I got up pretty early in the morning so that I could finish all my packing. By 6:15 I was all set and ready to go. The flight from Hong Kong to Beijing took a few hours (but I slept most of the way) so I read a book called “The Tao of Bruce Lee”.

The Summer Palace

When we got into Beijing we were taken through customs via our group visa. This took about an hour because everything had to be in exact order and with so many students this made things difficult. So my very first impression of China was one of strict rules and regulations.

As soon as we stepped outside of the airport we noticed that the entire sky was gray and dull looking. They told us that there was a dust storm going on at the moment.

The Great Wall

The dust storm was going on because of the heavy winds that were coming down from the Mongolian Steppes and were picking up all the dust that had been loosened up because of the deforestation that had been occurring. It was explained to us that desertification has become a major issue of concern in China.

The first thing that we did was go and visit the Summer Palace. We spent three hours there and I just walked around and took some pictures and checked out all the cool architecture. It was pretty interesting, but the atmosphere wasn’t helped at all by the dust storm.

After we got back from the Summer Palace we checked into our hotel. Out hotel was just fine but the height of the doors was so low and hallways were so long that it seemed like something out of Alice in Wonderland.

Myself and some Chinese soldiers.

After we got our stuff packed away we went out for some dinner.

The dinner was ok, but not what I had expected. The highlight of the meal was the Peking duck. The good thing was that I could eat as much as I wanted and they would always bring more. At the restaurant I also had the opportunity to try some of the local beers. The ones I tried were all mediocre beers, but I couldn’t complain because they only a few bucks for a HUGE beer. Then me and couple of SAS guys ordered a small bottle of liquor that they had. It was 60% alc. and tasted like piss, but for $3 I kept my mouth shut. After we got finished drinking the bottle the conversation started perking right up.

My Chinese friends and I

After we had finished our meal we walked over to the University of International Business and Economics to meet some of the local students. I was a little aggressive and soon got to know a good number of the students.

I got to know a few of the students pretty well and we ended up talking politics for well over an hour. After we were done with that we decided to go to a dance that they were having at school. Soon after I hit the dance floor and then my buddy Camp (one of the Chinese students) told me that he’d brought in some beers. So we drank a few beers, danced, and had a good time. The beers that he had brought in were Pabst Blue Ribbon. I wondered what the hell PBR was doing in China…

Mao at the Forbidden Palace

Once the dance was over we decided to go out to a little restaurant to have a few more drinks. When we got there they ordered a few dishes that I’d never tried before and was very pleased with. We also ordered a big bottle of the liquor that I’d had earlier. Needless to say we got pretty trashed. But it was a great way to get to know my new friends. I must say that the Chinese students were very generous hosts and very nice people. I hope that someday I can make it back for a visit. And I’ll definitely be trying to keep in touch.