Thanks everyone for your comments - I really appreciate feedback. Unfortunately, unexpected circumstances have forced me to come back to Beijing for a couple of days. I plan to fly back to Sichuan later this week, so check back for “Earthquake Zone” updates next week.

In the meanwhile, some Beijing oddities:

I went to the Beijing Aquarium last Sunday. It is impressively modern - clean glass, nice tanks - especially compared to dirty and depressing zoo across the way. But still the English signage in the aquarium needs some work. My favorite sign, however, was not Chinglish but Chinese with smiley faces. Really, emoticons in an official placard?

AIM speak infiltrates museum signs…

And at the food court in a mall - food courts here are generally pretty decent - I was served “pineapple chicken” topped with colored jimmies. While strange use of western ingredients is not at all uncommon, still it was quite amusing. The dish tasted (and looked) like balls of fried cardboard and sweetened canned pineapples soaked in sugar and covered in sprinkles.

Sprinkles on chicken.