Thursday, October 16, 2008

The morning theme was the media, where we had the opportunity to meet with Alan Paul, who writes "The Expat Life" column for the Wall Street Journal, and Maureen Fan, the Beijing Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. Both provided insight to their experiences covering news events in China for the American press. They were able to describe recent events, such as the earthquake that happened back in May, the Olympics and the recent milk scare, and both provided a unique outlook on how the stories were covered locally and in the American press. Some of the key take aways included how the chinese media is controlled by the government, and how the majority of censorship occurs with the local and national media, not so much with the foreign media correspondents. In addition to their professional experiences, Alan and Maureen were able to talk more about what it is like to live in China, Alan which described his experiences raising a family and Maureen spoke about how she has had a unique experience being a Chinese-American without having ever learned the chinese language growing up. This was a great way for us to learn more about how information is distributed in China and it was a neat opportunity to meet with those that are on the front lines covering the news events out of China.

The discussion took place at Xin Dong Chen Contemporary Art Space in an area called Factory 798. After the presentation, we were able to have some free time to explore the area, which is one of the major art districts of Beijing. As we sat at a cafe for lunch, we could see in the street next to us a group filming a scene in a movie. So if you see a big blockbuster come out of China in the next year, look for us in the background sitting at the cafe!

After lunch we boarded the buses and went to the Olympic Green, where we were able to take pictures of the Birds Nest Stadium and the Water Cube. Both were as impressive up close as they were on TV, and it was neat being able to see where the various events had taken place.

The afternoon tour included a stop at the Summer Palace, which is a must see if you ever visit Beijing. This was the get-away residence for the emperor, and is situated next to a lake. The entire area was great to walk around and we must have spent two hours enjoying the grounds and sitting near the lake. Off in the distance we could see the dragon boats that were shuttling people back and forth across the lake. For me, this was the best "Old Beijing" site that we have seen so far.

This evening a group of us went to see an acrobat show that was about a ten min walk from our hotel. One of our guides told us that the acrobats we watched were some of the most talented in Beijing, and had been training in the art since a very young age. The show was fun, and it was impressive some of the stunts and acrobats that we viewed.

For me, this week has been packed with activities, so I am looking forward to the free day that we have tomorrow. I think I'll visit some of the last sites that I have not seen yet, but not sure what the exact plan will be. The one thing I know is that I'll be sleeping in tomorrow to get caught up on some needed rest!

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