Bird's Nest & the Cube

Bird's Nest & the Cube

When I came back to Beijing after QinHuangdao, I visited the Bird's Nest & the Cube. I was really excited to see the Bird's Nest track and it was very impressive, but it was definitely a letdown when I couldn't take a lap around the track. Instead, I was able to touch it with my pointer finger. I found the whole Olympic Venue very surreal because there were so few people there. It was so big and magnificent but it's the one part if Beijing that is not teaming with people.

My next stop was the Cube which was more fun. I saw the Olympic pool and diving facility. The diving boards don't look as tall up close. I would argue that due to the membrane the cube is made out of makes it an equally impressive piece of architecture as the Bird's Nest. There's even a water park in the Cube, kind of like the Mall of America. I was going to walk the entire Olympic Park but it was a really hot day and I called it a day after the Cube.

Week 5

This is the start of my last week in Beijing. Yesterday, I went to Maliandao Lu, translated to Tea Street. It is a giant street that sells almost only tea and other tea paraphernalia, like tea sets and mugs. I bought lots of tea and I am really tempted to buy a real porcelain Chinese tea set, but I'm not sure I'll make it back to Tea Street to get it. Part of the Chinese Medicine lab I had was learning the proper procedure for brewing tea and pouring it, in addition to making rice wine. So now I'll know how to brew tea the real way.

The rest of my week will consist of a presentation on how Chinese Medicine can be used to treat a disease or condition that is poorly treated with western medicine, I chose arthritis. Tuesday, we will visit the Pharmacy Department of Peking University First Hospital, on Wednesday I will take my finals and have Peking Duck for dinner with some of my classmates. I already reserved a table and 2 birds! Thursday, all of the UConn students, including myself, will represent the international students, and preform a Chinese song at the 90th anniversary of the communist party. Representatives from different universities throughout China will be preforming at the 90th anniversary of the communist party event, it should be quite the experience. On Friday I will "graduate" at the closing ceremony. I return to the states on Saturday, which I am looking forward to, although I am having an incredible time in Beijing.

再见! 天

5 Day Weekend: QinHuangdao, the Great Wall, & Beidaihe

I'm on the train going back to Beijing from QinHuangdao. QinHuangdao was a nice break from the city. QinHuangdao is more industrial than I was expecting and the main attraction for me was the authentic Chinese market street, complete with Chinese pancakes, fish, meats, dumplings, fresh fruit & vegetables (cherries and strawberries were my favorite and I'm pretty sure my Mom would have liked it!). The highlight of the trip was my personal sightseeing adventure yesterday. What initially began as a morning trip to two different parts of the Great Wall, turned into a whole day trip to the Great Wall in the morning and Beidaihe in the afternoon (thanks for the suggestion Joy!)

I wanted to visit the start of the Great Wall, called Laolongtou, which is on a beach about 30 minutes away from where we were staying in QinHuangdao. The concierge at the hotel set it up so I could safely travel there by taxi. I had a taxi and driver for the whole day and the concierge at the hotel told the cab driver where I wanted to go and he took me to each sight and helped my buy tickets. It reminded me of a time when my Dad took me on a business trip to Washington DC and Joanne was there and took me around the city in a taxi, I think that was more her style than actually walking it. I spent the morning exploring two different parts of the Great Wall. The first was the start of the Great Wall, Laolongtou, which was really cool because the Great Wall starts on the beach. It was windy, the water was rough, there were many rocks, and there was the Great Wall, which may make it difficult for and enemy to navigate.

Next, I went to a part of the Great Wall called The First Pass Under Heaven. This part of the Great Wall had a temple and the road leading to it actually passes under the Great Wall, so in addition to walking the Great Wall, I also drove through it :). There was a nice restored street with shops too, the Great Wall and neighboring streets vaguely reminded me of a European gated/ walled town. There was more of a focus on military defense here. There was actually a large courtyard within the Great Wall and the purpose of it was for the enemy to enter, as if it were a pass through the wall and once the enemy entered the gate could be closed, trapping the enemy inside the Great Wall. I bought a peanut shortbread thing which is a local specialty. I saw it made by men hammering the peanuts and other ingredients repetitively, briefly heating a square of it on a grill and then it is served/ sold. I'm not sure what it is called or the history behind it, but it must be a local specialty because I saw it sold a lot, even outside the Great Wall and where I bought it, on the Great Wall the men were dressed in historical dress. It was pretty tasty.

