November 5, 2009 (continued): Our understanding is that the oldest religion in China is Taoism. Part of that religion required the Emperor to perform an elaborate ceremony, 3 times a year, at the Temple in his capital. The current Temple seems to have been built (and rebuilt/restored many times) around 1420 in Beijing. We have many pictures of this glorious building, but were unable to go inside. The tour guide was very helpful and friendly, and her English was very good. We returned to the hotel around 3:30, shared our pictures of home and you with her, then went to visit Bryan and Kathy.

Bryan and Kathy, along with their 3 children, live in the northern part of Beijing. The taxi ride, in rush hour, took over an hour, but only cost about 11 dollars. We had no idea where we were going, but had Bryan talk to the taxi driver twice using the cell phone we rented in China. Their apartment was very pretty, and they had dinner for us. We got to visit their newest baby, Trevor, and play with their 5 year old (Jeannie) and 3 year old (Darren). The return home was much quicker, and we got to bed after emailing many of our family and friends back home.

I was planning to post to my blog, or post to my page on Facebook, but China restricts access to those pages. Therefore, I had to send emails, and pictures, to folks. Tomorrow, on to the Great Wall of China!