China highlights

Tianjin

• Played ping pong!
• Stayed in a hotel located near the Olympic soccer stadium.
• Went karaoke-ing and saw some Koreans bust out a move!!
• Visited an acupuncture hospital.
• Watched a bunch of kids training at a judo center.
• Took a stroll along the harbor.

Beijing

• Ate Peking duck!
• Took a stroll around a park which consisted of a playground designed for the elderly!
• Drove by the Olympic stadium.
• Visited the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Ming Tombs, and Tianamen Square.

Shanghai

• Watched kids practice the dragon dance.
• Had a drink at the restaurant of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower which overlooks the city.
• Learned some wushu (martial arts) moves from a professional and visited the Chinese Wushu Museum.
• Attended an acrobatics show.
• Checked out the Shanghai Olympic Training Center.
• Visited the Shanghai Museum, the Bund area, as well as Nanjing Road, the main shopping street of the city.

Hangzhou

• Went to a hospital that specializes in herbal medicine.
• Took a mini-cruise on a lake.
• Visited many tea shops--the city is known for its tea!
• Climbed up the Six Harmony Pagoda.

In all cities: stuffed ourselves with lots of FOOD, visited universities and research centers specializing in sports medicine and exercise science, walked through market areas, walked a lot in general, and more!

Touristy Hangzhou

Training and research

We visited many universities and research centers for sports medicine and exercise science in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou including (but not limited to!): Tianjin University of Sport, Beijing Sport University, Shanghai University of Sport, Gatorade Sports Science Institute, and the National Research Institute of Sports Medicine.

A glimpse of traditional Chinese medicine

We visited a hospital in Tianjin where acuptuncture was being performed on a ton of people. There were also a ton of people waiting around for their turn. Man, I couldn't handle seeing so many needles being poked into people!!

We spoke to an Australian lady who was a patient at the hospital who had some kind of disability, I can't recall exactly what it was. She said she had been going through the process of rehabilitation in Australia for around two years without much progress being made. She had heard about acupuncture in China and did some research, and decided to give it a try, so she and her husband flew to China. She claims that within two weeks of starting the process more progress was made than her entire time in Australia. I found that to be quite interesting.

Also, when we were in Hanzhou, we visisted a hospital that prescribes herbal medicine to their patients.

Touristy Shanghai

The ever-so-agile Chinese

We saw an acrobatics show in Shanghai.