June 30th, 2011: Beijing, China
After descending down from the overcast skies into an even gloomier layer of smog, Beijing, with its millions of unfamiliar faces casting curiously evil and judgmental (sometimes happy, but rarely) glares towards a group of 36 American high school students, has a pretty intimidating feel to it. I’ve finally gotten the sense now that I’m halfway across the world as I hear Mandarin Chinese blaring from all sides around me. Trying to use Chinese with the locals is proving a very daunting task, for they, as anticipated, talk much more quickly with more complex responses.
The first major event today was our visit to the wondrous Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, part of the magic of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games. The even more incredulous thing about the Olympic village that housed the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube was that at the main intersection of the 2 roads that converged right at the center of the village right in between the 2 main venues, one could not see, partially due to the smog, in either directions the end of the street; that’s how big this place was. After walking around the vast expanse of the Olympic village, a two-hour ride to our hotel, the Dong Fang Hotel, ensued. The hotel itself was nestled into a very odd corner of the city, considering it’s a rather nice 90-year-old hotel found in a rather dumpy area of town. After gorging at the hotel’s dinner buffet, my group headed out to walk the narrow alleys that wound their way through the shadier parts of town. There was a real eerie feel in walking around in these streets with the smoke coming from the charcoal grills masking small, crowded shops with several confused faces staring out at us, wondering why we were walking through their neighborhood. Despite today being slightly discomforting, it was nevertheless awe-inspiring and most importantly, fun. Tomorrow will be an even busier day and hopefully even more fun than today was.
July 1st, 2011: Beijing, China
Today was absolutely incredible. After getting a surprisingly decent amount of sleep last night, I awoke to a shockingly westernized breakfast in the dining room. After the comforting western breakfast, we departed into the Hutong area of Beijing to see a traditional style of living that is in danger of being destroyed by new monstrous building projects. As soon as we stepped out onto the bus and walked towards the old drum tower at the central part of the Hutong area that once served to tell the time for old Beijing, we were harassed by street vendors pleading for us to buy umbrellas that were already clearly broken to protect ourselves from today’s rainy and hot weather. At the base of the drum tower, 6 rickshaws awaited for us. My roommate Eddy and I hopped into a rickshaw that fell in line with a caravan of other rickshaws, shuttling tourists (among the other tourists the rest of our group members) around the area. Hutong was very much alike to the alleyways we visited last night. Our in-country guide, Mei Mei, explained to us that any road or quarter in Beijing that is no greater than 3 meters in width could be called a Hutong district. Mei Mei also explained to us that the Hutong area dates back to the 13th century when the Mongolians ushered in the Yuan dynasty, where they moved the capital to Beijing for the 1st time in the Chinese civilization’s history. After taking a giant circle around the fringes of Hutong and tipping our driver, we got off at the drum tower and walked into the crowded depths of the alleys.
The streets were crowded with shops that boasted cheesy gifts and relentless street vendors that even with persuasion using Chinese wouldn’t leave me or anyone else alone. However, the hour or so walk through the area was an interesting look into the traditional way of living in Beijing. Upon assembling at the drum tower once more, Mei Mei lead us to a certain woman’s house deep in the bowels of the area, where she had prepared for us traditional Chinese cuisine. We crowded around the small tables, hunched over on our stools and devoured the feast that lay before us: beef and potatoes, tofu, Chinese popcorn, pork balls, stir fried vegetables, and dumplings. Mei Mei presented a nice speech about various aspects of Hutong life while we ate. We thanked our host mother and cook and piled into the bus once more to head for Tiananmen Square. 
The Square was easily the biggest, most vast expanse of open space I’ve ever seen, apparently able to hold 1 millions people within its borders. We had to muscle our way through the square though as big as it was, fighting street vendors and other Chinese people that wanted to take our pictures. 3 security checkpoints later and we were finally into the Forbidden City that was even more impressive than the square.
