Then we were taken on a guided tour of the Jinci Temple, right next door to the hotel (read a bit more here). Most interesting was the harmonious commingling of buildings and artifacts from periods of Chinese history ranging from 3000 years ago to the present.
After lunch, we went to Taiyuan Normal University for the opening festivities -- officious speeches, many of which were already printed in the conference program yet were solemnly delivered in both Chinese and English. We had our official group photo taken, then did a little bit of actual work. Each of our groups met with relevant folks from the University -- we actually discussed computer science curriculum design, and even discussed China, Microsoft, and free software for a few minutes. Then we discussed "How does the Internet affect youth in America?" at which point I started to get really hungry for dinner.
Which was good -- but was far exceeded by the opening gala concert, performed by studnets (mostly) and teachers of music and dance at the University. When we walked up to the performance hall, there were people pushing and shoving to get in, and police were barring the door -- many of the performers were VERY well-beloved by their fellow students! When the Americans walked in, the police cleared the way, and the folks already seated (the hall was pretty much full) started applauding us. Weird.
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