We left Detroit on Saturday evening around 8:00 PM and embarked on our 14-hour flight. The 747 that we were on was virtually empty…giving us each three seats across, so there was ample room to sprawl out, making the flight go by quickly. Ben and I bonded with one of the flight attendants who has been doing the asian routes since 1994 when Northwest was the first US carrier allowed into China. She had some great stories.
As we approached the Beijing airport, we saw TONS of fireworks lighting up the sky 30,000 feet below. It looked like a bunch of firecrackers, with an occasional waterfall-type firework. As we took a long drive from the airport, we saw that literally everything was closed in celebration, and there was more fireworks that I’ve seen in my live in the middle of the streets. I’m not sure how many structure fires there were last night, but as close as they were setting them off to buildings, I’m sure there were at least a few!
When we arrived at our hotel, the Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven, we climbed to our 14th floor room and saw more fireworks that were around room-level. To say the display is impressive would be an understatement…what’s not an understatement is that the Fourth of July celebrations in the US completely pale in comparison to the Chinese New Year Celebrations!
This morning (Monday), we’re off for more adventures in Bejing…more later.
