The Date: July 14-29, 2006
The Who:

mike d
25 year old male, single.

mike d has great plans for China and intends to hit the ground running. Provided I can avoid illness and extreme exhaustion, I hope to visit every site that is within reach. There’s really only one picture that is a must: playing hacky sack at the great wall. When Tim Baird and I were in England we got some hacky sack photos at Stonehenge, and really, I think it’d be fantastic to have a whole series of such worldy photographs.

Tom Ig
male, married. three kids, with another on the way.

I’m not sure Tom is prepared for the mayhem that is traveling with mike d. Also, upon arriving I will have been confined inside a plane for 20 of the previous 22 hours… and for anyone who’s had the misfortune luxury of traveling with me on extended car trips, I think you can appreciate the potential severity of my need for action. Tom will only be staying for a week, at which point he will return to the states for his son’s 5th birthday.

San P.
male, married. Children unknown.

San is one of my company’s Chinese contacts. I have met him once before during one of his visits to the US. I think there’s a good possibility that San has superpowers. Rumors have been going around that at night he turns into a dragon and lays waste to those who oppose him.

I’m hoping to get some tourist time with San. He’s a great guy and a phenominally thorough worker.

The What: Successful installation of equipment at a customer’s mill in Dongying, China.
The Payoff: Wild times, happy customers, and a safe return on July 29th.

Provided no delays, I should now be on the ground in Beijing.

It is exactly 12 hours ahead here, so the 5am EST time corresponds to a 5pm China time.

Tonight, Tom and I will probably see a few of the basics and then go to bed… or maybe we’ll be wide awake. We will definitely be messed up though, that is certain.

Welcome to the first Automatic Feature post of my China trip. This should be posting just as I’m landing in China. I thought I’d get people into the mood with some China specific information. My sister Alicia got me a very thorough China traveling book for my birthday and I see it as my duty to share some of the information with the masses.

My first landfall in China will be in Beijing. Beijing is the capital of China. It’s in the northeast of the country with the Yellow river to the south and the Great Wall to the North. It is described as a city rich with traditional architecture but modernized from the pressures of an expanding population. At the center of Beijing is the “forbidden city,” a palace of sorts from where previous emperors ruled the country. It is now fully open to the public and supposedly boasts some very striking architecture. There are many gardens, gates, and dragons ornamenting the city. Provided we get to the city at a reasonable hour, I hope to see this area of Beijing first. Although the functionality is vastly different, the size on the map reminds of me Tivoli in Copenhagen. It looks to take up almost a square mile of real estate.

Directly south of the forbidden city is Tian’an Men GuangChang (Tian’an Men Square of the Gate of Heavenly Peace). Ironically, this square of heavenly peace was the location of the violent suppresion of the 1989 democratic uprising. The square is almost as big as the forbidden city and is surrounded by the Chinese legislature auditorium, a museum of Chinese history, and the Chinese National Musuem. At the center of the square is a monument and the mausoleum of Chinese communist leader (Chairman) Mao Zedong. Apparently every morning and evening his casket is raised out for viewing.

I’ll update with another China Feature section soon that will correspond with my travels.

Still flying!