I am back! I am back from a really amazing trip! But since I haven’t had the time to report about the happenings from October to January so far I will do this first before writting about the big journey!
Dalian (大连)
Following an invitation of the FEV in Aachen, the company of a Professor of RWTH Aachen and although the company I worked for as a student assistant back in Germany, the German students of automobile engineering went to the City of Dalian from 16th to 17th of December. After arriving at the snowy city we visited the FEV facility, a locomotive company and a shipyard. Later we went to one of the biggest squares of the world and have had a nice buffet before testing the Dalian nightlife. On the next day we just walked round a little before flying back to Beijing. Unfortunately the focus of this trip was visiting facilities and not the city so that we didn’t see too much of Dali. Anyway, two great and interesting days!
(here some more colored pictures)
The first guests came to visit me
At the end of November and beginning of December Sonja and Eran from Jersey, England, came to Beijing to visit me. They stayed for ten days and together we explored a lot of the famous Beijing sights. We went to the night market, where snakes, bugs, scorpions, etc are sold – for eating of course, made it to the “Summer Palace” with the first ice on the lake, went to a part of the “Great Wall” we have been nearly the only people on that day, visited the “Temple of Heaven” and the “Forbidden City” and so on and so on. Unfortunately I was quite busy with University at that time so that they also “had” to do a lot of shopping.
Nightmarket 
(here some more colored pictures)Once more the Summer Palace
(here some more colored pictures)Great Wall Simatai
(here some more colored pictures)Temple of Heaven
(here some more colored pictures)Forbidden City
(here some more colored pictures)
And some more pictures of Sonja's and Eran's visit
Girls, Girrls, Grrrls - Beijing Automobile Exhibition
As is right and proper for students of automotive engineering we went altogether to the Beijing Automobile Exhibition in the middle of November. Although we got tickets for the manufactures day – which was the first day of the exhibition and on a Sunday – it seemed that these tickets have not been special and everybody could get such a ticket. So it was really crowded. The main difference between this exhibition and the ones in Germany is: Here in China one could think it is not about the cars and instead it is much more about the girls standing next to the cars! So we saw a lot of nice girls ....ehh, cars.
(here some more girls ... eh, cars)Beijing Alaaf!
On 11th of November we Germans started together with some other people of our dormitory celebrating the beginning of the 5th season – carnival – how it has to be: in the early morning hours! At 11:11 nearly all of us came together in fancy dresses in the common room of our floor. We tried to animate as much people as possible to celebrate with us and at about 12:30 we have been kicked out by the dormitory staff and they closed the common room. So we had to look for other places to keep the party rocking and after moving with our “Karawane” singing into the dining hall we made it on the subway to Tianmen Square. In the subway station we have been admonished and they told us to stop doing “Polonäse”. On Tianmen we stayed more quite but we have been the attraction of the day anyways and masses of people surrounded us and took pictures of us. Afterwards we went to a German restaurant and went on celebrating this special day until late in the night.
Beijing Alaaf!
(here some more pictures of Hugo (see 11.11. in Beijing) and Thomas J.)Climbing at Beida (北大)
After living nearly two month in Beijing eventually I made it to the Beijing University (北京大学 – or in short 北大) to check its climbing wall. Beida is the other big University in Beijing besides Tsinghua University. After the climbing session I explored the campus area. Since this University is much older then Tsinghua it has also more nice old buildings.
(here some more colored pictures)“Fragrant Hill” and “Temple of Azure Clouds”
At the end of October on a beautiful late summer day Danio, Luis (a Mexican señor) and I went to the outskirts of Beijing to visit the “Fragrant Hill Park”. Actually we headed to this place for its famous and really beautiful Indian summer. Unfortunately it was still too early and the most leafs still green and since the place was really crowded with Chinese people we decided to visit the “Temple of Azure Clouds” which is located inside the park. Up to now it is one of the most beautiful temples I have seen in China – and I saw already a lot of Chinese temples.
(here some more colored pictures)
