Summer Abroad 04 - The Great Wall

You know, it's one of those things that's on everybody's list of things to do before we die. Well, one subdued morning early in June of 2007, members of our program found ourselves trudging up to a renovated Mutianyu Pass (慕田峪) on the Great Wall (長城). Mutianyu Pass is the highest elevation of the Great Wall within the boundaries of Beijing Municipality, and is far less touristy than the better known Badaling Pass (八達領), which even has a highway named after it. In fact, the chartered bus to Mutianyu was on the Badaling Highway for most of the journey.

Mutianyu's status as less of a tourist focus is evidenced by the interesting English at the ticket office.

Organizing a large group is pretty hard, so while we were waiting around ...

... some, like Rob, decided to start shopping.

At the start of the climb, it was easier to make fun about "mounting" the Great Wall.

It didn't take long before we were feeling pretty hot and sweaty.

Finally, we reached the wall ...

... but there was still a ways to go to get to the westernmost end of the renovated section of Mutianyu Pass.

Along the way, before we started climbing the really steep towers, Erica decided to demonstrate another use for the arrow holes.

A few of us decided after a while that since we couldn't see any higher points on the Great Wall, this high tower would be the last one we would climb.

Although looking westward had been intimidating because of the heights, looking eastward was calming, and impressive in that we finally saw all that we had scaled.

Looking back westward once more, we saw one of the cable ways that could have ferried us up to the Great Wall. But that would've been cheating.

As we took a snack break on the way back toward the eastern portion of Mutianyu Pass, Paul left his mark on China.

Getting down from the Great Wall was made considerably easier by a toboggan.

I captured two video clips of what we law students spent our entire time in line referring to as a tort liability just waiting to happen. Fortunately for the more adventuresome among us, tort law is not well developed in China.

At the bottom of the run were these two fellows. They charged me ¥20 for this picture. I hope to get my money's worth by posting it here.

Ted and Emil bought these hats before the climb; now that the climb was over, Sara and I decided to take the opportunity to pose with the hats before Ted and Emil could really object.

Here's a brief clip of what the countryside between the city proper and the Great Wall looks like, as we came back to the city from the Great Wall.

Summer Abroad 03 - Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City

Some parts of Beijing are still pretty old, and have not been touched by the rebuilding frenzy. They may have acceded to the beat of the commercial pulse, but they are nevertheless old homes. I remember reading that there was much concern that too much of the old housing around the Forbidden City was being seized for renovation. Still, some samples of older structures remain, and I recognized them from having seen similar buildings in Taipei before.

The southern tower of Tiananmen Square (天安門廣場) is very ornate ...

... and it faces the Chairman Mao Memorial ...

... behind which is the Hall of the People's Heroes.

The rest of the square is huge. The next three images show how far the actual Gate of Heavenly Peace (天安門) really is.

At least the guard here, unlike the ones on the square, was almost as rigid as a Beefeater. I'd seen similar guards in Taipei's public monuments as well. The guards on the square itself in Beijing couldn't help turning their heads all the time to indulge in a bit of people-watching while on the job; I was far less than impressed with them.

This is the Meridian Gate, one of the main gates that leads to the main courtyard and throne room. The first picture doesn't give a great idea of just how huge the walls are, but the one below gives an idea of scale.

The audio tour is very modern: The audio recording for specific sections switches on when the visitor is near that section. Location is monitored through a GPS unit in the device, which includes a map.

The main courtyard and throneroom are stupendously large. There's no doubt that the emperor intended to intimidate his visitors.

These dragon heads are in the rear part of the main throneroom; they are reminiscent of European gargoyles.

This cauldron, and others like it, are not just for decoration; they hold water for purposes of extinguishing fires, and in the winter, wood and coals are burnt in slots in the stone platforms these cauldrons rest on, so that the water does not freeze.

This posterior courtyard leads to the Inner Forbidden City, where the residential palaces were.

The north or posterior side of the relatively smaller rear throne room features stone carvings of dragons cavorting in the clouds. Exorbitant sums were spent bringing the source stone from faraway quarries. Several stone carvings came together to remind visitors that the throne room sits in the clouds with the dragons.

This lion is one of a pair guarding the entrance to the residential palaces.

Some of the side palaces featured models replicating scenes from scroll paintings.

If I heard the audio recording correctly, only the best concubines were able to climb up to this pavilion.

