With an introduction like that, well, this is a narrative and slides for my trip to China in March 1998. This was my first trip to Asia. Lots of fun, especially so thanks to friends (Glenn and Jeannie) I have there who put me up and showed me around.

For photos, click on the hyperlinks to the pictures, then use your "back" button on your browser to return to this page. Photos might take a few seconds to load if you have a slow modem. If your browser has any problems loading the photos (JPEG format files) from the links below, please let me know by emailing rstack@rstack.com

THU MAR 19 1998 -- DEPARTURE

I started the journey on a United Boeing 747-400 from SFO to Seoul. Thanks to the hurting Korean economy (and low season), the plane was only 1/4 full. Two meals on board. This was a long (11 hour 41 minute) flight.

FRI MAR 20 1998 -- SEOUL

Arrived in Seoul. A new subway line has recently been expanded to the airport, so I took that to my obnoxiously expensive hotel (the Lotte World). This hotel was part of something of an indoor Disneyland for Korea. Ate dinner in a tiny, tasty local kebab restaurant in an area of tons of little shops, stores, restaurants, and coffee houses--much more intense small business concentration than you see in the US. Seoul also has a *lot* of mid- and high-rise apartments, even well away from the center of town.
A forest of Seoul high-rise apartments from the air

SAT MAR 21 1998 -- ARRIVAL

After a quick walk through downtown Seoul, flew a Korean Air Airbus A300 to Beijing. Upon approach to PEK, I noticed that most buildings are east-west oriented (most windows north or south facing) and that even rural population density appears much higher than the US. I have two friends living in Beijing--one is Glenn, a friend from high school, and the other is Jeannie, who I know from Berkeley. They met me at the airport, and we wandered to downtown Beijing in what's known as the embassy district. Ate a tasty lunch of Russian food (lots of Russians around doing business in this area). Met up with some of Glenn's co-professors (teaching English), then it was time to sleep. I stayed at Glenn's apartment which is provided as part of his teaching job--it's a nice apartment by Chinese standards, though the doors are too darn short for me! Westbound travel is easy--not much jet lag because it's like getting to sleep in rather than trying to go to bed early.

SUN MAR 22 1998 -- GREAT WALL

Today I went with Glenn and Jeannie to the Great Wall near Mutanyu (sp?). Glenn's friend (whose wife works in Glenn's apartment complex) drove us there in his well kept van (well kept because it was much cleaner and more maintained than any taxi I rode.) After about a 2 hour drive through the countryside, we arrived at the Great Wall. There's a tramway or a 30 minute hike... we chose the hike. The Great Wall has been well restored at this location for a couple miles each way from the site. We walked a good part of it until we were tired and came back as it got dark. The weather was chilly but not really cold, and the wind kept the air clear. Then we had Mongolian BBQ--Glenn's friend Daiwei ordered, which meant that everything was tasty.
Wide, unusually empty highway to Mutanyu
Smaller, empty highway to the mountains
Stairs to the Great Wall (Glenn, Jeannie)
Stairs to the Great Wall (myself)
On the Great Wall (Glenn)
On the Great Wall (myself)
On the Great Wall (Jeannie)
On the Great Wall (Glenn, Jeannie)
On the Great Wall (Jeannie)
Long hilly stretch of the Great Wall
Glenn with Great Wall in background
Hilly stretch of Great Wall (BEST great wall photo)
Glenn on Great Wall (bad photo--underexposed)
Hilly stretch of Great Wall (Glenn, Jeannie)
Great Wall (Jeannie, myself)
New road back towards Beijing
Kite flyers in a big, grassy traffic circle outside Beijing

MON MAR 23 1998 -- CLASS

Today I got to help Glenn's Freshman English class practice English. (He teaches at Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute.) They asked: How old am I? How much money do I make? Have I ever used chopsticks? (Yes!) Are Chinese well off in America? I got to ask back: Where are you all from? Do any of you have cars? (No!) Both the class and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went into town later that night to eat gyoza with Jeannie.

