I woke today after a poor night’s sleep but I was anticipating a good day. I showered and prepared for the day, and subsequently headed off to breakfast. The food for breakfast was unique with most of the food not what the typical American breakfast would be composed of. I was really in need of a cold glass of water but none was to be found as I tried three different drinks and all were warm. I found that breads made for the most satisfying part of the meal followed with a cup of sliced peaches. I did try some weird dumpling, but I didn’t do more than try. After breakfast I turned on the TV and found most channels to be Chinese news and economics with a bit of Mongolian drama mixed in. We soon headed over to our first “lecture” session about Beijing landmarks and history. Our in instructors name was Clarice and she gave an in depth look at the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. I found that the idea of the Great Wall as a symbol of isolation and defense and that it is commonly associated with death to be very interesting. I found that the ideas and beliefs behind the Great Wall to contradict China’s attempt to expand into an open and powerful nation. It is unfortunate that the icon has become stuck bound to China as people may associate the nation with isolation; however I am doubtful that this will be the case.
After the conclusion of the lecture, the group headed for lunch. This was one of the first meals of its kind I’ve experienced. The meal centered on a giant rotating disc and prepared dishes were brought out as room was alleviated. There were many courses to the meal and an upwards of 15-20 different dishes, each unique and different from the last. My personal favorite was a ball of mashed taro fried and the then covered in sugar and crisped rice. There was also duck, whole fish, and some other dishes which left me puzzled as to their exact content. After the meal, we toured the Tsinghua University Campus, which was much larger than I had ever imagined. I discovered around 30,000 students attend the school, which is said to be the best school in all of China. I also was amused to see the number of people that use bicycles to travel. There may have been thousands of bikes parked outside the buildings on campus. Regardless, the tour took us through some really beautiful parts of the campus and we saw western architecture meet Chinese architecture, with little difference. When the tour ended, I was satisfied with what I had seen, but was exhausted and went back to the hotel for a nap. We then headed to the mall for dinner, where we pretty much failed at ordering anything. I ended up eating what amounted to a bowl of rice but at least it was something. We then went back to the hotel where I turned in for an early bed time.