Sewage Plants, Temples and Ducks, Oh My

Day one of our organized tour of Beijing began early this morning, as Henry our tour guide talked us the entire way to a sewage treatment plant in Beijing.  It resembled every sewage treatment plant I've seen in the U.S., but the key reason for the visit was that the water treated in this particular facility will be used at the Olympic facilities during the games next month.  The water that the plant produced was not drinkable, but it was clean and clear and could be pumped into the waterways around the city to improve their appearance.  The water could also be sent to another plant to make it drink quality.

Later, we toured a rural village outside of Beijing which had been prepared as part of a tour route for visitors during the Olympics.  Along with farms and small houses in the village, an area around the local Buddhist temple had been developed into apartments and shops, a sign that this rural village was becoming more industrialized by the day.  The temple was situated in among the hills outside of the village, and featured several fantastic views of Chinese architecture.

The contrasts within the village were startling in the effect of the change these Olympics have brought to all parts of Beijing.  The village is the same as it could have been 100 years ago, but the program to industrialize the town has brought modern buildings into the middle of rural farm land.  It's nice to see China modernize the countryside, but at the same time it is a sad moment to watch the old be swept away for the new.  At the end of the tour, we watched some elders of the village perform tai chi, one of the highlights of the day.

Also, the temple's buildings were newly painted and refurbished, and the effect was unsettling, as it somewhat took away from the history and sense of age in the temple.  It was still an amazing opportunity, but it didn't hold up with the Forbidden City in the sense of history that the buildings evoked.  The golf course next door didn't help either.  Really, there was one.

The evening would bring us back into the city proper for a dinner of Peking Duck.  The restaurant was fabulous, and the duck lived up to its billing as a high class dish of China.  It was prepared right in front of us, and we received a demonstration on how to fold our tortilla style wraps around the duck.  While we have all had a little trouble adapting to the food in China, there was no doubt that this meal was one we would all remember.  Peking Duck goes on the list for all-time greats, and I think we all left feeling a little bit more cultured.

Tomorrow means the Great Wall tour, a spot we have all been anticipating since we first knew we were coming to China, so expect more from China soon.