to wait till we got to the island and decide what islands to see.  Others said to book the trips before we left.  I wanted the easiest possible vacation, so I booked three island tours spaced out over our last week in Phuket.  I used a site to book all tours, but each was a different vendor.  The four of us experienced many amazing things for the first time during these trips and we’re thankful for each tour.

Shunyi District, Beijing, China

Coming to Beijing, we did not know what to expect for weather and seasons.  The fall far exceeded our expectations with temperature and beauty.  We were surrounded by beautiful colors of the leaves changing and some unexpectedly large leaves at the WAB campus.

Various Districts, Beijing, China

The Golden Week vacation was a much needed week off at a perfect time. We are starting to settle into Beijing, and it gave us time to explore a little.  After a very busy summer and then directly going to work after flying into Beijing, it was nice to catch our breath for a bit. It was also refreshing to meet some fellow MN transplants, and I know the girls really had fun playing with their new friends!

Here’s a few photos that summarize the week. Click any photo for a larger view.