Written by Emily Cross

May 27, 2009.   Today was much less busy than yesterday.  There was only one major event planned and that was to visit the Prime Ministers Mansion and Castle which was a few short hours out of Changzhi.  Due to construction on the highway we got a little lost and it took longer than expected to get there; however, I don’t think any of the students minded because we were all tired from the previous day’s activities. 

We reached the mansion a little after noon, as it was just starting to rain.  We began the tour learning about the history behind the mansion; it was originally known as Zhongdaozhuang Village.  The primary entrance was named Yushu Lou and it was built in the 53^rd year of the Kangxi Period (1714) in honor of Chen Tingjing.  The mansion was filled with many different structures including the house itself along with other buildings and courtyards, which were all gorgeous.  We were able to tour the basement of the prime ministers home which had a well in the bottom and an escape route if the city was ever under attack.  In another part of the mansion we listened to two traditional pieces of Chinese music; there we were introduced to many instruments and were able to take a picture with the musicians afterwards.

We ate our last meal in Changzhi at a hot pot restaurant close to our hotel.  We were all able to have our own individual hot pots and the food was delicious.  Hot pot restaurants are a special treat for us because it is some place we cannot go to in the United States.  Towards the end of our meal certain employees came out to make homemade noodles by spinning them around in the air to stretch out the dough; it was quite an extraordinary show—something I have never seen before.

After the hot pot we returned quickly to the hotel to grab our baggage and leave for the train.  After settling in and rearranging our luggage, Hongwei took us on a short tour of the train.  We were able to see the main seating area, the hard beds, and the soft beds.  It was obvious to all of us that we were very fortunate to have the soft beds, which were the most luxurious tickets available on the train.  The train was a great experience and a wonderful way to see the country side of China; the few hours of sunlight we had left allowed us to do this.  After the sun went down we hung out together in our rooms, occupying our time by drinking pijo and playing card games.