Scenes from Hong Kong & China

We docked in Hong Kong at a mall (we literally had to walk past the shops in order to get out from the ship). Here's the view of the ol' Explorer in port as evening approaches.

After one day in Hong Kong, I flew out to a 3 day/4 night adventure in Beijing with about 60 students. Our first stop in China was lunch. Here's a few of us enjoying a hearty meal. The glass platter in the center is a turntable which allows everyone easy access to all the dishes.

As part of our time in Beijing, we met students from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). We shared thoughts on what universities are like in our respective countries, as well as politics, sports, dating, etc.. I think most of the students I talked with were most interested in dating rituals in America.

Here is a view of Chairman Mao's picture, overlooking Tiananman Square, home to the student protests and subsequent massacre in 1989. Tiananman serves as the gate to the Forbidden City, home to several dynasties of Chinese rulers throughout the ages. .

Here's a picture from withing the forbidden city. I guess it's not quite so forbidden anymore.

Here I am with Zhou, our guide from UIBE, at the Temple of Heaven. The temple was one of the few places the Emperor would step outside the Forbidden City to visit.

One of the highlights of the trip was walking along the one and only Great Wall of China.

Interesting tidbit about the Wall--many of the workers that slaved away to build the wall were buried within, making it the world's longest cemetery

Here's several of my fellow SASsers at the big wall (left).

And finally, in addition to the 33 rolls of color pictures I filled along the voyage, I managed to take 3 rolls of black and white film. Here's one of those pictures.