Did the Long March from Mao to Ming—around Tian’men square and through the Forbidden City. Ate in the Red Stone restaurant after, wolfing down braised tofu and lotus stuffed with sticky rice (sweet) Lunch was my beloved noodle soup (80 centimes!)

And now for my 10 Surprises:

1. Facebook and Tumblr are blocked in China (duh).

2. Metro is super-easy with signs and instructions in English plus helpers in uniform to sort out the confused.

3. A young woman noticed me puzzling over my map and offered directions.

4. A luscious assortment of fresh fruit in street stalls including strawberries amd blackberries.

5. Other westerners are rarissimo!

6. Uggs are also a craze here.

7.Roast sweet potatoes sold on streetcorners.

8. Guards at Tian’men square pose for pictures with tourists.

9. Baggage xray to board a metro just like the airport!

10. Most furniture in the forbidden city was spirited out by the British and Chiang Kai Chek.

Love the location of my hotel in a neighborhood full of local shops and restaurants. Not so much sightseeing today; mainly orientation and acculturation.

Here are 10 things that surprised me today:

1. Stylish design of office towers in business district.

2.Uninhibited and unsmothered belching in the local noodle shop.

3. Exhuberant and friendly Chinese (after 15 years working around Chinatown NY this was most surprising)

4. Expensive western stores (Nike) are just as expansive here.

5. Clear, sunny skies and no pollution.

6. Clean, litter-free streets.

7. Feeling like a giantess but able to buy warm leggings anyway.

8. Intense mah jong in the street.

9. Not so much smoking.

10. No Chinese-dubbed American series on TV. They have their own series!