Tuesday, May 8, 2007

What a Day

Wow.

Our first true day in Beijing has come to an end. We began early this morning with a trip to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. It was fascinating. It's hard to believe that such a project was completed by human beings - and started before Christ. We climbed the wall for about two hours and took a toboggan ride down afterwards.

We then came back into the city and headed out for Tian 'amen Square and the Forbidden City. Tian 'amen square is the largest public square in the world - over 90 football fields in size. It was awesome. You could sense the power of the government - it was orderly yet massive. Hoards of people, cars and bikes moved carefully and quietly through the streets. I've never seen anything like this.

We then moved through Tian 'amen into the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was the ritual center for the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The palace grounds cover more than 1,000,000 sq. meters. Frankly, only pictures can do both locations justice.

Just now, we ended the night with a traditional hot pot meal. In addition to beef and vegetables, I tried jelly fish, fish balls and mushrooms I have never seen grace my Anderson Drive lawn. I hope I live through it.

I'm amazed still at the size of this city and its features. The attractions are vast and hoards of people blanket the landscape. Ancient history and the new world order are colliding, however. The smog is difficult. My nose and eyes are very dry. And construction is everywhere. But, this is a sophisticated city. I look forward to tomorrow when we begin our site visits.
And of course, a signal of China's dynamic and growing economy was found at the bottom of the mountain having returned from the Great Wall: a box of tourist trinkets labeled with none other than "Made in China". Tomorrow will be yet another day. We'll see what our first look at the business climate in Beijing brings.

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