Ready for action

I was pretty exhausted by the time Walti & mom arrived on Saturday, so their jet-lag and my lack of sleep made us more or less in synch.

Walti arrived on time, and it was easy to spot him (very few people in the airport at that time, after the big rush of the holiday week). We went home, let him take a shower and settle in, then we went to the market to shop for veggies and fruit (stuff like that is always interesting in a foreign place). After a short nap, we went to Dashanzi Art District, a vibrant and growing art zone in the former State-owned electronics Factory 798 in the NE corner of Beijing (www.798space.com). It seems we always intend to visit it, but it is a bit out of the way. This time, though, since we had to pick up mom at the airport afterwards, it was perfect.

Time was limited, but Walti was still able to get an impression, and we found a nice birthday present for Lina, a set of tea cups decorated with "Cherries" by the famous Chinese painter Qi Baishi (1864-1957).

Mom's flight was about 30 minutes late, so we ended up waiting over an hour at the airport, but she appeared with no problems. From the minute she set foot in China, it has been a real eye-opener for her. Hopefully I can convince her to offer a guest blog entry on her impressions.

Back at the apartment, after a shower, we then walked over to dinner at a Hong Kong restaurant near our hotel (that I would not recommend in the future!) for the welcome dinner with my friend, Jiang, his family and Lina. It was also a birthday party for her, since her birthday was the following day....and that was it for Day 1 of the visit!