10/19/02

Arriving in Beijing, with a stop in Shanghai. It was puzzling to me why we passed Beijing to make a stop in Shanghai, and wasted more fuel to fly back to Beijing. One theory was that maybe there were more people getting off in Shanghai than in Beijing. We didn't get into out hotel, Beijing Shangri-La, until around mid-night.

Earvin, Marie, and Mindy in Beijing Airport

Prior to arrival, I had this image of a very 3rd world country capital image of Beijing. But it totally blew me away. I was very impressed with the development of Beijing. There are so many pretty buildings. It's a bit strange to me since I didn't really see any old houses. I guess they might have been located in the other parts of the city. I was also surprised to observe that there weren't as many smokers as I'd expected. There weren't as many bicycles around, but we were there on a weekend.

About Beijing: Beijing served as the national capital during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

Itinerary	10/19/02: Arrival.	10/20/02: Beijing 1.	10/21/02: Beijing 2.	10/22/02: Xian 1.	10/23/02: Xian 2.	10/24/02: Feng Du.
10/25/02: 3 Gorges.	10/26/02: Dams.	10/27/02: Wuhan.	10/28/02: Shanghai 1.	10/29/02: Shanghai 2.	After Thoughts	People