While we were waiting in the lobby, Anna wrote to say that she would not be joining us today. Along came Liang, accompanied by today’s guide, who introduced himself as William.\u00a0 Fortunately for us, William spoke excellent English. He explained that today’s first stop would be the Summer Palace. After lunch, it was time to go to Gu’an. This suburb is the home of one of the preschools we would visit.\u00a0 We were taken to\u00a0 a\u00a0 lovely home at which we would be staying. There we were joined by an English-speaking\u00a0 teacher from the preschool named Arla. She showed us to our spacious bedroom with\u00a0 private bathroom on the second floor.\u00a0 Having had a very busy day,\u00a0 Nick and I both enjoyed a nap.<\/p>\n Later that day, we met Julian, a college student who was interning at the preschools. His room was on the first floor of our residence. We learned that Julian is a physics major who is studying Chinese. This was\u00a0 a great opportunity for him\u00a0 to take a summer job that would enable him to teach English while using his Chinese skills. Julian told us that we would be picked up to go out for dinner with some teachers.<\/p>\n Julian did the translating from the menu, because it contained no English.\u00a0 We selected various kinds of soup that ranged in heat from “mild” to\u00a0 “on fire.”\u00a0 As usual, we tried everything. Nick, a fellow physics major,\u00a0 enjoyed chatting with Julian.\u00a0 Back in our quarters after dinner, we marveled about the amazing day we had shared.<\/p>\n 8400 steps<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the morning, the room that\u00a0 housed our dinner buffet the night before became the room that\u00a0 now housed our breakfast buffet.\u00a0 At home, Nick typically eats a very small breakfast (truth be told, a few pieces of chocolate).\u00a0 My breakfast is oatmeal in the\u00a0 winter,\u00a0 and my cousin Janet’s recipe for zucchini, flax and … Continue reading China, Day 8 \u2013 June 3, 2018<\/span> ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/pisarro.org\/aboutnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSH_5375.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The Summer Palace is a must-see\u00a0 for tourists, and it is also enjoyed by the locals. The Palace was originally built\u00a0 in 1750 as a place for the emperor,\u00a0 his family, and his staff to escape from Beijing’s summer heat. We think of a palace as being one building, but Beijing’s Summer Palace contains\u00a0 temples, gardens, pavilions,\u00a0 bridges, gate towers and corridors. A lake fills much of\u00a0 the parkland in the palace property, and many people were enjoying boat rides.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\n<\/a>One of the\u00a0 Palaces’ most striking features is called the Long Corridor.\u00a0 Indeed, it is the longest corridor of its type in the world. Its sides are open, but it is covered\u00a0 by a roof that\u00a0 was intended to shield the emperor and his family\u00a0 from the elements while enjoying their surroundings. <\/a>The\u00a0 ceiling contains\u00a0 more than 14,000 paintings depicting scenes from Chinese history, mythology, and literature, as well as many flowers, birds, and fish. Truly spectacular, the Summer Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>William explained that our next stop would be Tienanmen Square.\u00a0 Although there were many people there,\u00a0 it is such a huge space\u2014one of the ten largest squares in the world\u2014that it didn’t feel crowded. I had\u00a0 not known in advance that Tienanmen Square contains the Monument to People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao. William explained that the portrait of Mao is replaced annually because of the strong sunlight.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Soon it was time for lunch. William asked if we liked noodles. Liang took us to a restaurant that specialized in them,\u00a0 and he presented us with a meal that was more elaborate than the one we enjoyed the day before. There were many other dishes in addition to noodles. You can see tofu designed to look like mah-jongg tiles, chicken with peanuts, a vegetable dish and meat between deep fried bread, which William called a \u201chamburger.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\n<\/a>One of the\u00a0 Palaces’ most striking features is called the Long Corridor.\u00a0 Indeed, it is the longest corridor of its type in the world. Its sides are open, but it is covered\u00a0 by a roof that\u00a0 was intended to shield the emperor and his family\u00a0 from the elements while enjoying their surroundings.](\"http:\/\/pisarro.org\/aboutnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/DSH_5362.jpg\"){kind=link}