So after failing to hit the planetarium and zoo the week before.. we planned ahead and finally got to go to both in the same day : ) Conveniently, they are right down the street from each other.
Beijing Planetarium:
Haha.. so where else would you find MIT kids on a Sunday morning? lol.
Here’s the entrance to the planetarium. It’s soo cool.. kinda like a black hole..
So the planetarium was filled with these exhibits… planets and sun, etc.
Most of the exhibits were solely in Chinese.. so it was basically me, Bradley, Xuefeng, and Mark standing there guessing words off the informative displays… being able to read nouns like black hole, time, etc.. but not knowing what they were trying to say.. meanwhile all these 2nd graders were flying through the exhibits and reading all the words. It was kind of depressing. Clearly reading is fun.. being illiterate is not.
But we did get to go into the Digital Theater (kind of like IMAX) and watch this crazy movie about our universe… actually.. i think we kind of all fell asleep in it at some point because the chairs were super comfortable and reclined… but still.. very cool.
Then we headed over to the zoo… but on the way, in the underground tunnel to cross the street… some lady was selling PUPPIES!!! : ) haha. They were really cute.. though the selling them is probs illegal…
Puppies!
But we did end up making it to the Beijing Zoo.
Only.. due to the swine flu epidemic.. all the animals were dead. Tigers, lions, alligators, pandas.. it was a travesty.
haha jk. no it was just incredibly hot like none other… I think we should’ve taken a hint from nature and just went home.
Here’s some random scenes…
Look Dave, a picture with me in it!
Beijing Aquarium
Turtle Central. Do you see the snapping turtle? how crazy is that..
Some other animals at the zoo… The mongoose one rocks. and I finally figured out what a tapir was.. especially since they have a whole labeled section for them at the zoo.
Oh, and we saw these two elephants in love… but separated by an iron curtain.. i mean, fence.
But then there were some not as happy scenes.. For instance, we went to the amphibian & reptile area.. and a bunch of the cages had baby chicks in them.. and everyone was skipping them wondering why these chicks were there..
yeah, you can figure it out… 
See Chicks. See Snake. *Insert Jaws Theme*
Anyways, clearly, the best part and biggest attraction of the Beijing Zoo are the PANDAS!!!!! Check ‘em out. 
Beijing Zoo: Olympic Games Pandas
That's my kind of panda.
Life: It's a walk in the park.. i mean zoo.
And that was the zoo in 100 degree weather.