The Square was easily the biggest, most vast expanse of open space I’ve ever seen, apparently able to hold 1 millions people within its borders. We had to muscle our way through the square though as big as it was, fighting street vendors and other Chinese people that wanted to take our pictures. 3 security checkpoints later and we were finally into the Forbidden City that was even more impressive than the square. 
To top off this incredible day, we dined at Beijing’s oldest Peking duck restaurant to sample the famous dish. Tomorrow, a hike along the great wall awaits us.
July 2nd, 2011: Last day in Beijing
Today was so tiring yet once again incredible. 
We made our way to the Ba Daling area of the Great Wall of China this morning, driving through some scenery very reminiscent of east Tennessee. Even roughly 30 miles outside of the main part of the city, smog still encompassed the skies—so I haven’t seen the sun since I got off the plane in L.A. after our flight from Phoenix. We climbed a portion of the wall no longer than a mile but possibly steeper than some of the trails backpacked through in Yellowstone or Grand Canyon national parks. The trail was therefore less crowded and also yielded much better views. After a very tiresome hour and half we ate at a nearby hotel’s greasy buffet lunch—not exactly what I was wanting or looking for. A .5 L of coke was 15 Yuan there, but I was so thirsty I didn’t even mind the price. Interesting fact about cokes in China: although you get more for your dollar, the coke is much flatter and less sweet than its American counterpart. After lunch we visited a jade shop that displayed some rather spectacular pieces prized at 980,000 Yuan and then also cheesy street vendor gifts. Next, we headed to the summer palace which was extremely beautiful and enjoyable, despite there being an almost ridiculous amount of people per square foot there.
In the summer palace, we took a dragon boat ride to the giant marble boat in Kunming Lake that once hosted dinner parties a few hundred years ago for the Chinese emperor at the time. We finished today with a foot massage in a massage parlor nearby our hotel. Although it was surprisingly enjoyable, it was also intensely awkward. Dinner tonight was served in a small local restaurant that was no bigger than the size of our hotel room—dumplings, beanstalks, and noodles being the main courses. I finally got my first period of free time to roam the streets of Beijing today, observing I suppose a traditional lifestyle in the quarters where as soon as it cools down enough, all the Chinese families, especially the elders, sit down along the edges of the streets, eating, smoking, drinking, and cooking interesting cuts of meat in their charcoal grills. The night was capped off with a visit to the supermarket to buy snacks for the train ride to Luoyang. Beijing has been a place to remember—the sights and smells of the streets will definitely stick in my mind. Tomorrow we will also leave Chen, our group’s dearly beloved local guide who is a college student at a local university.
We made our way to the Ba Daling area of the Great Wall of China this morning, driving through some scenery very reminiscent of east Tennessee. Even roughly 30 miles outside of the main part of the city, smog still encompassed the skies—so I haven’t seen the sun since I got off the plane in L.A. after our flight from Phoenix. We climbed a portion of the wall no longer than a mile but possibly steeper than some of the trails backpacked through in Yellowstone or Grand Canyon national parks. The trail was therefore less crowded and also yielded much better views. After a very tiresome hour and half we ate at a nearby hotel’s greasy buffet lunch—not exactly what I was wanting or looking for. A .5 L of coke was 15 Yuan there, but I was so thirsty I didn’t even mind the price. Interesting fact about cokes in China: although you get more for your dollar, the coke is much flatter and less sweet than its American counterpart. After lunch we visited a jade shop that displayed some rather spectacular pieces prized at 980,000 Yuan and then also cheesy street vendor gifts. Next, we headed to the summer palace which was extremely beautiful and enjoyable, despite there being an almost ridiculous amount of people per square foot there.
