Quing Hua University on Sunny Sunday

July 20, 2008 - Sunday morning we woke up and went for a walk over to Qing Hua (pronounced Ching hwah) university which is not far from our apartment. Qing Hua is the MIT of China and is one of the many very famous universities in Beijing. Many famous American technology companies have set up shop right outside the school's gates.

You may recognize a few of the big names.






Jenny our host had told me that there were beautiful lakes and gardens on the grounds of the campus so we decided to venture out and see if we could find them. We walked by a few of the many buildings which I assume housed some classrooms or maybe some labs where the next big discovery was being created.
Here is a picture of Sandy in front of an important looking building...

This is the original front gate which was deep inside the current campus. Apparently, families will visit the school with their high school age children to inspire them to study hard so that they can pass the entrance exam and study here. Hence all the people taking pictures in front of the front gate.



Just beyond the front gate we found the lakes and gardens. Jenny was right they were beautiful and full of many surprises. We found a hidden pagoda on hill that afforded us a great view of the surrounding area.


Olivia and I were able to climb to the top and get a good look around.

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Sandy wanted to take look so up she went...


We walked around some more and found some other surprises like the statue of Confucius.

We snapped a picture of this little boy doing his best impression.

And then we saw this cute little girl walking around a monument.

Again Olivia makes friends everywhere she goes. She is mei mei (translated little sister) to every kid older than her. Olivia is like a movie star here in China as everyone wants to take her picture. So we decided that we would get in on the action too.

So after the photo shoot we found a pen full of peacocks which delighted Olivia. She has never seen such a bird and was very excited to see them. That was until she stuck her finger thru the fence and they began squawking which scared her and made her cry. Everyone around had a good laugh at her expense.

By this time thunder was rumbling and it was looking like rain coming our way so we decided to head back to our apartment. Along the way we saw a small home with a merchandise stand. The lady was sleeping in the heat of the afternoon.

We cam upon a courtyard that was situated on the lake shore.

Here is Sandy with her UV blocking sun umbrella looking very cool.

This is the same pagoda that we climbed earlier...

A picture of the lake shore...

And lastly yet another beautiful scenic setting...