COMMUNITY & CLUBS:

As you read today’s Daily Pilot, a group of 58 travelers on a trip sponsored by the Newport-Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council are meeting up in Shanghai as we conclude the last two days of our seven-day tour of China with visits to the Bund and China Town Shanghai.

Upon our arrival in Beijing last Friday, we visited Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world and the Forbidden City, home of 24 emperors with a total of 9,999 rooms.

Saturday we were off to the Great Wall of China, Ming Tombs, a jade factory and evening acrobatic show. Our Sunday started out at the Temple of Heaven where the emperors prayed to the heaven for a good harvest before visiting a Protestant church as their Sunday service was letting out.

The minister welcomed us, answered our questions about Christianity in Beijing and led us in prayer in Chinese and English. Following the church visit, we had lunch in the home of a family in Hutong, a older village area of Beijing before visiting a pearl factory. For the first time in my eight visits to Beijing, the sky was brilliant blue and the air was clean, but it wasn’t that way Monday, when 18 of us arrived in Xi’an to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors. The balance of the group went on to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

It was my first visit to Xi’an and I, with the others, was overwhelmed with the history as we visited the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, 800 years old, and the Banpo Museum, a settlement from 6,000 years ago. On Tuesday we spent four hours at the Terra Cotta Warrior site being escorted by our knowledgeable English-speaking tour guide, Amber.

Today, in Shanghai we will visit a silk factory before having dinner on our own in the New Worlds-International Zone. Thursday we explore the Yu Garden, a maze of marvelous pavilions, ponds, rocky works and overarching trees. Then it’s off to view the Bund, a famous waterfront park before we visit a Roman Catholic Church that was built from 1906 to 1911 in Shanghai. Friday, many of us will catch the 240-mile-per-hour high speed train from Shanghai to the airport before flying back to Los Angeles. It has been a great trip!

MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

On Monday the Sons of the American Legion will celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday at Post 291, Newport Beach, according to Jeff Kingsley, the legion’s membership chairman. This will be an enjoyable evening with a color guard, cake-cutting ceremony, reading of the Commandant’s 233rd USMC Birthday message, plus a great dance band and a fine meal. Tickets are $30. Many of the 1/5 Marines will be in attendance. For information call Fred Arnold at (949) 689 3570

NEW GENERATIONS ROTARY CLUB

The next meeting of the New Generations Rotary Club being sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Irvine-Spectrum, Newport-Balboa and Newport Irvine, will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tapas Restaurant in Newport Beach. The club is designed for people between the ages of 21 and 40 and who are interested in joining a younger Rotary club. For more information, visit www.irvinenewgenrotary.org.

WORTH REPEATING

Thought for the Day as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport-Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council… “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until a majority of voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury.”

— Alexander Tytler

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

Help your community and the world through a service club! For many, service club membership is an extension of our religious beliefs and congregation affiliation.

You are invited to attend a service club meeting to learn more about opportunity for service. Most clubs will buy your first meal for you as you get acquainted with them.

TODAY

7:30 a.m.: The 10-member Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club meets at Denny’s Restaurant, 290 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

Noon: The Exchange Club of Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a business meeting.

6 p.m.: The 65-member Rotary Club of Newport Balboa meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a program by Michael Abdalla, former trustee of the RI Foundation. www.newportbalboa.org.

THURSDAY

7 a.m.: The 20-member Costa Mesa Orange Coast Lions Club meets at Mimi’s Café.

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club meets at the Holiday Inn, Costa Mesa. www.CostaMesaKiwanis.org;

The 45-member Kiwanis Club of Newport Beach-Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. For more information, visit www.newportbeachkiwanis.org;

The 85-member Rotary Club of Newport Irvine meets at the University Club at UCI. Visit www.nirotary.org;

The 95-member Exchange Club of Newport Harbor meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a business meeting.

MONDAY

6:30 p.m.: The Harbor Mesa Lions Club meets at the Costa Mesa Country Club for the annual Fashion Show-Membership Meeting.

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The 52-member Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club meets at Five Crowns for a program by John Chaffetz, author of “Reducing Violence against Women.” For details, visit www.newportbeachsunriserotary.org.

Noon: The 20-member Rotary Club of Costa Mesa meets at the Costa Mesa Marriott Suites.

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Wednesdays. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com.