We started off at the cloisonne factory, which for lack of a better description are the vases which are predominantly blue and have the intricate designs on them. It was better than I thought, turns out all of those intricate designs are copper wire shaped by hand and then glued to the pot. They then basically fill in the holes with colored metal powder, and fire it all in a furnace. They do that 6 times, sanding between coats, until it is all smooth and shiny. A lot of work for something basically only good for keeping grandma in when she's gone.
I think that pretty much sums up what I've seen of the chinese thus far-"work harder, not smarter."
Which brings us to the monument of that national motto, The Great Wall. It is truly an amazing sight, this huge wall that stretches over the mountains for as far as you can see. It was exhausting just walking on it, I can't imagine the poor bastards that built it. And it was, best guess, 3-4000 feet up in most places, so you not only had to build it but someone had to cut and carry each of those billion or so blocks up a big damn hill. My thinking is spend your time making weapons, and just kill the mongol invaders when they get to the top of the hill. You know they're gonna be tired anyway.
So we were done early, and went to the silk market. They call it that, but it is the 'made in china' market. You can buy a knock-off of virtually anything, from ipods to Colombia jackets. I bought a Mont Blanc pen for $5, and I almost bought a Colombia Titanium jacket for 15 (but size was an issue). It was crazy cheap. I just kept thinking a. It had to make it into my suitcase, and b. It had to make it through customs. So no new Rolex for me...
Last today was the Kung Fu show, mostly show and a little kung fu. We actually ate dinner at KFC, it was the drivers favorite place. They have almost everything but hardly any chicken, go figure.
So tomorrow, 4am wakeup.
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1 comment:
cloisonne vases? not so much, but cloisonne beads? gorgeous
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