We had quite a busy day today -- we walked on the Great Wall (see previous post) and visited two Cloisonne Factories. Cloisonne is an 800-year-old craft using a copper base, copper wire and colored enamels to make brilliantly colored and intricate pottery, jewelry, statues, ornaments, etc. The enamel is applied six times in layers and fired six times at about 800 degrees. Pieces are then polished with emery and charcoal. We were shown how it's done by a friendly guide named Babbit ("not rabbit" he said), and then given the opportunity to buy, buy, buy from a huge showroom. The time was too short to see even half the items, but we found some lovely things. The second cloisonne place was also a restaurant where we had a great lunch (see the pictures of us with the other nine families in our group). We managed to squeeze in some more buying before our guide hustled us away. But how could I have neglected to get some cloisonne beads for my necklace-making? I hope I get another chance!
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