CHIPSI

We will travel to Xian, the capital of China from 221BC (the Qin Dynasty) to 907 (the Tang Dynasty), at the end of the second week. It is an overnight train ride and a good opportunity to get a little exposure to life in China away from the modern blandishments of Beijing. We will order all the train tickets at the same time, so don't worry about making your own travel arrangements, but you will be responsible for your own fare. (We have been told by Tsinghua University that the cost of the train ticket is RMB417 each way plus a commission fee of RMB20, making the total cost of the train RMB854.)

The walk to campus takes 10–20 minutes. Out of the hotel driveway go to the left (south) to the main intersection. Then right (west) under the Metro station and through two red lights and then right (north) two blocks to the campus. As you face the Main Gate, the law school is the third building on the left. There is a guard at the gate but you don't need to show anything. Just walk through. It's virtually impossible to get lost in Beijing because unlike many large cities, the streets are virtually all on a NSEW grid. If you take a taxi, the fare to the school gate is 10 yuan or thereabouts.

Beijing International Airport is northeast of the city and the campus is northwest. When you arrive, you need to exchange some money immediately, and you can do that after you pass through immigration and pick up your bags, but before you go through customs. Bring some US cash. ($100 = approximately RMB 775 yuan) There are also ATMs in the terminal after you pass through customs which are generally reliable. DO NOT ACCEPT OFFERS OF HELP OR A RIDE FROM ANYONE IN THE TERMINAL. Just tell them you are not interested. Proceed to the outside of the lower level to the taxi queue at the right side of the second lane. You line up for a taxi and the attendant will put you in the taxi and give you a card with the taxi number on it. It's good to keep that as a record. All taxis have meters and the driver will start the meter. In addition to the fare, you will have to pay 10 yuan for the Airport Expressway toll which will be added to your bill. The entire taxi bill should be 100 yuan or less.There is no tipping expected in China either in restaurants or taxis. (If you add a tip to a credit card receipt in a restaurant, it goes to the management.)

On the evening of Sunday, June 24, we will have a welcoming dinner at the Xi Chun Yuan Restaurant at the center of the Tsinghua campus. Program Assistant Julia Ruedig (who speaks Chinese) and I would like you to meet us in the Main Lobby of the Xijiao Hotel at 5:00pm sharp on Sunday. We will walk as a group to the campus so we can point out some of the local off–campus amenities such as the CRC supermarket where you can buy fresh fruits and beverages, American breakfast cereal, beverages, etc. Please don't show up later than 5pm because Chinese tend to be very punctual and we will not wait for you. YOU NEED TO RESPOND Julia (jruedig@gmail.com) TO CONFIRM WHETHER YOU WILL ATTEND AND WHETHER YOU WILL BRING A GUEST.

The Beijing Metro is incredibly convenient and cheap. You get the Metro light rail around the corner from the hotel and it takes you to the ring subway system at Xizhimen Station. From there you get on the subway and can go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen or virtually anywhere downtown. (3 yuan) The subways are usually crowded but people are relatively civilized and not pushy. Taxis operate on both time and distance. So if your taxi is stuck in traffic the meter will continue to run. Getting a taxi starts at 10 yuan ($1.25). Almost anywhere you might want to go in the city is 150 yuan or less. The buses are an adventure. The Summer Palace is west of Tsinghua University, just past Peking University.

The class and exam schedule is available online at www.piercelaw.edu/chipsi/ChinaProgram.htm Generally speaking, classes begin at 9am and end around 1pm. After that you are on your own. There will be some field trips to courts, government agencies, etc. in the afternoons, but we cannot schedule them until the program starts. The examination period is from July 25–27. If you are taking courses for credit, do not plan on leaving China before then assuming that exams can be rescheduled.