Monday, April 16, 2012

Jade Factory

Day Two in China began with a drive by the 2008 Olympic complex on our way to the jade factory.
The Bird's Nest 
The cube - aquatics center

We had several government mandated stops on our itinerary - one being the jade factory.  They had a lot of beautiful pieces, but there "deals" and "reasonable prices" were still a bit too high for my skimpy wallet! 
A jade craftsman working on a "happy family ball"

 Another stop after the Great Wall and Summer Palace was the pearl market.  Here I was able to find a deal or two - after all, I needed a necklace to wear with my ball gown on the 21st.
A freshwater oyster our guide cracked open in front of us.
I even got a pearl straight from this oyster as I guessed there were an average of 13 pearls per oyster.

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