Miss Yuyun goes to Washington

A Chinese with only 24 hours in Washington DC would probably jog up Capitol Hill and then aim for the White House - and a presidential memorial, if it can be squeezed in. This is exactly what my Chinese friend Yuyun had in mind when she visited me in Washington.

I met Yuyun on the National Mall. Dodging blooming cherry tree branches, I pointed out the Lincoln Memorial to her. Inside, an immortal "Abe" was clutching two fasces, symbols of power. I told Yuyun that Mao's statue in his Beijing mausoleum was modeled on the Lincoln Memorial - the chairman had been an admirer of Lincoln and was thus represented in a similar armchair pose.

Yuyun appeared to favor the new FDR Memorial, which was more demure. She noticed that Roosevelt's bronze knee was shiny: Countless tourists had rubbed it for good luck. There was also a larger-than-life replica of his Scottie, Falla, which enjoyed cult status among schoolchildren.