China Update...

One week in China and it seems like forever. Our days are planned to the hilt. Since I last posted here we've been Temple of Heave, Tiananmen Square, Silk Street market, Summer Palace, Cultural Street, Chinese Acrobats, and the Great Wall. All of this with class every morning and a field trip to a Chinese law firm. The food has been really good for the most part, but the air quality here is horrible! I have had a sore throat for the last 3 days and the sky is so hazy that sun is barely visible.

First, we went to the Temple of Heaven which was really crowded. As our first experience with sightseeing, we experienced the agressive street vendors that would become a constant presence. The Temple was interesting but not really impressive. The sheer scope of the site and the intricacy of the layout is really impressive. But with so many people it was really overwhelming because I'm not a fan of tourist sites. Anyway here's a few pictures to enjoy:

The next day we headed to Tiananmen Square for a very few minutes. It was hot and sunny, but otherwise interesting. I plan to head back this week to go the Great Hall of the People and possible Mao's tomb, so there may be more later. But for now here's a small sample of sights:

I'll have to get caught up on everything else tomorrow. It's time to head home to bed so check back soon.....