The flight in went well.  I watched a few movies and burned through the first half of a Robert Heinlen book.  Attempts at naps were largely unsuccessful.  The meals were probably our last taste of Americanized Chinese cuisine for a long while.  I have yet to encounter a fortune cookie since exiting the aircraft.  

Our bus, which just barely fits everyone and our luggage.  

My first observations mostly concern the distribution of automobile manufacturers.  Taxis are almost entirely Volkswagons, and so are a lot of private rides.  Audis seem to be preferred at the higher end.  I’ve been told that Buick ranks above Mercedes here, but haven’t seen one yet.  Jeeps and Chevys are rare, and in general much smaller than they are in the States, but not unseen.  I even saw a baby Ford roll by on the way to our first hotel.  Our travel guide explained that, in China, perceptions of old and new vary greatly from those in the United States.  After about two years, a car is old (and often traded in for a new model).  After a decade, even a hi-tech high rise building is old.  And yet, a 100 year-old tree is still a youngster.

The hotel has an odd blend of old and new as well.  The electronics only function if the key card that opens the door is inserted into a computerized reader in the wall, yet a console that looks like a 1920’s radio serves as a bedside table and a control for the lights and appliances.  The shower is impressively large, but the beds are impressively hard. 

Today we learned the difference between Beijing and Peking.  According to our guide, Beijing means “northern capital” in Chinese, while Peking has no meaning, and is in fact a title assigned by European (French, I think) colonists.  The term “Beijinger” refers to the inhabitants of the city, which takes about as long to drive across as it does to drive to the Pennsylvania state lines if you leave from State College.  Beijinger is not to be confused with Beijingese, the latter supposedly defining a breed of dog.  

The most interesting part of the day was dinner, which we took at an all-you-can-eat “hotpot.”  Picture a large cafeteria, with tables of eight (speaking of picture, there should be one of the hotpot below).  Each table has a stovetop upon which sits a large pan, partitioned into two halves.  Each half contains boiling water and some spices, with one side on the hot side of spicy and the other more of a mild.  Surrounding the perimeter of the cafeteria is the buffet, which contains drinks (open bar), vegetables, fruits, meats, and desserts.  The meats form the focal part of the meal, and are just about all raw.  Guests fill a plate with whatever they desire and drop it into one side of the boiling pan.  A few minutes later, they grab a ladle and fish out what’s left of what they put in, cooked and ready to be eaten.  The variety of meats was astounding, and maybe a little frightening.  Beef and fish were the staples, but squid, octopus, pig brains, and coagulated gelatinous duck blood filled out the supply.  Most of the guests drank a light beer (there’s no drinking age in China!), soda or fruit juice, with an occasional sampling of wine, scotch, or rice vodka, of which there seemed to be infinite varieties available.  We sampled just about all of them, in moderate amounts.   A lot of the food and drink was completely unidentifiable to American eyes (there were no labels, Chinese or other).  One of the Chinese students in the program sat at our table and offered some help (mostly reading the labels on the vodka bottles brought back from the bar), but even she couldn’t identify all the items that were poured into the pan, and later transferred into hungry mouths. 

The wreckage of our table after the meal.

I don’t think anyone stayed awake for more than five minutes during the hour and a half ride to the hotel from dinner.  Most of us are still rather jet-lagged, and full stomachs didn’t help.  

Wake up call is in about four hours, and then its breakfast, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and more!

Location: Beijing, China