Once I was almost back to my hotel, the cab driver asked me if I wanted to go to Beidaihe the next day but I said my train was leaving the next day. So instead I went to Beidaihe in the afternoon. Beidaihe was a nicer beachside community than QinHuangdao, there just seemed to be more going on, it was more pleasant, and more well-kept. I went to a seaside park, which had some of the Chinese architecture that I love, an Olympic park, and another smaller seaside park that was on the beach, near a Russian community. My favorite sight by far in Beidaihe was the Olympic park. There were modern sculptures of different sports, a very large, beautiful sculpture of a dove, there was a running track, and a roller-bladding track nearby. The really cool piece of art to me was a long wall paying tribute to every city that hosted the summer olympics, dating back to Olympia in Greece long ago. In addition to depicting the major cities, it also depicted the major athletic achievements and current events that occurred.

This morning, my last day in QinHuangdao, I added the Yellow Sea to my list of bodies of water I've swam in = success!

There was just a thunderstorm while on the train and now there's a rainbow! :D

Tongrentang, The Great Wall, & Museum of Science & Technology

Tongrentang

Today we visited Tongrentang, which is a company that manufactures Chinese Medicine pharmaceutical productsd and prides itself on the high quality of the products it produces. It has been in the business of producing high quality products since the time of the Chinese emperors for the Chinese emperors. The company's dedication to the quality of their products dates back to the time they provided Chinese Medicine to the Chinese emperors. The name Tongrentang means "high quality health care for all people" or something like that, which I think is a really good name!

The Tongrentang museum that we visited is located near (one of) the hearts of Beijing. It displays antique Chinese Medicine utensils and "glassware," which was really porcelain and metal bowls and tools. Everything we saw was beautiful, especially the Chinese style courtyard home which houses the museum. All the plants in the courtyard gardens were Chinese medicinal plants and herbs.

There are Tongrentang pharmacies in countries throughout the world, including the UK, Australia, and other Asian countries. Tongrentang has yet to open a store in the United States though, however one of the Tongrentang employees mentioned that I could help with that and he gave me his business card. I was happy to take advantage of the networking opportunity!

The Great Wall of China

Last weekend we visited the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs. I almost forgot to blog about it because so much other stuff happened too! We went to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, which is the most touristy section because it is relatively close to Beijing, and the most restored section. We went on a Saturday, so it was EXTREMELY crowded, more than you may probably be imagining, but it was beautiful and fun just the same. We were probably only on the Great Wall for no more than 2 hours and with the crowd that was enough. There were many stairs of uneven heights and it was very steep in some parts. I was amazed at how many small children were able to climb up stairs about half their size! We took a Gondola down and it made me realize how much I would love to visit the Great Wall in the winter to see it with snow and to avoid the crowds.

After the Great Wall, we went to the Ming Tombs. It really looked like a Tomb down there but few artifacts remained, most likely due to European invasions and the cultural revolution. In fact the actual tombs, which looked like very large rectangular boxes were painted bright red during the cultural revolution. There was even a beautiful sculpture within the exit gate of the tombs that was painted bright red during the cultural revolution. Since then archeologists have tried to restore the sculpture and remove the paint, but it still has a red color to it. There was a very small museum displaying some artifacts from the tombs, including porcelain, jewels, my personal favorite, silk, among others.

Today I'm actually on my way to QinHuangdao for the long holiday weekend to go to the beach and mostly to escape the city for a little. There's another part of the Great Wall that is close to QinHuangdao, that I hope visit to hike and get a less crowded picture of what the Great Wall is like. We're taking a train to Qinhuangdao and getting to the train station was a nightmare. We tried taking a taxi cab but apparently some cab drivers don't go to the train station because there is so much traffic and people there. Once we made it to the train station by bus, I understood why some taxi drivers avoid that area because of the crowd. The bus ride was EXTREMELY packed and uncomfortable, where I was standing. The front of the bus was not very crowded for some reason and I would have liked to go over there but it was seriously so packed that I couldn't get through the crowd with my small suitcase. We made it to the train station with time to spare though, which was most important. I can't wait to get to QinHuangdao!

Chinese Museum of Science & Technology

Yesterday morning we went to the Chinese Museum of Science & Technology in the Olympic Park. The museum just opened last year and it was very impressive in size and how modern it was. I saw exhibits on the engineering feats of the ancient Chinese people, basic developmental biology (my favorite!), the cell, genetics, challenges and the future.

That morning our professors ran into Dr. Leslie Benet, who is a pharmaceutical scientist from UCSF eating breakfast at their hotel. One of my professors is well-acquainted with Dr. Benet. He was in China receiving an award as an honorary professor at the Peking University Third Hospital, the hospital at the school I am attending. I went to his award ceremony and after he gave a lecture that I stayed for it. I figured that if nothing else, it would be a good experience to see someone so accomplished receive an honor and award, plus it must be fate that I am in Beijing at the same time Dr. Benet was in Beijing. I enjoyed his lecture and it was interesting attending a lecture given in English while everything was translated into Chinese.

