Taste of China Not as Far East: Egyptian Wing At the Met.

There was a pagoda in the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Thursday night, at least at first glance. The sandstone Temple of Dendur was bathed in red light, as several hundred people -- mostly Chinese-Americans -- gathered to celebrate connections between China and the United States. At times, the shadows cast on the temple's lintel conjured the up-ticked eaves of Asian architecture. Henry M. Paulson Jr., the former United States secretary of the treasury and a birding enthusiast, was honored; Nocturnalist asked what work he did with China. ''I was birding in Central Park today,'' he said. Didn't we just ask about China? ''I was so pleased. We saw a Canada warbler and a magnolia warbler.'' Good to know. So, China? ''Central Park is the best place in the world for watching the spring migrations of warblers,'' he said as we began to question our sanity. ''You can see 25 species of warbler here.'' (He eventually said something about a recent trip he took to China, but almost midsentence, he strolled away.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]