Distractions

On my way to see the Great Wall today, I found myself the only person signed up for my tour. Usually they make you visit two shops, but I guess to make up for the lack of tourists, I was taken to four shops, plus one additional one for the free lunch.

Here is a worker in the jade factory, where I was required to spend at least 30 minutes, but frankly couldn't wait to leave.

But at least they let me take pictures. This piece is actually interesting. It is a series of concentric spheres carved from a single piece of jade.

And, of course, there are other more elaborate carvings.
Then it was on to the enamel factory, which we would call cloisonne. This was actually worth seeing. One worker bends copper strips into the required patterns and adheres them to the piece.
Then, another fills each of the subsequently created shapes with enamels of different colors. Then the piece goes through a series of firings and polishings.
As I mentioned, for lunch I was taken to another jade factory where my guide made me walk around the store for a while and then said that they had a good restaurant that she wanted to take me to, as though she was paying. But then, she said that she eats downstairs, and left me by myself to eat bad Americanized "Chinese" food. I am positive that lunch is provided free if you bring in potential customers. I need to start paying more for my tours. Sometimes these diversions are amusing, but today's were too much.

After the wall, on the way back into the city, we stopped at a pearl factory, where they specialize in fresh water pearls that are grown in the lake by the summer palace. They let us take some of the pearls since they were small and of nominal value. (You might be able to see them in this picture. Look for the small white dots.)

The larger pearls make some beautiful jewelry, especially the ones that occur in unique colors like purple, black, or gold.
Then, I was taken to a tea house/shop. We did a tasting where they provided a lot of information about the various teas and the proper methods for preparing them. And at least it was cheaper than the "tea scam" tea.