TUE MAR 24 1998 -- TOURED

Glenn's friend Richard toured me around. First to the Lama Temple--tons of incense and the world's largest Buddha. Then to McDonald's for lunch--Big Macs have smaller patties there. Then to Tien an men Square--it's huge. Then we took the whirlwind tour of the Forbidden City; lots of neat architecture, though not much "inside" the main buildings besides thrones. >From there we walked around some of the government leader housing--less visible than the White House. From there we went to a brand new mall, which was only about 80% leased--surprising for such a new, downtown mall. I got to talk with Richard a lot today about Chinese culture and ideas, which was very invaluable. He got to practice so much English (he studies at Glenn's university) that he was exhausted by the end of the day. Met Glenn for dinner at the hotel he trains people at for dim sum. Then saw Jeannie's place--she's in a small neighborhood which would be scary in the US but is just kind of a mess in China.
Beijing subway entrance with more bicycles than you can count
Inside the Beijing subway
Beijing subway train
Lama temple: incense and offering to a Buddha
Lama temple: building corner very fine architectural detail
Lama temple: temple building
Lama temple (myself) (sideways)
Lama temple (Richard) (sideways)
So much incense! (sideways)
More Lama Temple corner architecture detail (sideways)
Tien an men Square, looking towards entrance to Forbidden City
Richard takes photos for others on Tien an men Square
Richard and myself on Tien an men Square
Myself on Tien an men Square, with "Maosoleum"(?) in background
Myself @ Tien an men, with monument to the people (?) in background (sideways)
Richard on Tien an men Square, with "Maosoleum"(?) in background (sideways)
Forbidden City building; neat architecture
Forbidden City giant vase and more architecture (sideways)
Forbidden City rooftops (BEST architecture/scene photo)
Outside the Forbidden City, surrounded by water

WED MAR 25 1998 -- TRAIN

After waiting 20 minutes behind a tiny fender bender accident and ensuing argument, I got to the train station to try the train out to Tianjen. This turned out to be a relatively new double decker scenic train--about a two hour train ride. I didn't have much time in Tianjin, which is one of China's largest cities, but unlike Beijing it's a more low-rise city punctuated with the occasional taller tower (as opposed to Beijing which is very high-rise in many places.) Now that I was outside of Beijing, I, the tall white out of towner, got lots of stares from people. Hopped a new, clean, and relatively expensive (about $4) bus back to Beijing. Traffic was so bad in Beijing that the bus didn't reach the bus station--they had us get off at some intersection along the way. Traffic in Beijing was very chaotic--most people regularly run signals, pedestrians know that they are fair game if they step into traffic, and bicycles regularly tangle with cars though usually not too badly. Those who insist on orderliness in their driving experience need not apply here. The weather during this part of the trip was cool and very hazy--some haze, some smoke, some coal dust, and some smog. It wasn't that much clearer in the countryside outside of Beijing, so this wasn't just urban pollution creating the haze.
Double decker train I took to Tianjin (my only train photo)
Tianjin skyline
In Beijing, probably the slowest traffic jam I've ever seen
Glenn drinks McDonald's

THU MAR 26 1998 -- TECHNOLOGY

I went with Glenn to the Temple of Heaven just south of downtown Beijing. This is a very scenic and photogenic spot, with a nice park surrounding it. From there, we wandered small alleyways which are disappearing in Beijing due to the growth of new development in the city. Later we ended up in Beijing's "silicon strip", where many major universities and computer shops are concentrated.
Temple of Heaven (sideways)
Glenn at Temple of Heaven (sideways)
Myself at Temple of Heaven (sideways)
Myself at Temple of Heaven (sideways)
Temple of Heaven rooftop architecture
Beijing's Silicon Strip with outdoor video screen, even
Glenn looking at flyers (sideways, photo too dark)

FRI MAR 27 1998 -- BUSES

I toodled around Beijing by myself today. I tried out a couple of the minibuses and city buses for getting around. The minibuses are small, kinda cramped, but everyone gets to sit so it's about a 25 cent fare. The city buses are big and cheaper (about 5 cents) but so very full that I had to push my way out through the crowd to get out. The Beijing subway, however, is clean and fast and about 25 cents. There is a tremendous amount of construction going on in and around Beijing, mostly of the mid- and high-rise variety. Lots of this is fancier high rise apartment housing. We ate tasty Chinese dinner with some of Glenn's co-professors and were repeatedly toasted by lots of very drunk Russian students.
Beijing downtown intersection: bicycles, trolley lines
A flock of minibuses in Beijing
Scitech Tower, where Jeannie works
My car (the Mazda 323/Protege) is pretty popular as a Beijing taxi...
Beijing Yuyuantan park in early Spring
Beijing Yuyuantan lake, with boats in the haze
A very hazy, tall Beijing TV tower (sideways)
Beijing Hotel Nikko, where Glenn works some, interior (sideways)

