My description of yesterday's events will be anachronistic because I have to begin with the highlight of the day, which was attending a musical performance at the Chinese National Performing Arts Center on Monday night. The building, completed just prior to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 is another architectural giant. The way the creators brought together wood, steel, glass and marble is breathtaking. Listeners were seated 360 degrees around the concert hall, which was quite unique in my opinion. See it here:
However, the most memorable portion of the evening was the musical treat I experienced. We attended a concert called "Lucerne in Beijing." Some of our more "seasoned" blogger readers may be more familiar with the Lucerne Musical Festival than I am. It's a festival in Switzerland held annually, with an orchestra comprised of some of the best hand-picked classical musicians in the world, often featuring instrumental soloists. This night, the Lucerne Orchestra featured a 22-year-old local piano soloist named Yuja Wang. The performances by Yuja and the orchestra in a word were, in a word, breathtaking. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The conductor guided the myriad of moving parts as if he had his own thread connected to each instrument. It was unbelievable how well the group was able to change tempo and volume in a single beat. it's so difficult to describe the performance, but being a kid from the live music capital of the world, it had to rank as one of the best I've ever witnessed in person. Here's a picture of the flyer and some addition shots of my own:
In the morning, I worked out of Unitalen's office and dined on some traditional szechwan-style food for lunch, including oil-boiled long snout catfish and steamed spicy crab. The crab was so spicy it seared the top of my tongue! After lunch, we went to the silk market for shopping, where the sellers spoke the best English of anyone I've encountered so far. They must have quite a bit of practice with all the tourists passing through. Lucky for me, I had my friend Ma Qiang there to negotiate for me. The initial price was 8 times what we ended up paying for the goods. For dinner that evening, prior to the concert, my host brought me to a Thai restaurant. It was actually his first time to try Thai food, which surprised me given his proximity to the country. The hot spring rolls were the best!This morning I'm back in Unitalen's office and working. The managing partner is taking us to lunch today, so that should be a real treat to hear his perspective on the Chinese legal market
today.
Cheers,
C.Stone
Did you pick up some fake Prada shoes?
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