One of the teenagers on the “Birthday Tour” last week, a 15 year old young man from California, told me that he loved China and wanted to stay here forever. “What do you love about China?” I asked. “Everything,” he replied. “Come on,” I said, “give me some specifics….what specific things do you love about […]
Getting Gracie Gone
My phone rang at 7:00 in the morning on Saturday. “Hello. This is Capital International Airport. Please come to collect your mother at Terminal 2, Door 6.” With that, I knew that my mom had definitely NOT made it onto the Delta flight to Detroit. I jumped into a cab and headed to the airport, […]
A Birthday Fit for an Empress
Last night (the 22nd) we had a birthday banquet for my mom at the Bai Family Courtyard Restaurant. It was originally a palace for a Qing Dynasty prince, but is a delightful place to get a taste of Qing food and culture. Because of a scheduling conflict by the restaurant, they put us into a […]
Birthday Tour
Five years ago this week, my mom arrived in Beijing, along with a dozen or so friends to celebrate her 80th birthday. We spent a week seeing the sights, visiting friends, and of course eating wonderful Beijing food. At the end of that week, my mom announced that it would be her last trip to […]
100 Fun Things to See and Do in Beijing
A number of years ago I put together a list of 100 fun things to see and do in Beijing for a new teacher orientation program that I was working on. This week I’m getting ready for a group of visitors to arrive from the US and UK for a week, so I thought it […]