Since I didn't have a chance to have lunch because I decided to attend the award ceremony and lecture, I was really hungry for dinner and tried Chinese Hot Pot for the first time. It was definitely an experience! Fortunately I was sitting next to a Chinese English language teacher, otherwise, ordering would have potentially been a real challenge. It was kind of like fondue with a lot more variety than just bread, cheese, oil, and meat. I ordered a hot and sour broth, which was a little too hot for me, Chinese cabbage, spinach, Chinese yam, Chinese Mellon, and lamb. I can't wait to go back! Contrary to my expectations, you don't eat hot pot like soup, necessarily. I saw just about everyone pulling the food out of the broth and dipping it in sauce, which is what I did because my hot and sour broth would have been too hot for me, but probably not for Gregg!

Tasley Pharmaceuticals

Today we went to Tasley Pharmaceuticals, which is a very impressive Chinese pharmaceutical company. The company emerged in 1994, after it was previously owned or run by the Chinese army. The current owner purchased the company in 1998 after a law was passed that prohibited the army from having a company... or something like that.

Their specialty is large-scale manufacturing of TCM medicinal and herbal products, following GAP & GMP standards. Their representative product is a TCM tonic drip product, used for high cholesterol is already available in Europe and it has completed FDA Phase II Trials. I enjoyed just walking around the company because you could smell all of the medicinal herbs that were used in the TCM preparations and it smelled SO good. It was also very beautiful, with lots of art, it reminded me of the Pepsico headquarters in the US. The owner of Tasley is a UConn grad, so it sounded like there are potential opportunities for UConn students as jobs, fellowships, or at least a rotation, which I am totally interested in. I think there may be a market for new drugs derived from Chinese Medicine formulations and recipes. Also of note, the character 天 (my Chinese name) is incorporated into the Tasley logo-- plus!

The city that Tasley is located in, Jin Tian, 进天, (also with 天, my Chinese name!) was a really nice break from Beijing, although I really like Beijing. I'm sure the fact that it was a beautiful, haze-free, blue sky day helped. I rode a GIANT ferris wheel and got a great view of the city. We also walked around the town with our TCM host professor, so he took us to shops ranging from music, calligraphy supplies & art, jewelry, sweets, and even a Tibetan style shop.

The one downer of the day is that I have had EXTREMELY dry skin in Beijing and today the skin on my face was ESPECIALLY dry and uncomfortable, like burning, tight, red, and flaking. :( Fortunately though, our TCM host professor confirmed that is isn't related to an internal problem with food or digestion and the other UConn professor (a St. John's grad, so I know she's good) just arrived and one of her specialities is dermatology and she teaches the UConn Pharmacy Dermatology Module, so with their help I think we'll get my dry skin on my face under control. We're pretty sure that the Neutrogena sun block that I have been wearing every day is causing irritation and probably some contact dermatitis. The next challenge is finding a better sun block for me here, especially since I have a trip to the beach planned for my long weekend! 再见! (Good bye in Chinese!)

Temple of Heaven

Last night I went out to a cocktail party and then a bar with some friends on the trip with me and we met up with a friend I met on the plane. We enjoyed going out with a local and seeing the trendy places that Beijingers go to.

Today I went to the Temple of Heaven. The architecture and and overall appearance reminded me of the Forbidden City a lot, but the atmosphere was totally different. Since it was a temple, I found it was more solemn. I saw a lot of people praying at the different altars and making donations. It seemed fitting for me to visit the Temple of Heaven on a Sunday because that is the day I'm accustomed to worshiping at church. The Temple of Heaven is encompassed by large park with many beautiful trees, mostly cypress trees. It was very pleasant walking through the park on my way out of the temple. There were kids playing the fields and older folks playing music and different Chinese games. Also, before I took the subway I found a really good Beijing bakery (the one with the cute brow bear mascot- thanks Joy!) and of course I stopped to pick up some treats.

I have another busy week coming up and so far the time is flying by! Miss you!

Haituo Mountain

I just spent the last two days at Haituo Mountain. The point of the trip was to collect medicinal herbs, but to me, it was more of a hiking/ exploration/ vacation/ adventure trip. It is one of the Chinese National Parks and is as beautiful as Yosemite, CA or Interlaken, SZ, with its own unique style and Chinese twist.

