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
The Honorable Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
The Honorable James E. Carter, former President of the United States
Mrs. Rosalynn Carter
Mr. Jackie Chan, Beverly Hills, CA
Mr. Phillip Button
The Honorable Elaine Chao, Washington, D.C.
Dr. James Chao
His Excellency Wang Chao, Vice Minister for Commerce
His Excellency Tung Chee Hwa, Vice Chairman, CPPCC, former Hong Kong Chief Executive
Mr. John A. Chen, Chairman, Committee of 100, New York, NY
Mrs. Sherrie Chen
The Honorable Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ
Mrs. Mary Pat Christie
The Honorable Judy Chu, Representative from California
Ms. Chiling Tong
The Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
Mrs. Jean Chu
The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary of State
The Honorable William J. Clinton, former President of the United States
The Honorable James E. Clyburn, Representative from South Carolina
Mr. John Clyburn
The Honorable Richard Daley, Mayor of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Maggie Daley
The Honorable William Daley, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff
Ms. Bernadette Keller
His Excellency Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce
Mr. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan Chase & Co., New York, NY
Mrs. Judith Dimon
The Honorable Thomas Donilon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor
Ms. Cathy Russell, Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden
The Honorable Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
Mrs. Karen Duncan
Mr. James Fallows, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Deborah Fallows
Mr. Xie Feng, Director General, MFA
Mr. Thomas Friedman, The New York Times, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Ann Friedman
The Honorable Michael B. Froman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs
Ms. Nancy Goodman
His Excellency Wan Gang, Minister of Science and Technology
The Honorable Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense
Mrs. Becky Gates
The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Mrs. Carole Geithner
Mr. Mark Gilbert, Boca Raton, FL
Mrs. Nancy Gilbert
The Honorable Chris Gregoire, Governor of Washington, Olympia, WA
Ms. Courtney Gregoire
His Excellency Zhu Guangyao, Vice Minister for Finance
His Excellency Zhang Guobao, Vice Minister for NDRC
Mr. Herbie Hancock, Los Angeles, CA
Mrs. GiGi Hancock
The Honorable Dr. John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Science and Technology
The Honorable Robert Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs
The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Representative from Maryland, Democratic WHIP
His Excellency Wang Huning, Director of the Policy Research Office of CCCPC
The Honorable Jon Huntsman, U.S. Ambassador to China
Mrs. Mary Kaye Huntsman
Mr. Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, CA
Ms. Willow Bay
Mr. David Ignatius, The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Eve Ignatius
Mr. Jeff Immelt, General Electric, Fairfield, CT
Mrs. Andrea Immelt
The Honorable Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement
His Excellency Li Jiaxiang, Vice Minister for Transportation
His Excellency Yang Jiechi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
His Excellency Ling Jihua, Director of the General Office of CCCPC
Mr. Robert Kagan, McLean, VA
Ms. Victoria Nuland
Mr. Michael Kempner, East Rutherford, NJ
Mrs. Jacqueline Kempner
Mr. Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola, Atlanta, GA
The Honorable John F. Kerry, Senator from Massachusetts
Mrs. Teresa Heinz Kerry
Mr. Robert King, UAW, Detroit, MI
Ms. Julie Kushner
The Honorable Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative
Mrs. Matrice Ellis-Kirk
The Honorable Henry Kissinger, New York, NY
Mrs. Nancy Kissinger
Mr. Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, Scarsdale, NY
Ms. Sheryl WuDunn
Ms. Ellen Kullman, DuPont, Wilmington, DE
Mr. Michael Kullman
Dr. Zhang Kunsheng, Director-General, Protocol Department
Ms. Michelle Kwan, Torrance, CA
Mr. Lang Lang, New York, NY
Mrs. Zhou Xiulan
The Honorable Jacob Lew, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Ms. Maya Lin, New York, NY
Mr. Daniel Wolf
