Great Hall of the People, y'all

Only in China would you receive a spontaneous invitation to go see a concert and realize at the very last minute that the performance is being held in the Great Hall of the People! This is where the People's Congress meets, where affairs of state are held, where.... well gosh. It is like going to see a symphony orchestra perform in the US Congress building. Check out the ceiling of the main hall.



Now the performance was crap - some visiting Western orchestra whose members should have retired long ago. But I...was...in...the...GREAT HALL.

For those of you who were wondering, refreshments at the Great Hall performance consisted of a water dispenser and dixie cups. But you know, it was exactly what I wanted.


But the best thing of all, and I am not making this up, was hearing the visiting laowai orchestra play James Bond theme music...in the Great Hall. Fabulous irony.