On Tuesday, we went hiking in the valley shortly after arriving to observe medicinal herbs and then after the hike my professor, Dr. Burgess, and I went running. I didn't feel like running because I had just spent the morning and early afternoon traveling and hiking but the run was WELL worth it. The mountains we saw while running were breathtakingly beautiful!!! There was something about seeing them on my own two feet (instead of in a bus) that made me feel small and I was able to appreciate their size, beauty, and magnificence even more. We were also able to run places that the bus didn't/ couldn't drive by, we managed to not run off any cliffs though!

The next day we to 龙青霞 (long qing xia) to explore some more and I had a real adventure! We took a boat ride through a winding canyon and lake-- again, the mountains/ rocks were breathtaking. I took tons of pictures and I was thinking that Lord of the Rings could have been filmed there. We visited the Diamond temple, which was a small temple embedded in the mountains, complete with Buddhas and incense. There was a bell, which I rang a few times for my grandparents. Then I had my adventure and was able to cross something off my life-long bucket list.

There was a zip line and bungee jumping operation over the canyon and lake. Our professor asked if I wanted to go bungee jumping and I thought she was joking but I said yes anyway because it has been something the daredevil in me has wanted to try since I first saw people bungee jumping at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe when I was about 11 or 12. First, one of my classmates went bungee jumping and after I saw her go, I COMPLETELY changed my mind after I saw the first drop. Instead, I went on the zip line with my professor, which was really fun, not scary, and enjoyable. After gaining trust in the infrastructure and people I decided to give bungee jumping a try. It was terrifying and exhilarating!!! I'm never doing it again, but I'm really glad I went because it was a thrill! Dad, Mom- I promise I won't take anymore risks for the rest of the trip!

The rest of the trip was really fun, probably partly due to the adrenaline rush I got from bungee jumping! The food in the mountains was good too, for dinner on Tuesday I had some greens from the trees and plants where we went hiking, donkey(!), and really delicious lamb right off the biggest bone I've ever seen at a table. I had warm soy milk, steamed bread, porridge, and pickled cabbage-- my personal favorite for breakfast. Lunch on Wednesday was good too, I tried what looked to my like a Chinese style lamb kabob, it was the SPICIEST food I have ever tasted! If it was tofu or vegetables instead of lamb, Gregg would have been very excited. I had to rinse it off in my tea to finish it!

On the Plane

你好！ (Hello in Chinese)

I'm about 9 hours into the flight to Beijing. This is really a long flight but I've been keeping busy with movies & a nap. Everyone from UConn in my study abroad group is really nice, so I'm looking forward to having a good time once we get settled in Beijing. I'm sitting next to a guy who goes to school in the US but is from the Beijing area and he gave me some tips about getting around, where to go, & how to type the Chinese characters on my iPad. I feel really lucky to have received so much advice from friends & family (thank you Joy, Elizabeth, & my Dad's friend from Sanofi especially!) So far everything has been uneventful. I'm looking forward to the rest of my trip & I'll be in touch. 再见。(Good bye in Chinese.)

Week 1

你好! My first week in Beijing has gone well. I really like the city and culture, it has been really eye-opening. My goal was to blog everyday, but I need wifi which has been surprisingly hard to find. I did so much in the first week and I already have many stories! I started classes in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which is actually just referred to as Chinese Medicine in China since it is still practiced and many modern techniques have been adopted, thus it is not considered traditional or primitive. My Mandarin class has also started and I enjoy it more than TCM. I have a really good teacher and I generally love languages. Mandarin Chinese is a beautiful language to speak because of the different tones, I find it very musical. The characters are beautiful to write as well. I have a Chinese name now, 天, or Tian. I picked it because like Celeste, it is the Chinese word for heaven or sky.

Last week my group and also had trips to the Summer Palace and just yesterday I visited the Forbidden City. Both were spectacular! The architecture, color, beauty, history, and size was amazing. They reminded me of Versailles in France, only they had their own personality, and of course the style was Chinese, not European.

Today I climbed the Fragrant Mountain, which was beautiful as well. It was nice to escape the city on a beautiful and sunny Sunday. It actually turned out to be a strenuous hike and my new hiking boots definitely proved their value. Interestingly though, the mountain hiking trails were not trails at all, they were stone stairs! There were multiple, man-made paths of stairs to climb the mountain. (Dad- all those races up the stairs came in handy for me today!) I climbed the mountain with my professor, Dr. Burgess, who is also a runner, and I had a really good time with her. I also witnessed some women who were actually climbing the stairs in high heels!

Next week my group will be heading to Haitatu Mountain to collect medical herbs in the field! I miss my friends and family and I look forward to sharing more stories soon!

天