Ms. Limin Liu, Reno, NV
Dr. Hugh Shapiro
Mr. Andrew N. Liveris, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI
Mrs. Paula Liveris
The Honorable Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce
Mrs. Mona Locke
The Honorable Christopher Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
Ms. Kathryn Thomson
The Honorable Richard Lugar, Senator from Indiana
Mrs. Charlene Lugar
Mr. Yo Yo Ma, Burbank, CA
Ms. Jill Hornor
The Honorable Capricia Marshall, Chief of Protocol, Department of State
Mr. W. James McNerney, The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Haity McNerney
Mr. Evan Medeiros, Director for Asian Affairs, NSS
His Excellency Jiang Mianheng, Vice Chairman, CAS
Mr. Mel Monzack, Wilmington, DE
Mrs. Ann Monzack
Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mrs. Wendi Deng Murdoch, New York, NY
Mr. James Murren, Las Vegas, NV
Mrs. Heather Murren
The Honorable Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
Ms. Virginia Moseley
Mr. Paul Otellini, Intel, Santa Clara, CA
Mrs. Sandy Otellini
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Representative from California, Democratic Leader
Mr. Paul Pelosi
His Excellency Zhang Ping, Minister of NDRC
The Honorable David Plouffe, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor
Ms. Olivia Morgan
Mr. Tom Pritzker, Pritzker Organization, Chicago, IL
Mrs. Margot Pritzker
His Excellency Wang Qishan, Vice Premier of the State Council
Ms. Jean Quan, Mayor of Oakland, CA
The Honorable Edwin M. Lee, Mayor of San Francisco, CA
Ms. Azita Raji, JP Morgan Securities, Inc., Belvedere, CA
Mr. Gary Syman
The Honorable Ben Rhodes, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting
Ms. Ann Norris
The Honorable Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, New York, NY
Mr. Ian Cameron
Mr. Robert Roche, Shanghai, CN
Mr. Kenneth Roth, The Human Rights Watch, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Annie Sparrow
The Honorable Pete Rouse, Counselor to the President
Ms. Courtney Chapin
Mr. David M. Rubenstein, The Carlyle Group, Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Alice Rubenstein
Mr. Kirk Rudy, Austin, TX
Mrs. Amy Rudy
The Honorable Brent Scowcroft, The Forum for International Policy, Washington, D.C.
The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Honorable Gary Sebelius
The Honorable Susan Sher, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady
The Honorable Neil Cohen
Mr. Robert Sherman, Boston, MA
Ms. Kim S. Sawyer
His Excellency Chen Shiju, Chief of the President's Office
The Honorable George Shultz, Stanford, CA
Mrs. Charlotte Shultz
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Culver City, CA
The Honorable Phil Gordon, Mayor of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
The Honorable Gene Sperling, Assistant to the President for Economic Policy & Director of the National Economic Council
Ms. Allison Abner
The Honorable Jim Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State
Ms. Sherburne B. Abbott
Ms. Barbra Streisand, Malibu, CA
Mr. James Brolin
The Honorable Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement
Mr. John Thornton, The Brookings Institution, HSBC North America, Palm Beach, FL
Mrs. Margaret Thornton
His Excellency Cui Tiankai, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
Dr. Stanley Toy, Jr., Pasadena, CA
Ms. Lana Toy
Mr. Luis Ubinas, The Ford Foundation, New York, NY
Dr. Deborah Tolman
Mr. Jose Villarreal, Commissioner General, Shanghai Expo, San Antonio, TX
Ms. Sara Villarreal
Ms. Vera Wang, New York, NY
Mr. Arthur Becker
Mr. Steve Westly, Menlo Park, CA
Ms. Anita Yu
Ms. Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine, New York, NY
Mr. Shelby Bryan
Ms. Patricia A. Woertz, Archer Daniels Midland, Decatur, IL
Mr. Kelvin R. Westbrook
Mr. B.D. Wong, New York, NY
Mrs. Roberta Wong
Mr. Charles Woo, Mega Toys, Los Angeles, CA
Mrs. Ying Woo
The Honorable David Wu, Representative from Oregon
Ms. Anna Kopperud
His Excellency Xie Xuren, Minister of Finance
His Excellency Zhang Yesui, Chinese Ambassador to the United States
Madam Chen Naiqing
His Excellency Sun Yibiao, Vice Minister for Customs
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Reader Comments Read all comments (2)
Constance of CA 9:20AM January 25, 2011
J Mixon of NJ 9:06AM January 21, 2011