First Full Day in Beijing

Thanks to the time difference I have instantly become an early morning person here in Beijing. I was able to wake up early and try out the public exercise park that is right outside our hotel entrance.



And a quick demonstration for you...



A few of my new classmates and I decided to visit the Temple of Heaven which is a top tourist attraction located in the central area of Beijing.











I'd like to point out that from my pictures you would think it was a cloudy day - but although I never saw the sun it was very apparent that it wasn't clouds but smog that is causing the overcast sky. You can really tell in the above picture how thick the smog is from just a short distance from the Temple.

Also, at the Temple complex we ran across a student run art show and one of the student artists gave us a great guided tour. Although you would think she was just trying to sell the art she was much more interested in sharing the stories behind the art with us and was very surprised and excited when several of us decided to buy some of the works.



We had an opening dinner where we met all the students and professors for the first time at an authentic Chinese restaurant. You can see a traditional formal dinner on the table and the custom of sharing many different dishes. The meal was very good and I especially liked the cooked lotus root which was stuffed with rice and was very sweet.