In the summer palace, we took a dragon boat ride to the giant marble boat in Kunming Lake that once hosted dinner parties a few hundred years ago for the Chinese emperor at the time. We finished today with a foot massage in a massage parlor nearby our hotel. Although it was surprisingly enjoyable, it was also intensely awkward. Dinner tonight was served in a small local restaurant that was no bigger than the size of our hotel room—dumplings, beanstalks, and noodles being the main courses. I finally got my first period of free time to roam the streets of Beijing today, observing I suppose a traditional lifestyle in the quarters where as soon as it cools down enough, all the Chinese families, especially the elders, sit down along the edges of the streets, eating, smoking, drinking, and cooking interesting cuts of meat in their charcoal grills. The night was capped off with a visit to the supermarket to buy snacks for the train ride to Luoyang. Beijing has been a place to remember—the sights and smells of the streets will definitely stick in my mind. Tomorrow we will also leave Chen, our group’s dearly beloved local guide who is a college student at a local university.July 3rd, 2011: Beijing to Luoyang
I’m extremely tired today so I’ll just make a quick sketch of the day:
- · Goodbye to Chen was very sad
- · Playing games in the Beijing East train station was so much fun and very humorous as I watched hundreds of confused people gathering around our group in the terminal to observe our activities.
- · I have never been so hot or so crowded in my whole entire life than I was today on that train.
- · We arrived in Zhengzhou, Henan province, hometown of former Chinese teacher Ms. Li
- · 2-hour bus ride to Luoyang.
- · Extremely nice hotel
- · Ended the day walking the streets of Luoyang in search of Chinese fast food to no avail
- · John’s birthday celebration
July 4th, 2011: Luoyang
Again really, really tired so I’ll make another sketch of the day:
- Visited Longmen grottos, one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen.
- Visited a local folk art center where I spent a good amount of money on really beautifully made gifts for my family
- Visited a museum of ancient Qing dynasty culture in the quintessential Chinese-style compound
- Walked the streets of old Luoyang
- Walked the streets of Luoyang outside our hotel in search of more Chinese fast food only to come up empty handed again.
July 5th, 2011: Luoyang
Today was the last full day that we are to spend in the city of Luoyang. Later this morning I got the chance to talk to my family for the first time for a solid 15 minutes as I watched the majority of my group members practice Tai Ji in our hotel lobby. After Tai Ji, we packed into our bus and headed for the Shaolin temple. 
The whole Shaolin complex was a fascinating spectacle. In the entrance past all the tourists shops were students/monks playing basketball, baseball, and sparring amongst each other. Even at a very young age they all looked so professional and well trained in their studies of Chinese Kung Fu. It was almost intimidating to see ranks of 30 of them walk past us to their daily lesson in perfect stride without ever breaking a smile or their focus on the person’s in front of them head. Our first major attraction that we visited was, of course, the Shaolin temple. All of the architecture was quintessentially Chinese and very beautiful at that, complimented with various guardians that were to ward off evil spirits such as the “Hun” and the “Ha” guardians, standing 20 feet tall and looking over the front gate. The drum tower sat adjacent to the actual temple and across from the bell tower. 
After a flight of stairs, a giant pot in which hundreds of incense sticks burned lay right in front of the temple; past it, the temple’s golden, gleaming Buddhas awaited. After spending roughly 30 minutes in the temple’s quad, we headed over to the performance center to watch a showcase of the top students’ Kung Fu skills—a rather impressive display to say the least, highlighted by an older student breaking a metal bar into pieces over his head and then putting his full body weight onto 2 spears seemingly effortlessly. Another highlight of the show was seeing my friend and roommate Eddy trying his hand at Kung Fu mid-performance on stage in a little competition between 2 other volunteers. After the show we headed back to the hotel, ate, and then went to a local grocery store called Denis where I bought some American classics: Oreos, Snicker’s bars, Wrigley’s gum, and 1.25L of coke. The rest of the night was spent lazily in the hotel room discussing of home, women, and other various aspects of our lives back in the states with my roommates Eddy and John.
The whole Shaolin complex was a fascinating spectacle. In the entrance past all the tourists shops were students/monks playing basketball, baseball, and sparring amongst each other. Even at a very young age they all looked so professional and well trained in their studies of Chinese Kung Fu. It was almost intimidating to see ranks of 30 of them walk past us to their daily lesson in perfect stride without ever breaking a smile or their focus on the person’s in front of them head. Our first major attraction that we visited was, of course, the Shaolin temple. All of the architecture was quintessentially Chinese and very beautiful at that, complimented with various guardians that were to ward off evil spirits such as the “Hun” and the “Ha” guardians, standing 20 feet tall and looking over the front gate. The drum tower sat adjacent to the actual temple and across from the bell tower. 
