Today was our trip to Fragrant Hill—did I say hill? I mean mountain. The trip to the top is nearly an hour of sloping paths and stairs. Once again, I chickened out and opted for the lift which this time was an open ski lift. The view was absolutely amazing on the way up and at the top. All of Beijing stretches out below the hill. Trees at the top are covered with red ribbons for good wishes and prayers. I placed one on a tree myself. Although it is not truly a hill, Fragrant Hill is truly fragrant. The base of the hill is filled with flower gardens which look and smell beautifully.
After the hike we had our official Peking Duck lunch. We went to a very nice restaurant which was nearby to our hotel. I’d have to say that duck is the one food I experienced in China which I really enjoyed and would definitely eat again. Apparently, though, I hadn’t had enough exotic food that day. A group of us decided to return to the market on Wanfujing Street to eat scorpions! The scorpions were fried so they tasted crunchy and seasoned. The hardest part was actually putting it in my mouth because every time I tried, I would look at it and immediately be repulsed.
Our final stop for the night was a conference at Tsinghua University with some students. My partner’s name was Alice and I was happy to find that she wants to come to America to study politics. She spoke very good English along with three other languages. It was definitely a beneficial meeting and I would have liked to talk to more students, but we exchanged a lot of great information about college life.