The Longest Flight EVER!!!

Today we took a 17 hour flight, departing from Jacksonville, FL with a quick layover in Washington Dulles International Airport. Our take off time was 12:42pm today.  The distance from our departing city to Beijing (the Capital of China) is 7,451miles. Once we arrived we learned about the celebrations in this area.  In the Chinese culture they have a different New Year than we celebrate here in the US. The Chinese New Year is in February.  One question we had was why do the Chinese name their years after animals?
The use of animal symbols in the Chinese Zodiac dates back to the 6th Century. According to legend, the Jade Emperor, invited all the animals in the kingdom to celebrate the New Year, at the end of the first lunar month.

For unknown reasons, only twelve animals came (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit "In some versions it's Cat," Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig", . The Jade emperor was so happy to see them that he decided to name a year after each of them. The animal would have an influence on everyone born in that year and would bestow its main characteristics on them.

We were so excited to hear about all the YUMMY foods that they eat there and that they use Chopsticks to eat and not forks.  We even got to try some Chinese Noodles and Duck Sauce. Be sure to ask your child what they thought of it:)

The landforms are similar to those we saw in Israel yesterday. China is the home of the Himalayan Mountains, which are the world's most elevated Mountain Range.

One cool fact that we learned was about the schools in China.  School in China is free for children ages 6-15 years old and school is taught in Mandarin. Parents pay small fees for books and uniforms.  They go to school from 7:00am to 4:00pm and even on weekends.  After that they go to High School and begin studying for the big College Exam.  

Please be sure to ask your child about what they learned in China and what souvenir and food they experienced. Remember we will be sending home their suitcases with ALL their souvenirs from all of our destinations at the end of our travels.