Crystal Clear, July 11 Part 1

The tour began on a, well, sanitary note. The first thing our hosts wanted to show us was the Qinghe Wastewater Treatment Plant. Of course there were moans and groans from lots of the students, but I really wanted to see why our Chinese hosts felt so strongly about showing us the plant. I think they wanted us to see it because it is very advanced and more developed than many westerners would imagine for China and because it is supplying water for several of the Olympic greens and fields. It didn't smell, which was surprising after years of occasional "poopsie plant" smells by my parents' condo. We started at the outdoor tanks and worked our way through the water treatment process.

We didn't get that much in the way of explanations because they all had to be translated into English by our bus tour guide and because our groups were large and only the first few people at each stopping point were close enough to the front to hear any explanations. So I had a lot of time to stare at the 50 plus life preservers that were hung in pairs every few feet along the outdoor tanks and try not to imagine them being used. When I could hear, the explanations seemed really simplified and geared toward an elementary school group instead of college and graduate students, but I think a lot of that was due to the language barrier.

We also got to hear one of the scientists talk about new hollow fiber technology and how it was helping purify water. This scene was more surreal than the rest--it was at a table with a tablecloth set up outdoors and with beakers of water labeled for each stage of the treatment process. We kept expecting him to drink the beaker of treated water, but he didn't. None of us could figure out if the water is potable after going through this treatment plant. I don't think it is because all mention of its use related to watering gardens, cleaning streets, etc.

Near the end of the tour, we all signed a banner hanging in the last indoor tank room. It only had Chinese characters on it, so I don't know what it said. It was a nice measure of goodwill for the treatment plant to have it and want us to leave our mark on it. The experience ended with a walk on a bridge over a man-made pond filled with clear water from the plant. The whole outdoor part of the plant, especially this end section, had a lot of flowers, trees, and other plantings--it seems like Beijing in general has amazing plantings everywhere.

Doing some research right now, I found out that some of the technology at this plant was provided by GE. I don't know if I missed that info in the tour or if we weren't told. Here are some links to articles about the Qinghe Wastewater Treatment Plant. The media tour in the first article sounds a lot like what we did.
Reclaimed water for Olympic venues
Achieving Olympic Gold in Water Resources

Then it was off to an amazing lunch at a restaurant that must serve tourist groups by the busfull. It was a relief not to have to order food--menus had been arranged, and food was already on Lazy Susans in the middle of circular tables that seated about 10. And food kept coming the whole time we sat there. Plates of meat and veggies and just veggies and the first tofu I've seen in China (and the best tofu I've eaten in my life) and a whole fish which seemed to magically have slices that had been breaded and fried but were still attached to the fish spine. It was like these slices were pages in a book sticking out from the fish skeleton and you could just grab one with your chopsticks and eat it. I enjoyed the meal so much, and then desert came. Not at all what I expected: watermelon slices, cantaloupe pieces, and cherry tomatoes. I soon learned that this is either a common desert in China or a common desert at tour group restaurants that cater to foreigners in China.