Monday June 27th

This past weekend I went to explore Beihai Park in Beijing. I was taken by two fellow workers: Ricky Zhang and Mr. Gao. Within Beihai Park there is the Round City. The Round City actually was a small city on the island. Upon entering the city I hit my head on the threshold. The Chinese ticket staff had a good laugh at my expense. I was very careful from that point on when entering or exiting any room. On the island there is a white tower that stands tall over the lake that surrounds it. I could see boats transporting people from the other side and individual paddle boats. The city view of Beijing is apparent not only by the buildings that surround the park but by the sounds of horns honking and brakes sqeeking. What a different atmosphere it would have been like many century's ago. Throughout the island there are many different buildings that showcase artwork, sculptures and 8 foot Budda figures made completely out of one large piece of jade. They also have a Bell Tower that was used to warn the island, and for a small fee I was able to hit the bell three times with a wooden mallet that would swing against the bell. On our way out of the park I could hear the bell being hit. It could be heard very distinctly all over the island. Ofcourse I took many pictures of my surroundings, but have not tranfered them to USB yet. After the Beihai Park visit all three of went to eat at a traditional Chinese restaurant, where we had Peking Duck. The duck was sliced so that you could put it into a wheat tortilla with accompaning onion and cucumber slices. It was very good. Look for the picture to be posted in a few days. You'll like what you see. After eating a dinner that only cost a total of around 15 dollars US I went to explore more of Beijing close to my hotel. The amount of people that are here is amazing. For those of you who like to people watch, this is the place to do it. As long as you don't mind being looked at yourself. Check back again soon...