After a flight of stairs, a giant pot in which hundreds of incense sticks burned lay right in front of the temple; past it, the temple’s golden, gleaming Buddhas awaited. After spending roughly 30 minutes in the temple’s quad, we headed over to the performance center to watch a showcase of the top students’ Kung Fu skills—a rather impressive display to say the least, highlighted by an older student breaking a metal bar into pieces over his head and then putting his full body weight onto 2 spears seemingly effortlessly. Another highlight of the show was seeing my friend and roommate Eddy trying his hand at Kung Fu mid-performance on stage in a little competition between 2 other volunteers. After the show we headed back to the hotel, ate, and then went to a local grocery store called Denis where I bought some American classics: Oreos, Snicker’s bars, Wrigley’s gum, and 1.25L of coke. The rest of the night was spent lazily in the hotel room discussing of home, women, and other various aspects of our lives back in the states with my roommates Eddy and John.July 6th, 2011: Luoyang to Xi’an
Today was actually a rather eventful travel day. After breakfast I accompanied Eddy to a local department store to buy a new suitcase after his broke on the train ride to Luoyang. As I’m writing this entry now in our room in Xi’an, he just broke his new one. After buying the faulty suitcase we headed over to our local guide Le Zheng’s nail salon to catch up with some group members being pampered. A visit to the Wanda Plaza mall ensued where I ate at my first American favorite, Dairy Queen—arguably the best milkshake I’ve ever had. I also bought a jacket at the Nike store that would’ve been a $100 more expensive in the states—if it’s real, well I cannot guarantee that. 
After the mall we headed to McDonald’s, which was a rather impressive establishment, compared to its American counterpart, only dwarfed by the triple-decker KFC next door. Instead of ordering at the counter we were waited on by a waitress wearing like a 50’s poodle skirt complete with a pink beret. The hamburgers were of fantastic quality for a fast food restaurant. More browsing in the mall ensued until we had to head for the rail station to take the train to Xi’an. This train ride was much more enjoyable, although I came down with a miserable cold today. Tomorrow, the world famous Terra-Cotta army awaits us in one of China’s oldest cities.
After the mall we headed to McDonald’s, which was a rather impressive establishment, compared to its American counterpart, only dwarfed by the triple-decker KFC next door. Instead of ordering at the counter we were waited on by a waitress wearing like a 50’s poodle skirt complete with a pink beret. The hamburgers were of fantastic quality for a fast food restaurant. More browsing in the mall ensued until we had to head for the rail station to take the train to Xi’an. This train ride was much more enjoyable, although I came down with a miserable cold today. Tomorrow, the world famous Terra-Cotta army awaits us in one of China’s oldest cities.July 7th, 2011: Xi’an
This morning when I awoke, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach. Medicine didn’t really help me either. After breakfast we all headed to the terra-cotta army warriors museum located in rural Xi’an. The terra-cotta army was, as anticipated, very very interesting. 
In the first section of the museum, also referred to as the first pit, we observed over 3,000 (I believe?) terra-cotta warriors that had been excavated. In the far back corner of the pit, archaeologists were still stationed as they were excavating even more warriors from this same location. There were also 2 other pits located in the museum, both much smaller and much less well kept as the main number 1 pit. After our visit at the terra-cotta army warriors museum we headed to a local Chinese school that was teaching its students English where we helped the kids practice their English on us. My partner was a very shy little girl that wouldn’t utter a single word until older students persuaded her to talk/translated for her.Once again, I'd like to thank the Wilson family for their contributions to the school, but especially for the language grants that they have given. This trip was by far the greatest time of my life, and I cannot thank you enough for giving me this opportunity to explore the country that I have been so curious about for so many years, especially now that I am learning Chinese at MBA.
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