Qinghua

I just returned from a waves conference at Qinghua (Tsinghua) University in Beijing. Qinghua is one the the top two Universities in China (the other being Peking University, also in Beijing). Qinghua is better in engineering, Peking is better in math - a fact that our math hosts were keenly aware of. I gave a 25 minute talk, which felt rushed. This never happened with talks related to my thesis. I think some topics fit easier in a 30 minute format than others.

The conference included a trip to the Great Wall. I was able to do some other sight-seeing besides, including the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. XY was in town, in between post-docs at Princeton and Courant, and was generous enough to act as tourguide. Below is a picture of me, XY and the chairman, all overlooking Tian'anmen square.

Some unordered comments on Beijing :

The city is very polluted. It stings your eyes a little, and makes long distance photography absurd.

If you are planning a visit, choose one of the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, they are very similar for westerners.

Food is very inexpensive, lunch for three at a modest place (equivalent of Chili's) averages 70 RMB (approx 11 US).

As in Europe, US culture is prevalent. At a local shopping mall, stores which target teens sell t-shirts with sayings in English.