We have just finished our first day of exploration in China, and what a day it has been! Our journey began with a nonstop 14 hour flight from Chicago to Beijing. We left from Chicago at 7:45pm on Saturday and arrived in Beijing at 11:00pm on Sunday.  We were pretty exhausted after the initial travel, so we promptly went to sleep before the next day.

We departed from our hotel at 8am to go and see Tiananmen Square. This historic square is the largest of its kind in the world. Our first day of tourism proved to be pretty interesting as many of us were asked to take photographs with some of the Chinese Nationals who had never (or rarely) seen an American before. For every Chinese citizen, there was also a vendor trying to sell us knockoff hats and watches. None of them were successful, except for one who was able to sell a traditional fan to Mike after some tough negotiating. We think that he got a good deal for it. There were some teenagers standing by the flag in uniform on the Tiananmen Square in preparation for a special ceremony. Finally, we took a group picture in the front of the entrance gate to the Forbidden City, which is unfortunately closed for cleaning on Mondays.

Next, we went to the Summer Palace of Emperors. It was built in 1600s. Now it is a famous tourist spot in Beijing. The Summer Palace consists of an artificial lake, the Kunming Lake, and mountain, which fostered longevity in life. The emperors and their relatives in the Qing Dynasty lived there during summer months.

With a brief rundown of proper Chinese meal manners from our tour guide, Carl Wen, we were off to have our first genuine Chinese lunch.  A Lazy Susan continually spun around and dozens of dishes were stacked on top of it as we raced to explore the food that was set before us.  The overwhelming amount of foreign food was a little intimidating at first, but the food ended up being very good and not as strange as we were all afraid it was going to be.

Next we headed for the US Embassy where we had the chance to hear from Michael Riedel, Director of Foreign Agricultural Service,  Ralph Bean from the Agricultural Trade Office, and  Ryan Scott an Agricultural Attaché. While at the Embassy, we learned about China’s relationship with the United States and how they are making great progress in improving each nation’s respective agricultural sectors. There are a number of issues that we each have to face, but the positive collaboration that has taken place so far will ensure a safe and reliable food supply for the future.

After the US Embassy, we went to Acrobat World. This troupe of performers is internationally recognized for their acrobatic feats as they have won numerous accolades. We saw incredible feats of strength, balance, flexibility and just pure skill. As if this wasn’t enough, the show concluded with a motorcycle act on stage that left everyone breathless.

The day was capped off with a delicious Peking Duck dinner accompanied by a very entertaining shadow puppet show. As with lunch, we were again presented with many delicious dishes of pork, chicken, fish, and vegetables….along with the tasty shaved duck meat!

With full stomachs and tired feet we headed back to the hotel. We were all ready for a good night’s sleep after such a full day. We are looking forward to continuing our adventure tomorrow.    

To see photos of us, click over to Flickr!