Today has been busy, and it is not even over. I am writing this while taking a quick break in the evening before heading to the Peking Opera.
The day started with a bus ride (and elementary Chinese language lesson) to Peking University (a.k.a. Beijing University). There we met with sociologists and an anthropologist for a total of 10 faculty members from the area. Represented in the meeting were Peking University, China Agricultural University, Renmin University of China and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Sociology. It was a great exchange. Following general introductions on the ASA side by Arne Kalleberg and on the Chinese side by Xie Lizhong, each faculty member told about their background and teaching/research interests. There were questions and answers throughout. We learned that we have more in common that we have that is different. We are all social scientists with genuine interest in social betterment. (So far, this has been my favorite part of the trip.)
We then walked campus on the way to a wonderful and lengthy lunch. It was raining, so it was difficult to fully appreciate the campus. Still, it was clear that it is a beautiful campus.
During lunch, we were in a room with two large round tables. We sat so that every one of us from the ASA group was sitting next to a Chinese faculty member. Discussions were open, in-depth and enlightening on both sides.
After lunch we headed by bus to the Summer Palace for a tour and boat ride (or should I say dragon ride?).
To round things out, on the way back to the hotel we drove by Olympic Village.
Here are some pictures from the day's events.
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