SteveMandich.com: Banned in China!

Just kidding man don't get pissed.

Our China adventure began atop the Sears Tower, with its commanding nighttime views of downtown Chicago, Lake Michigan, and an orange, sodium-vapor sea stretching to the horizon... Then, after that unexpected Windy City layover, we finally did make it to Beijing. Our 14-hour flight took us up over the Arctic Circle before dropping down into Asia, while I watched Get Smart and Speed Racer over and over.

Our arrival brought my countries-I’ve-been-to total to 24, and continents-I've-been-to total to three. We were immediately impressed, having deplaned in the massive new Terminal 3 at the Beijing airport. It's sleek, modern, and breathtaking -- perhaps the most awesome building I've ever seen. I'm looking forward to exploring it more while waiting for our flight home.

We're staying with my dad and his girlfriend Cheryl in their modern seventh-floor apartment in the Chaoyang District. Last night we walked around the neighborhood and had Chinese food for dinner -- what, no fortune cookies?

Then today we explored the fantastic 798 Art Zone (where I snapped these top three pictures), featuring a killer photo exhibit by Edward Burtynsky, the guy from in the documentary Manufactured Landscapes. Lots of other cool stuff there too, reminding us of the Biennale we saw last year in Venice. The Lama Temple we visited next was pretty cool, though we wanna go back to the 798 again while we're here... And Eliza can't seem to get enough tea:

General observations: Internet-wise, despite the Great Firewall, I've been able to dial up all the same old stuff I read at home... Enjoying Tsingtao Beer... Unless you count the Beach Boys at the Puyallup Fair, my first-ever rock concert was the B-52s in 1983. Opening were the Red Rockers -- they had the minor new-wave hit "China," a song that's been running through my head since we got here. Here's the video: