BEIJING -- The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra tour to China began on a few bumpy notes, but is now on track as it concluded its debut concerts this week in Beijing and was set to perform tomorrow night in Shanghai.

Members began gathering at Pittsburgh International Airport Monday at 4 a.m. -- even flute player Erin Mitz, who delayed surgery on ruptured ligaments in her right foot and faced the prospect of trekking across China in an air cast.

This was a resilient group from the beginning-- nursing instruments into overhead compartments and wearing backpacks with bows protruded from the top. The "yellow" group, one of five flying on separate planes, had a short jaunt to Washington's Dulles Airport, only to face a five-hour layover.

No matter, this orchestra easily morphed into assorted chamber-like ensembles -- some to talk, others to play a game called "Mafia" or a game of cards. One group, including violist Catherine Schilling, second violinist Jim Walton and first violinist Jeff Yeh, stretched across the aisle of the jumbo jet to include principal second violinist Diana Shi in lively games of Rummy.

Anticipation on the 13 1/2 hour flight was high, from Klara Pinkerton, who would celebrate her 15th birthday on The Great Wall, to oboist Amelia Cessna, one of many who were nervous at the prospect of the strange food ahead.

The flight took them over the North Pole, where vast expanses of ice were visible, to be the first Pittsburghers of the 148-member contingent to land in Beijing. A group of 12 adults, including conductor Daniel Meyer and executive director Craig Johnson, were delayed when they missed their connecting flight at Dulles. They joined the group a day later, just in time for the first rehearsal.

But first impressions of Beijing were strong, beginning with an airport that was one of many buildings newly constructed for the Summer Olympics.This one featured a huge main terminal that arced over travelers in a geometric maze layered with bamboo-like striations.

The tour escorts from Shanghai Jinjiang Tours met the group with buses as they organized the PYSO in groups and delivered the orchestra to its first Chinese dinner, served family style, as is the tradition here, and then into its Beijing home base, Tiantan Hotel. Breakfast there would be a blend of East and West: cereal, fried vegetables and canned fruits, but mostly it was an Eastern culinary interpretation.

The reality of China culture hit the group square in the face with its first major sightseeing opportunity: the layer-cake splendor of the Temple of Heaven, where hundreds of mostly retired Chinese were divided into groups, performing side by side in a breathtakingly colorful panorama that ranged from t'ai chi to ballroom dancing, badminton and hacky sack. They also manipulated ribbons, swords and acrobatic sticks, where two men swirled in an expert pas de deux of their own making.

Next came a trip to a state-owned cloisonne factory, where the Pittsburgh travelers appreciated demonstrations of the time-honored and labor-intensive technique, where minute copper pieces were applied to a copper foundation, then filled with colorful powdered mineral and fired to a glossy sheen. They were surprised to be given permission to photograph two men polishing vases without gloves or goggles in a potentially dangerous procedure. "They don't have OSHA" to enforce safety, someone remarked.

Then it was on to the 3,000-mile Great Wall, that iconic Chinese destination that can be seen from the moon. Several hours north of the main city of Beijing, the Youth Symphony members saw villages, fruit-picking farms, and a goose and duck ranch along the road in the area popular as a weekend getaway for city dwellers.

No one was braced for the daunting gauntlet of vendors at the base of the mountain, all shouting "One dollah!" (and never really meaning it). But the Wall itself lived up to the hype, with a sweeping historical and physical presence that has only grown over the thousands of years.

The PYSO brass quintet and string ensembles offered a brief concert, and Pinkerton quietly celebrated her 15th birthday.

There were a pair of veterans in this group who have already visited China but still found a new perspective. "I think that China's development has grown in preparation for the Olympics," says Yilu Zhang. Diana Shi agreed, but focused on the "amazing hand-eye coordination of the older people [in the park] as they do hacky sack and badminton."