Cloisonne

The second Government outlet we went to was the Beijing Enamel Factory, where they make cloisonne. This is a very time-consuming way to make enamel vases and other pieces.

First, a copper base is beaten. Next, tiny pieces of metal are glued in on a pattern, and finally, the enamel is applied, using an eye dropper, to fill the gaps between the metal outlines. It was fascinating to walk around and watch the crafstmen and work. What really amazed me was how well-dressed they were. Many wore no aprons, and the women mostly had skirts and high heels on.

The finished pieces have really vivid colours, and are truly beautiful. We bought a little Christmas decoration for our Christmas tree. We don't actually have a Christmas tree yet, but we will!

While at the cloisonne factory, a group of Tibetans turned up to do the tour. They looked just like .... Tibetans. See for yourself. One man kept staring at me (he's the one in the single photo), and when I took off my glasses, to rub my eye, he asked to see them. He looked through them, and he was quite amazed. By the way, the reason I'm wearing glasses at all in these photos is because I developed an eye infection after I soaked my contact lenses for one. This is why my eyes look so red in the photos. They are perfectly fine, now.

One of the tour guides said that Tibetans often have a strong yak fat smell, as they smear it on their skin to keep warm, and eat a lot of it in their cooking. Apparently yak fat smells a bit goat cheese-ish. Yum. These ones smelled very good.

Hugo was a bit less impressed, as one of the Tibetan women gave him a very familiar slap on the bottom and said something friendly to him. People kept telling me how pretty or handsome he was, the whole trip. The guide said they would have found his very large eyes appealing. He was quite disgusted about being slapped on the bottom.