Elements of China's culture and style abound at Wednesday night's White House State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao. At a dinner preview this afternoon, China's national color, yellow, was seen throughout the cocktail area and the linens used were decorated with a motif of the country's national bird, the pheasant.
The dinner is taking place in the Blue Room, Red Room, and State Dining Room and the coloring was different for all. While first lady Michelle Obama did not make the traditional unveiling of the table settings and food for the press, the staff said that the place settings were from the Clinton, Reagan, and Truman administrations and the menu included lobster, beef and old fashioned apple pie.
The entertainment is an eclectic mix including jazz star Herbie Hancock, trumpeter Chris Botti, jazz vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater, and pianist Lang Lang.
Here are some pictures of the scene:
The menu for tonight's dinner includes a hard to get Quilceda Creek Cabernet Columbia Valley 2005
Table setting in the Blue Room
Table setting in the Red Room
A White House usher puts finishing touches on President Obama's head table
A table setting in the State Dining Room where the president will be
Colorful seat cushions and confusion outside the dining rooms
And here is a list from the White House of who is expected to attend:
THE PRESIDENT and MRS. OBAMA
HIS EXCELLENCY HU JINTAO
The Honorable Madeleine Albright, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Alice Albright
Ms. Christiane Amanpour, ABC News, New York, NY
Mr. James Rubin
The Honorable David Axelrod, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Mrs. Susan Axelrod
Mr. Jeffrey Bader, National Security Council
Ms. Rohini Talalla
The Honorable Elizabeth Bagley, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Kevin Frawley
Mr. Steven Ballmer, Microsoft, Redmond, WA
Mrs. Connie Ballmer
Ms. Bette Bao Lord, New York, NY
The Honorable Winston Lord
Mrs. Denise Bauer, Belvedere Tiburon, CA
The Honorable Howard Berman, Representative from California
Mrs. Janis Berman
Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Dr. Jill Biden
The Honorable Joseph Beau Biden, III, Attorney General of Delaware, Wilmington, DE
Mrs. Hallie Biden
His Excellency Zheng Bijian, Chairman, CIIDS
His Excellency Dai Bingguo, State Councilor
Mr. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs, New York, NY
Mrs. Laura Blankfein
The Honorable Antony Blinken, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, Office of the Vice President
The Honorable Stephen Breyer, United States Supreme Court
Dr. Johanna Breyer
Mr. Greg Brown, Motorola, Schaumburg, IL
Mrs. Anna-Louise Brown
The Honorable Dr. Zbigniew Brezezinski, McLean, VA
Mrs. Emilie A. Brzezinski
The Honorable Kurt M. Campbell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
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Constance of CA 9:20AM January 25, 2011
J Mixon of NJ 9:06AM January 21, 2011