Do you hear the gongs blasting?
EAP China! Robert Klein. Guest photographer Chris Way.

This stone, like Chris, is prized because it is said to resemble the God of Longetivity.
EAP China! Robert Klein. Guest photographer Chris Way.

First of a number of summer palace architectural shots. The palace architecture is quite beautiful, though so much of the positive impression is overhung by some inauspicious history.
EAP China! Robert Klein. Guest photographer Chris Way.

Go Bruins and Tritons! Aand San Franciscans! Chris (of Sausilito) went to school at University High, and the two UCSD students to the left are Lowell alumni.
EAP China! Robert Klein. Guest photographer Chris Way.

It's a Beijing miracle! My roomate took a number of pictures at the Old Summer Palace, where I forgot to bring my camera, as well as some excellent ones at other locations. So, for the first (and hopefully not the last time) I'll be featuring a guest photographer, UCLA's brilliant Chris Way. Pictured is the southeast entrance to the Old Summer Palace.
EAP China! Robert Klein. Guest photographer Chris Way.

TongYiShouGe KTV (People's Capital Song Karaoke) (2). Walking back was an adventure, with some of the American girls desperate to call a cab, while the rest of us insisted on walking home. I teased Bo, he's the only Beijinger among us and he got Bei (north) wrong! But we all just walked north and got home safe and sound. This is just off the street which, further north, has my "secret park" in the median.
EAP China! Robert Klein

The Karaoke palace (1).
EAP China! Robert Klein

Jessica's friend, on the other hand...
EAP China! Robert Klein

Even as we approached 2 at night these two were still going strong.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Who me? No, no, to your right, Jessica, the girl with the mike.
EAP China! Robert Klein

That Chris sure is a crooner.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Finally the American girls got the mike awhile.
EAP China! Robert Klein

He's really to cool for any of us. It's almost shameful.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Boy, Jessica sure is getting all the duets tonight.
EAP China! Robert Klein

The other room. They seemed more excited, but stranger, I tell you...
EAP China! Robert Klein

I ran out of clothes today. Hence the nice outfit. I also got oil on my nice pants. Luckily I have spares. Sorry, mom.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Ah ah ah ah, stayin' aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive. Do do dee do do do do de do do de do do do do do...I'm goin' nowhere, somebody help me, somebody help me...
EAP China! Robert Klein

Oh, the romantic duets. If you go downstairs, they'res free (very spicy) food to take back to the room. Makes 22 kuai/person even more of a bargain.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Rappin' like the Taiwainese. I'll have videos of this guy rockin' out (and other videos) up soon.
EAP China! Robert Klein

For the older western songs (like Elvis) they have really strange white actors (Russians, maybe?) act out bizzare scenes that vaguely relate to the songs (on vaguely, when they played Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication they had pictures of San Francisco...when the songs about La. And then they switched to pictures that were distinctly of Vancouver, Canada, including its bridges and boats with the BC flag.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Just the buds.
EAP China! Robert Klein

If you go and order drinks you have to pay, but if you sit tight they'll bring free juices.
EAP China! Robert Klein

Yeeeeeaaaah, baby!
EAP China! Robert Klein

Another group shot, also featuring two UC students on the left, and toward the right yours truly and Nathan (from Berkeley) to my right.
EAP China! Robert Klein

To the left is Bo, who can do the aforementioned traditional Peking Opera, my roomate Christ to the left of his hand, and all our buddies.
EAP China! Robert Klein

EAP students, our biking friends and a buddy from the performance during a brief reshuffling of places.
EAP China! Robert Klein

After the bike ride we went back to Lanhui for a friendship talent show...and the Chinese really showed us up. The only highlights on our side were Tammy singing a song she wrote herself and my ability to use chopsticks (I was the only white guy who could actually put all the little wet ping pong palls into a different tray. The Chinese, on the other hand, had beautiful traditional dancing, instruments and a Peking opera-style performance. The performers and their friends took us all out to Karoke afterward, a multiple story palace of KTV. We rented out two rooms for the entire night, which at the end of the night only ended up costing us 22 kuai each. Note the soccer balls hanging from the ceiling in honor of the world cup. To get up to the Karaoke you go through those elevators to the left of the crowd.
EAP China! Robert Klein

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-08/01/content_654006.htm

I think these two pictures really give a pretty accurate impression of Beijing over the last few days. Two days ago, it was so dark outside our classroom that it seemed like night, and on my daily trip to the bakery on XinJieKouWai next to our classroom building I found myself running through some of the biggest puddles I'd ever seen...vast pools of water everywhere on the ground that were completely unavoidable.

Since I wasn't catching a flight or taking the 6th Ring Road or JingCheng expressway (in fact, our bus came back from the Great Wall more or less on the very routes that were closed two days ago), I was able to appreciate the weather much more than those trying to catch a flight out of 首都机场 （ShouDuJiChang-Capital Airport).

Actually, I love the rain. It gives the neighborhood a European feel and afterward the rain the sun actually comes out thanks to an unusually (and almost painfully) clear sky. Feels almost like California.

More pictures coming soon!

-Robert Klein

"哎呀， Robert, why haven't you got any new posts up lately?"

As my fellow San Franciscan and Great Wall traveler above so duly notes, I haven't gotten new pictures up in a long time. Sorry about that. I have a backlog of over 2000 pictures and videos from Inner Mongolia (内蒙古）, Chengde (承德) and the Great Wall (长城), which actually means "Long Wall" in Chinese.

In my defense, I will have more pictures up soon. I've got a 400 character essay to write which I'm calling "Chengde, City of Cheats", but I assure you that at least by the weekend you'll be seeing some more pictures, which I hope you've been enjoying as much as I have taking them.

好久不见！"Long time, no see!"

EAP China! Robert Klein