DAY 8: SUNDAY - MAY 29, 2011

The day we leave.  It came so soon.  Where did the week go?  Well one more thing before we head home.  THE BEIJING ZOO!   We got to see the pandas amongst other animals.  Amazing how we got that in before we left.  Then we were wisped off to the airport saying our goodbyes.

What a week!!!!  It was a business, cultural, educational and social experience that I will never forget. 

DAY 7: SATURDAY - MAY 28, 2011

Ahhh… Saturday so soon.  Just when I thought it could not get any better, we went to the Great wall.  During the drive there I actually got to see some small homes.  Up to that point I only saw towering twenty story apartment buildings that are all over Beijing and so many more being built.  I must admit I knew the walk up would be a great challenge when just walking up the hill to get to the Great Wall had me working.  So I opted for the cable car ride up to the Great Wall.  It was a splendid view.  The Great Wall is an awesome creation.  Well I must say our instructor and host did not let me escape climbing the Great Wall before I knew where I was going they had me trekking the Great Wall to a slide that we could ride down the hill.  I walked and walked and walked until we finally got there.  I was a little upset because I was already exhausted from the packed agenda we experienced all week long.  Though, I must say the experience was like a woman giving birth to a child that after the pain the joy came.  Riding the slide down the hill from the Great Wall to the bottom was so much fun I would have did it again just to ride the slide down one more time.  AWESOME! 

From there we went to lunch at JOVI a Japanese hibachi restaurant where Vivien’s brother worked.  It was the icing on the cake.  The food was too good.  We ate and ate.  There was nothing that I tried that did not taste good.  Great food and Great company.  I loved it!   We then went shopping for the rest of the night.  Pearl Market and Sanlitun shopping areas.

DAY 6: FRIDAY - MAY 27, 2011

Another beautiful day!  We toured the Summer Palace.  It is a very, very beautiful place.   There was a group of people doing low impact aerobics in a park area.  A band played in a gazebo not too far off from them.  Exercise music and band music together, go figure...  We walked all the way up to the top of the palace.  It was a beautiful sight.  Then we took a boat ride to a side that had a lot of vendors up and down a little lake inlet.  Afterwards we went to visit a company called Capital Bio it is a life sciences company they develop total healthcare solutions.  They create equipment for working with DNA.  They also partner with other innovative companies.  Capital Bio is currently under government support, but will be going public very soon.  Keep your eye open for their stock.  To cap of the day we had dinner at a fancy Restaurant in Wufungjing.  We ate Peking duck, rabbit, duck feet and a variety of other cuisine.  It was a very nice relaxing dinner.  When dinner was done we went shopping.

DAY 5: THURSDAY - MAY 26, 2011

Morning activity was a lecture at Tsinghua University from Professor JiaoJie.  His lecture was on doing business in China.  He told us something that I think shocked most of the students because it is a practice that is contrary or considered unethical in our country.  Professor JiaoJie stated that corruption is a part of business there.  It cost you to get connected to the right people there.  He also taught us a new word.  After you get connected you have what they call “Guan Xi”.  Meaning you are connected to the people that your connection are connected to.  Then you will be able to find or get whatever you need to do business.  He went on to lecture on more things about doing business in China.  His lecture was very good and kept our attention and interaction with him.  We had lunch on campus and from there we went to tour a distillery NiuLanshan to see how Chinese liquor is made.  After the tour we got to shop in their store.  Many people purchased liquor to bring back home.  Lots of pretty bottles…  Then on to Hyundai of Beijing, Wow… watching those cars be put together was some sight.   And the men workers were in wow watching the group of mostly women walk through the plant.  That is when I saw the realization of the shortage of women in china.   Dinner was on our own and the evening’s event was an acrobat show at the Beijing Chaoyang Theater.  It was very entertaining.  The acrobats performed some very daring feats.  I also did a little shopping there.  And this brought the end to another wonderful day.

DAY 4: WEDNESDAY - MAY 25, 2011

Today we toured Olympic city.  It was nice to see The Bird’s nest.  I wonder what type of use it gets since the Olympics besides tourist tours.  Then we went on to the Water Cube.  The pool is very nice with flags from all the different countries bordering the ceiling.  The Water Cube has a huge indoor water park in it.  They still get lots of use from it.  After touring the Olympic city we toured Tiananmen Square.  It has an interesting history and is the largest city square in existence.  From there we went to the Forbidden City.  All I can say is huge lots of steps and it has nine gates to get to the inner court of the city.  The doors to the gates have these large brass balls on them that if you rub them with your hands when going through them it is suppose to be good luck for you.  For the evening event we went to the Lashoe Teahouse show.  This was a Chinese variety show, sound mimickers, opera singers, dancers, acrobats.  It was a very cultural experience and all spoken in Chinese.  Then I made a stop for some KFC Chinese style – take out.  Then needless to say the group I was with went back to the hotel.  The tours for this day was more walking than I think I have ever done in one day.

DAY 3: TUESDAY - MAY 24, 2011

After breakfast we were off to a tour of Lenovo a Chinese computer company (the Apple of China).  It was a lot of fun.  We were told of how computers had to be made with programs and hardware that read Chinese and the history of the company.  It was interesting.  I was able to take my picture with their model Olympic torch.  Their company created the Olympic torch for the 2008 Olympics.  Then we went to a karaoke bar for lunch and to do presentations of our projects for Steven Zou, Managing Director of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.  He made comments and gave us tips for improving our projects.  Then some of the group went to shop and some went to a kungfu show.  I showered and decided to stay in for the night still exhausted.

DAY 2: MONDAY - MAY 23, 2011

Up early for breakfast in the hotel served between 6:30 am – 9:00 am buffet style.  Again, foods that I have never ate for breakfast and some traditional western breakfast food.  Then it was off to Tsinghua University

SHOPPING!

A Tsinghua Building

 for a lecture from Claudia a wonderful product of Tsinghua University.  Her lecture was very eye opening.  Her lecture contrasted the historical China to the China of today.  She showed how there is a large generational gap between parents, grandparents and children.  In spite of China’s economic growth the common people are still very poor.  Most people cannot afford to live in Beijing without multiple generations living in the same apartment together.  The educational system has not got any better.  Still have overcrowded classrooms and college entrance exams very stressful because not enough admission slots for college desiring people to get into.   We had lunch on campus at a Muslim restaurant the food was good and a feast.  You eat off a saucer sized plate and there is a lazy Susan in the center of the table with lots of different dishes on it.  You turn the lazy Susan to get what you want to eat and serve yourself and the food keeps coming out from the kitchen.  We never ate everything always a lot left over but always full.  I think the sampling of the different foods mix in your sto

Food at Muslim Restaurant

mach and make you feel full when you really have not eaten a lot.  I learned how to use chop sticks very well.  After lunch we toured Tsinghua and Peking University campus.  Peking says they were the first university in China and Tsinghua was started with American help.  After the tours we went to the Sanlitun shopping area.  Some of the group was fitted to have Chinese garb made for them.  I shopped until the mall closed and being exhausted I went back to the hotel while some of the other students went to visit the bars.

Another Tsinghua Building