Besides my one evening outing to the bar and club district, San Li Tun, last Saturday night, I haven't been out of a 3 block radius of Peking University.  In the US, "college towns" are generally cute, clean and brimming with happy co-eds.  Sometimes I have to remind myself, even when I'm on the Peking University campus, that I am in the most prestigious university in the Peoples' Republic of China.  

Today I had my second glimpse of Beijing and it was stunning!  The rain yesterday that gave way to (the extremely rare) blue skies certainly helped.  My first stop was The Imperial Palace which was home to the Emperors of two dynasties between the 14th and 20th centuries.  It's also known as the Forbidden Palace because only the Emperor, his court, his concubines and guards were allowed on the gigantic premises.  The architecture, relics and general size of the space were outrageous.  I said to a friend that I would consider being a concubine if it meant I got to live there.  In recent times, the front of the Imperial Palace is where Chairman Mao declared the Peoples' Republic of China on October 1, 1949.  

Across the street from The Imperial Palace is Tian'anmen Square.  It's a huge, open square with large, impressive buildings on each side and well-manicured lawns lining the edges.  I sat down next to a lamp post and tried to imagine what it was like there in June 1989.  

A few of us walked west towards Beijing's business and shopping districts.  The sidewalks and lawns were spotless and there were underground walkways at every intersection so pedestrians wouldn't get annihilated by the aggressive Chinese drivers.  In the shopping district, there were outside escalators and giant LCD screens on buildings showing advertisements.  It looked like Back to the Future.  We went in one mall that reminded me of King of Prussia.  H&M, Sephora, Zara, Mac, Espirit, Calvin Klein, Apple, etc.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was when I had to go to the bathroom badly and was ready for any condition of squat toilet when I found a western toilet in one of the malls!  It's the little things in China that makes an American happy.

We took the subway back to the Peking University stop.  Oh, and one point to Beijing for having clean and clearly marked subways.  And now I'm back in the hotel, or what we call "home" now and I'm ready to crash.