SAT MAR 28 1998 -- COUNTRYSIDE

It was time to see some of China away from Beijing, which is like leaving New York City to see a little of what the US is *really* like. We (Glenn, Jeannie, and Richard) chose Baoding because it was an easy 1.5 hour train ride. Baoding is about the size of, say, Albuquerque or Syracuse. The train fare is about $4 each way, and the ride is nice when the trains aren't crowded. Once we arrived, we walked downtown including some commercial areas and alley. Stopped for lunch as a palce which had *awesome* Gyoza--best I've had, ever. Then we stopped at a Catholic church--rather out of place in this smaller town, but neat inside. Then we hired a taxi to head out into the countryside. By a taxi I mean a small "breadbox" or "miandi", taxis the size of a subcompact wagon but boxier, slower, and usually more dilapidated. We drove about 100km towards the hills west of town. First past intense farming areas--lots of terraces and irrigation by hand. There were lots of local manufacturing enterprises including several breweries. Then we went into the hills to the west--lots of mining. Population density was quite high for a rural area during the whole ride; lots of bicycles out here too. A lot of building going on, too. After a quick and inexpensive hotel meal (mostly noodle soup), we took an evening train back to Beijing.
Beijing West (new) railway station departure board
Richard and Jeannie in Baoding alleyway
Glenn finds some math homework on a brick wall in Baoding
The one Catholic church in Baoding (sideways)
Countryside fields near Baoding
Countryside road scene near Baoding
Hills west of Baoding, with still too early to grow yet fields
Small town road scene
Fuzzy action driving shot, as a truck passes us into oncoming traffic

SUN MAR 29 1998 -- SHOPPING

I ate lunch at Subway. Why so many non-Chinese meals? Mainly because I didn't want to burn myself out on Chinese food totally while there. Then it was time for shopping. I bought 19 scrolls in 2 hours for about $70. Then I went with Jeannie to the nearby suburb of Tongxian, east of Beijing. It's growing rapidly especially with good toll road access. From the center of town, we walked east through progressively smaller towns until time to taxi back. Upon return, ate dinner at a Korean/Chinese place across from Glenn's university. The small restaurants in this area were really tasty and relatively cheap (usually about $3 to $5 per meal.)
Entrance to Glenn's university (Beijing Second Foreign Languages Institute)
Example of ongoing extensive high rise construction in Beijing
Glenn and Jeannie in calligraphy market (sideways)
Myself and artist of a couple scrolls I bought with great artwork of birds
Jeannie and myself carrying the loot at the calligraphy and swap market
Glenn at the calligraphy and swap market
Glenn relaxes in his apartment
Jeannie hanging out
Outdoor food market in Tongxian, a little east of Beijing
Myself at food market in Tongxian (photo underexposed)
Small farming plots with some food in plastic greenhouses in Tongxian
Many small farming plots with new apartments in background in Tongxian
Bus stop at end of town with zillions of bicycles (Jeannie)
Entrance to a very purple motorcycle factory near Tongxian
Fields near Tongxian; that's advertising ("buy things here") on wall
Fields, building near Tongxian (photo too dark)

MON MAR 30 1998 -- RETURN

Long plane ride back--a Korean Air 777 to SEL, then a nice empty United 747-400 back home. Great trip overall.
Glenn's university campus scene
Street scene in front of Glenn's university
More street scene in front of Glenn's university
Glenn and our driver who took us to the Great Wall and the airport in his van
Chinese 4X4 truck
Small town near airport road scene
At PEK (Beijing airport): China Northwest A300-600
PEK departure board: white boards, hand marked
At PEK: China Xinjiang Airlines IL-86 (Russian built airliner)
At PEK: New terminal construction visible from international terminal
At SEL (Seoul airport): billboard showing new Inchon airport, opening soon
At SEL: IL-62 (Russian built airliner, 4 engines on the tail)
At SEL: My UA 747-400 (N198UA) SEL-SFO
Over San Francisco: Golden Gate Bridge
Over San Francisco: Downtown and Bay Bridge
Over San Francisco: Noe Valley neighborhood