The last Ming Emperor hung himself from the eaves of the central of three pavilions on the man-made hill. Why? The Manchurians, who would establish the Qing (or Ch'ing) Dynasty, had invaded, and breached the Forbidden City.

To see everything in the Forbidden City, the visitor is advised to reserve at least a full day.

Summer Abroad 02 - Beijing in General

Beijing was not confined to simple, barely urban areas like the environs of UIBE. UIBE itself is north of Beitucheng, which marks the northern city walls when Beijing was first made the capital of China under the Yuan Dynasty almost 800 years ago. Inside of the Old City, Beijing gets a lot bigger, and more modern, including some good-looking steel-and-glass concoctions.

Of course, what's "modern" without a Pizza Hut?

Of course, not all the new building is confined within the Old City. The Olympic Park straddles the North Fourth Ring Road, which is really an expressway that, with the East, West, and South Fourth Ring Roads carves out a square in Beijing. The track stadium is south of the North Fourth Ring Road, and the main venue, the so-called "Bird's Nest", is north of the expressway.

At one of the corners of one of the "rings" is the Lufthansa Center, near which is the Hard Rock Cafe, bearing an interesting warning.

Wangfujing (王府井) is known as the Rodeo Drive of Beijing; I guess the Ferrari dealership just about cements that reputation.

At the other side of town, near Beijing (or Peking) University (北京大學) and Qinghua (or Tsinghua) University (清華大學) (the top two universities in China), is Huaqing Jiayuan Wudaokou (華清嘉園五道口), also known as the Koreatown of Beijing. Above a bookstore is a 24-hour burger joint called Lush (see food entry), and there's also a bar and dance floor called Propaganda (see clubbing).

But there are treasures near UIBE as well. Sara found this stenciled portrait of Chairman Mao.

Summer Abroad 01 - UIBE

This summer, a group of students from Loyola Law School, Brooklyn Law School, and Fordham Law School converged on the University of International Business and Economics, or (對外經濟貿易大學), for a 2-week academic program.

On the day we arrived, there was a dust storm; in fact, Ted had thought we were still in the air about 5 seconds before the plane touched down at the airport. This picture is from late afternoon, so the orange-tinted haze isn't so apparent.

Our accommodations were humble but sufficient. At least we didn't have our shower head right over our toilet, even if four guys had to share one bathroom.

UIBE students used glow sticks to point to the venue for a student inter-organization show.

We walked along this walkway every day on our way to the western Main Gate.

The law school building where we ultimately had our final had Loyola colors.

We were told that the log cabins represented ethnic minority groups.

What log cabin is complete without a log bridge nearby?

Even the main lawn, just inside the Main Gate, shows some school pride.

The program had to find separate accommodations for many members because much of Building 0 that was not already occupied by other foreign students was claimed by governmental programs. This particular banner bade a warm welcome to the ganbu (party representatives) of the Treasury Department of Jin City in Shanxi Province.

Professor Atik and Mike Mou steered the class of 58 students through the nuances of international trade and WTO law.

The official name of this on-campus mart is "Education Supermarket". We Americans called it "Target", for obvious reasons.

Behind the proud announcement of the school's name is Cheng Xin Building, where class was held.

Be sure to check out the entries above for more pictures!

End of Finals Party - Hollywood Canteen

Several of the graduating third year students decided to arrange to party at Hollywood Canteen, a favorite watering hole for the Stud. Non-graduating students were also invited. With finals two or three days behind and fading fast into memory, they dolled themselves up and brought out the fun.

Congratulations to those that are graduating, and don't forget about us once you've made it big!

End of Finals Party - Day After

The last day of finals was officially on Tuesday, 15 May 2007. The Stud finished his Patent Prosecution final a bit early, headed home to change, and rolled out for one of the biggest bashes of the school year.

Congratulations to the first years, who have passed an important milestone. The Stud remembers his first encounter with Day After; nothing until graduation will match the elation you will have felt as you finished that Constitutional Law final. If you haven't got work this summer, don't worry, and make the most of your time off. They really do work you to death during second year.

End of Finals Party - Busby's II

Most 2Ls and 3Ls finished by Monday, 14 May 2007, with Business Associations being the last major final. The Stud had a Patent Prosecution final the next night, but joined his fellow advanced students for some celebratory fun.

Finals Distraction - Bruce Lee - The "Lost" Interview

Here is Pierre Burton's December 1971 interview of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong: