We started the day with a trip to the Emperor's Summer Palace. It was home to several Emperors. I've sent back several photos so can see the beauty. Today the Summer Palace is a tourist attraction as well as a place for the locals to come and spend time with their families to relax, reflect and meditate.
We left the Summer Palace for our next city, Tianjin. Tianjin is China’s third largest population with just over 10 million people. Several of the summer Olympic games will take place in Tianjin. There is currently only one highway connecting Tianjin and Beijing. A new highway and a new fast rail system will open in the next few weeks for the Olympic games.
Tianjin has over 2000 K-12th grade schools. There are 45 universities in the city. We asked our guides who by the way are teachers in the schools that we will be visiting on Monday, what percentage of students pass the eight grade test and move on to high school. The answer is 90%. The other 10 percent go to vocational schools or begin to work in the factories for 80 cents a day American currency. As I learn more about the Chinese educational structure, I will be sure to let everyone know the similarities and differences to our educational system.
Well…on the food front it was…can you guess?…wait for it…Chinese for lunch and dinner. Yesterday’s cheese pizza is a fading memory. So it’s back to the pop-tarts and peanut butter and crackers for me. Good news though, the area in and around our hotel looks a bit more promising for the exploration of food. Tomorrow will be a day to find a place so I can begin eating from time to time.
Still loving those pop-tarts...Bob
(Blogging from China - Photo Gallery)
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