My First Week

It has already been a week since I arrived in Beijing.  The IARU program planned activities for us every single day for the entire first week up until yesterday.  We met with PKU's Chinese Music Institute on Thursday where they talked about a few Chinese musical instruments and played for us.  Then on Friday afternoon, we went to visit the Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research and Development Group.  They gave a presentation and we explored on our own for a bit.

PKU's Chinese Music Institute

Microsoft Research Asia

This past weekend they took us to visit the historical places of Beijing.  On Saturday, we went to the Great Wall.  This was my 3rd time visiting, so some of my friends and I took the cable cars up to the top instead of climbing it.  On Sunday, we visited the Temple of Heaven and the Palace Museum (the Forbidden City).  Since it was the weekend, those two tourist places were very crowded.  They also provided an English-speaking tour guide for us.  By the end of the day, we were all very tired from all the walking we did and from the summer heat.

The Great Wall

Temple of Heaven

Forbidden City