The Nanjing DISC was a great opportunity for me to see China for the first time. The attendance was a healthy 72 and we had simultaneous English-Chinese translation from the very capable Xiaohui Zhou. Sinopec was the sponsor for DISC and a couple of excellent banquets. It was disappointing to find out that Google Blogger seems to be blocked in China, so all the good DISC info on the Seismos Blog (including this entry) cannot benefit those who attended this class.
YouTube is blocked as well, which is too bad because they cannot see this video of me out and about in Nanjing.
Anyway, many thanks to Sinopec and my new friends in Nanjing.
My handy organizer Zhu Hailong and the class
Signing books (photo by Yu Shao)
About town
Xiaohui and her husband gave up a Sunday to show me around the city. We went to the famous Yangtze river bridge then Confucius temple area. This is a great place for shopping and visiting the temple itself. I got an English tour of the fascinating history of civil service examinations in ancient China. In modern times, the test was given every 3 years an lasted 9 days, during which the 30,000 participants were confined to small cells.
After the DISC, I got a fine tour of the Sinopec Geophysical Research Institute by the president Mr. Qu Shaoli. It is a first class facility with physical modeling lab, rock physics equipment, and an impressive computing facility.
A tour of the Confucius temple. My translator, Xiaohui, on the right.
Table all set for a Chinese banquet
Sharing food and drink with Mr. Shouli, president of the Sinopec Geophysics Research Institute
A fine tour of the Institute by Mr. Shouli himself. Impressive.
Another DISC done, instructor and mascot are now off to Beijing. (Photo by Yu Shao)