Thursday, March 8

After eating breakfast we left the hotel at 8:30 this morning to go to a swine operation or as the Chinese call it, a factory. After driving an hour we arrived at our destination which was outside of Beijing; however, it seemed like we were in the suburbs. The swine operation was in the process of being remodeled. It was built in 1989 which is about the same age as most of us on the trip. There were no hogs in the facilities since it was being remodeled and it would be a biosecurity issue. The facility previously held 500 sows and now they will be up to 1200 sows and finishing 10,000 pigs. We were surprised to find that the barns getting remodeled had automated feed systems. Dr. Thaler told us there are very few swine operations with a automated feeding systems, which makes sense since labor is cheaper than putting in an automated feeding system. The workers on this farm get paid 2500 yuan which is about 400 dollars a month plus room and board, which is nothing to write home about. The owner/manager said that he has about 10% death loss. Another thing that we found interesting was the quality of construction. After we toured the farm, we were treated to a very delicious meal at a hotel of the military academy; we were offered silverware but we all chose to use chopsticks as it is an easier way to eat Chinese food. A surprise to us all was a “dragon” birthday cake for Megan Bueltel's 21st birthday. They had a crown for her to wear and everything, it was great!! Happy Birthday Megan!! After lunch we ventured about an hour to the 3rd Wonder of the Ancient World, the Great Wall! The Great Wall is as awesome as everybody says it is. Many students and Dr. Thaler made it to the top of the wall which has 5 towers -this was not an easy task. The steps are very uneven, and we were very surprised at how steep the steps were. One student even rode a camel-for real, a camel at the Great Wall of China...Amazing. The section of the wall we visited was the Ju Yong Guan Pass. This was a highlight of the day!! After everybody was tired from the trek up the wall, we headed back into town for an Acrobatic show. The acrobatic show was very fun and exciting. Some of the entertainers included a slack wire performer, a juggler, women riding bikes no handed and many more incredible acts! After the acrobatic show, we had a free night on our last night in Beijing. We enjoyed our own choice of cuisine and walked around to see the Beijing night life--the walking street, dancing in front of the church and also the night food market. It was quite a day for all of us and we have definitely enjoyed our stay in the city of Beijing!