Dragons, Forbidden City.

Breakfast was a a soup, a bread filled with something like kale, a vegetable pancake, and dumplings.

Dean Guo gave a lecture on "lung" (or long, dragons). He used the Chinese term to differentiate the benevolent East Asian beast from the terrifying and rapacious dragon of Western culture. It was a lecture that appealed to all levels of our audience, who found his disquisition of great interest.

After lunch, he led us on a visit to the Forbidden City, where we looked for examples of what he taught us. We did see the dragon's son who is associated with water, as his image is used in the downspouts.

Japanese-style noodle soup for lunch.

Forbidden City. Susan and I came here in 1980s. I returned two years ago. It still is amazing, but nothing like the first time in seeing it. The weather was hot and going through the first part of the place strikes you with the space, symmetry, and sumptuous palace architecture. The Last Emperor was filmed here. The next part is smaller, but there are rocks, trees, and greenery (and some protection from the sun) for contrast. Frosty would enjoy this and the following.

Jingshan (Prospect or Coal Hill) is across the street from the Forbidden City exit. There was some commotion as a homeless person lay in the street where heavy traffic had to get around him. Jingshan is a park created on the soil removed from the Forbidden City moat area and other refuse. It is wooded, cooler, and refuge from the bustle of Beijing. I'd never been here before. The pavillion at the summit was under renovation, but I managed the climb to get an overview of the Forbidden City.

One of the students did everything right with transformer and adapter but blew a fuse with her hair straightener. Fortunately, she bought another hair implement for a minimal price.

It's pleasing to see our students negotiating for food (and other things) in a system that is often quite incomprehensible to them. Our hosts are extremely helpful, as are the daily people, with whom the students come into contact.