Beijing Airport was very modern. It was clean, aesthetically pleasing, vast, huge, and futuristic. The lines for immigration were long, but they moved swiftly and we were greeted courteously by the Chinese officials. There was absolutely no slow-down going through Customs. In fact, after the Immigrations Counter we did not see another agent. We did walk through a large detection device. There were signs reading "Customs" but no one looked through our baggage. A company named Uniworld arranged our accommodations for the trip.

I was still looking for a Customs official to finish clearing into the country when we met a young woman holding a red Uniworld Sign. Her name is Kelly. We were obviously already outside of the security area. I have never cleared into a country that easily, not even the USA. Kelly used her cell phone to signal George that we had arrived. Almost instantly, George appeared. He will be our guide for the next 12 days.

George had to wait at the airport for other flights to arrive, but he arranged for a driver to take Jill and I to the hotel. The driver didn’t speak English, but he drove us along a route that was splendidly landscaped. The route reflected the great impression that China had made on the world during the Olympics a few weeks prior to our visit.

The hotel was a well appointted luxuary facility that far exceeded our expectations.

We were scheduled to spend the next two days in Beijing, and this hotel would make that stay a joy.