Beijing-12/3-7/2007

The preceding week I was given the opportunity to volunteer to visit some customers in Beijing, China for my company. I left San Francisco on 12/3/2007 and visited the first customer group on 12/5/2007. More visits followed the next two days, and I returned 12/7/2007 to San Francisco. My previous visit to Beijing was 9 years ago, and it was interesting to see the changes that had taken place since.

Some images will not be the sharpest, but they'er here anyway. The first customer group had reserved a conference room for us to assemble the computer systems and do our work.
Finding a power source was easy. Keeping my feet from kicking out the plug while working on the systems was harder.
The people renting us the room took one look at the equipment and scrambled around to find some pads to protect the exquisite wood table.
This is the final arrangement, with the PC on the right for analysis software tools.
At lunch we followed things up with some Italian coffee, appropriately brewed in an Italian coffee machine. The engineers were fascinated with the simple mechanism. The container on the left was sealed, and when adequately heated the water within it was forced out the tube to the container on the right, loaded with coffee grounds. As the container on the left became lighter, the counterweight on the right dropped, raising the empty container and permitting the weighted flame snuffer to fall on the heater. Then the contents of the container on the left cooled, creating a vacuum that sucked the fluid back from the container on the right. Brewed coffee then became available from a spigot on the other side of the container on the left.
Interesting contraptions are a danger to fascinated engineers, as one of the crew, after seeing the snuffer fall on the flame, reached out and flipped it back up. Unfortunately, and understandably, it was extremely hot and he got instant blisters on thumb and forefinger. A lesson instantly regretted.
This is the first customer crew, with me in the middle and Mr. Yu (our representative) to my right.
The unfortunate blistered one is on the left.
After working on the hardware, we started on software installation and operation, a subject of much discussion.
The discussion followed to the white board, where we talked about considerations in experimenta modal testing using an instrumented hammer for excitation.
After we had finished for the day, we packed up all our gear and hauled it out to the van that had brought us from my hotel to the meeting place.
Everything fits neatly in the back of the van. Unfortunately, the driver, dealing with the extremely congested streets at the end of the day in downtown Beijing, made an enthusiastic U-turn to the left and we could hear the PC on the top of the stack fly across the car and crash down. I don't know if it worked on reaching its destination.
At the time of my previous visit (I think this is #4), people were just starting to purchase personal cars and the majority of the traffic was bicycles and public transportation. Now something like 30 percent of the workers drive to work and only a trickle of bicycles braves the commuting hoards.
For anyone driving around Beijing today, this is a familiar scene. I'm wondering how this is going to work out for the summer of 2008 Olympics.
My hotel was near the new velodrome, constructed for the 2008 Olympics. Many of the competing bicycle track racing teams from around the world were staying at the hotel. Here a rider carries his rollers as he waits for a shuttle bus to the nearby venue.
Christmas decirations at the hotel, with World Cup Cycling competition banner.
As the headquarters venue, shuttle busses were scheduled from the hotel to the velodrome.
The Holiday Inn on the west side of Beijing, my short-term home.
Traffic on YongDing Road, in front of the hotel.
In the hotel lobby there was an interesting mirrored wall.
This seems like an appropriate vehicle for supporting indoor cycling competition.
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square, notice how the flags are blowing straight out. It was a very cold wind.
The Imperial Palace and Forbidden City, with the Palace Museum (last ticket sold, unfortunately) inside.
The entrance to the Palace Museum.
The "I was there" shot.
The moat around the Imperial Palace. Where the surface is not rippled by the wind, it's because it's frozen.
My guide.
The west wall of the Palace Museum.
The west wall of the Palace Museum and moat.
A temple outside the museum on the west side.
The park north of the Palace Museum.
The northwest corner of the Palace Museum.
The northwest corner of the Palace Museum.
An enclosed motorbike rickshaw.