Prep Work-Culture and Transport

To get ready for the China Open, we've been having meetings twice a week to go over everything from tennis rules, to player bios, to Chinese culture.  Dr. Ernest Zhang and two graduate students, Gracie Sun and Tina Ma, gave a presentation to help introduce our group to Chinese culture.  Spanning from history to travel tips,  the presentation helped us to prepare for the experience of traveling to a completely foreign country.


Dr. Zhang began with several definitions of the word “culture.”  He emphasized that understanding a nation’s culture is not limited to the broad categories of language, food, and religion; but is really more of a macro definition that includes deep-rooted beliefs, norms, systems of knowledge, and communication standards of a community.

The good news is that I already love all things Asian.

He stressed that culture encompasses much more than just history and facts, and that we should be prepared and open-minded in order to soak in as much experience as we can from our opportunity to visit another culture. We're learning as much as we can about China before we leave for Beijing, but I know that nothing I read about will ever compare to experiencing it in person....

Another big issue we discussed was public transportation while we are there:

Updated in 2008, Beijing subway lines now include English signage--whew! 

We went over the subway systems and the best ways to get around in Beijing.  I feel much more comfortable after our meeting because they have been largely altered to accommodate English speakers since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This means SIGNS in English!  We're going to get to and from the stadium using shuttles from our hotel, and I am planning on taking the subway and cabs to do some sight seeing. 

Beijing taxi driver--heard they are wild!
photo from http://blog.chinesehour.com/?p=951

Oh, the taxis. We received some tips on working with cab drivers--as in never leaving the hotel without having the name of our destination written out in Chinese! I'm going to get about four things with my hotel address on it to keep with me at all times--I'm not trying to get lost in Beijing! The fare for cabs and subways is incredibly cheap, it's just the language barrier I'm worried about, so public transportation will definitely be something to master...