Day 4 July 4 - Ming Tombs and Hard Rock

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After lunch in a nearby restaurant and more shopping in a government store, we took the bus to the site of the 13 Ming Tombs. You may know that China was under imperial rule for many centuries. Each dynasty usually lasted 300-400 years and ended with an uprising of the peasants. The last 2 dynasties were the Ming and Qing, respectively. During the Ming Dynasty, which lasted during the 1400s 14 emperors were in power. The Ming Tombs is the site of 13 of the emperors. The tomb we visited was that of Emperor Yongle (pronounced yong-lee). He was very powerful, the third of the Ming emperors, and was responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City which is located in the heart of Beijing. This took place after he ordered the capital city to be moved from Nanjing to Beijing.

In the evening most of the group went out to Hard Rock Café for dinner and to celebrate Independence Day. It was a welcome change to have American food such as nachos, potato skins and burgers. We also had a chance to hear a live Chinese rock band perform American song selections including songs from Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Jon Lennon and Journey. There were a number of Americans in the restaurant, who shared in our celebration. There was a group of college students from Indianapolis who joined us below the stage on the dance floor for some wild and crazy moments. Matthew was shocked that I danced and carried on, while he just sat at the table. Finally, Suzanne (George Mason administrator mom of 3) got him to come up and dance. One of the college guys helped him move to the center of the crowd to play the air guitar.

We left the restaurant after 11 pm or so and then crammed 5 of us into a taxi cab. The way the driver was speaking we were sure he was concerned that fit too many people in the cab. He also seemed to have a concern that Matthew was a child and out past 11 pm...not sure if there is a mandatory curfew. Although not the same as home, it was a great way to celebrate the 4th!

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