Author: gadzind
Last night in Beijing
On the early morning of April 2, 2017, Jenny took us to the Emperor’s summer palace. The emperor used this palace during the summer as a relaxing paradise away from the inner city. This palace is more like a national park. It includes a lake, multiple islands, temples, and living quarters for the emperor, empress, and his many concubines. Although we did not spend a great deal of time here, we were still able to see many of the great sights. My favorite was the long corridor. This is the longest painted corridor in the world. It stretches along the lake and has beautiful depictions of Hangzhou. This was a gift to the emperor’s mother because she missed her home town of Hangzhou.
After leaving the crowded streets of the summer palace, we enjoyed an authentic Beijing noodle style lunch. It was served with a verity of vegetables, meats and sauces. This was a great cultural experience as well as a way to decompress after the summer palace.
The Forbidden city and Tiananmen square was much bigger than I expected. It comprised of thousands of rooms that were used for living, working, ceremonies, and other uses for the emperor. The palace itself is a kilometer long. Pacing through each layer of the palace was very interesting to see how each palace changed. As we reached, the gardens and living quarters it was cool to see were they actually lived and walked as the emperor and empress. Jenny explained to us that the empress was actually more of a political marriage. The emperor most likely did not love the empress; instead, he had his mass selection of concubines.
After leaving the Forbidden City, we decompressed at the hotel. Dinner was served at a dumpling restaurant. They served multiple types of dumpling, vegetables, and meats. Our last night was spent in the Karaoke club. You are your group rent out a room and sing your heart out. We had solos by The J Tulungen, The Great Jessica Harding ft. Miss Hayes on back up and many other great artists. All and all it was a great trip and one of the best experiences of my life. I would like to thank everyone for his or her support and allowing his or her amazing children to join me on this experience.
New adventures in Beijing
WAKE UP!!!” Mr.Shin hollered at Chris and I.
With such a bright start to the day, we raced to meet the group at the lobby at 7:30 am. From there we took the tourist bus to the Great Wall of China. Upon arrival, we had the opportunity to take a cart lift up to the actual wall. After the scary unstable ride, we were all glad to reach safety on the sturdy rocks of the Great Wall. After many pictures and great experiences we took the toboggan down. After only losing a piece of Devon’s leg, we sprinted to Subway for a quick bite before the roasted duck place. Having left the Great Wall of China with only 1 hour before our reservation at the restaurant, we knew we were in deep trouble.
Our great tour guide, Jenny was able to arrange for the restaurant to serve us food before they closed. Arriving an hour after the food was served due to traffic, we were able to enjoy the best cold Beijing roasted Duck we have ever eaten. After the great dinner, we came to the hotel for a great relaxing time. After a few hours of relaxation, we treated our bodies with more food. The hot pot place was great! Although many struggled keeping track of the meat they were cooking. Overall, our April fools day was great.
From Beijing – 4/1
Although we were immensely sore from the hiking done at the temple yesterday, today had a quite elegant beginning as we left our very comfortable hotel to visit an ancient mansion. To me, the most incredible part of the palace was how much it winded around. The entire design of the complex was maze-like, making us realize the importance and wealth the original homeowner had to offer. After conferring with the adults in our group, we discovered that the walls were built so high and the paths so narrow in order to deter thieves and prolong their escape (to make it harder to escape). After trespassing throughout the palace, we decided to walk up and down a street to explore the culture of this part of Hangzhou.
Let me set the scene: 15 people who traveled from America to a small shopping street in China that smelled of stinky tofu while kids on a school trip ran around eating cotton candy shaped like flowers. This was a sensory overload if I’ve ever encountered one. Although it started out rather…intense, we quickly became entranced in the bustle of Hangzhou. As we traversed the street, we began to enjoy our day more and more.
We also went to the silk museum today, where we learned the way to tell the difference between real and fake silk. After our education, we were free to explore the museums giftvshop, where expensive and plush ties, pajamas, bedspreads , and all around clothes were displayed. The fact that the government placed enough value on their silk history to create a beautiful museum shows how influential the material really was.
Overall, the places we toured today revealed the values of China. While the country is developing and powerful, they still place emphasis on the past. I can’t wait to explore China even more over the summer and explore what it has to offer in any category.
From Beijing,
Justin Jones
Journey from Hangzhou to Beijing
Although we were immensely sore from the hiking done at the temple yesterday, today had a quite elegant beginning as we left our very comfortable hotel to visit an ancient mansion. To me, the most incredible part of the palace was how much it winded around. The entire design of the complex was maze-like, making us realize the importance and wealth the original homeowner had to offer. After conferring with the adults in our group, we discovered that the walls were built so high and the paths so narrow in order to deter thieves and prolong their escape (to make it harder to escape). After trespassing throughout the palace, we decided to walk up and down a street to explore the culture of this part of Hangzhou.
Let me set the scene: 15 people who traveled from America to a small shopping street in China that smelled of stinky tofu while kids on a school trip ran around eating cotton candy shaped like flowers. This was a sensory overload if I’ve ever encountered one. Although it started out rather…intense, we quickly became entranced in the bustle of Hangzhou. As we traversed the street, we began to enjoy our day more and more.
We also went to the silk museum today, where we learned the way to tell the difference between real and fake silk. After our education, we were free to explore the museums giftvshop, where expensive and plush ties, pajamas, bedspreads , and all around clothes were displayed. The fact that the government placed enough value on their silk history to create a beautiful museum shows how influential the material really was.
Overall, the places we toured today revealed the values of China. While the country is developing and powerful, they still place emphasis on the past. I can’t wait to explore China even more over the summer and explore what it has to offer in any category.
From Beijing,
Justin Jones
Leaving Shanghai
Today was a day of mixed emotions. We woke up and ate a delicious breakfast of noodles and tofu. I am still getting used to eating that for breakfast, but today it was good. We then packed our bags and played basketball, 2 on 2. It was a game of SFLS VS CULVER. Dave, Justin, and I played against Mario and Victor. It was a quick game to 10. We had to end early, though, because Lao Shi said it was time to go. As we were packing the bus, there was a sudden sadness that had come over me. I thought about how I might not ever see some of these kids again. I shook this feeling off and gave the students a big hug. We were now on our way. On the way, we stopped at a rest stop where some of the kids went to get Starbucks. The Starbucks was very refreshing and well deserved after a long period of traveling. We finally arrived at the hotel shortly after. The hotel was amazing. There were free robes and the showers were steaming. As the water began to slowly run down my hair, my muscles began to relax. The warm water got me ready for bed. Before I went to bed, I turned on the TV. There was the most amazing kung-foo fight that I watched for 20 minutes. It was amusing and entertaining. All in all, it was a great day for the Culver clan and an even better day for Team Wind (my team).
-Jack Schmiedlin
Shanghai From a Less Modern Perspective
Today was a crazy day. In the early morning, we set out for the shanghai city museum. It was a huge museum that had an insane amount ancient artifacts. Some of the pieces were from 5000 B.C. Although the museum only took up a small portion of our day, it felt like something that we would remember the most.
After the museum, we headed for the Yu Garden. This was a very old garden, that used to be a private residence. Besides the fact that it was gigantic, it was hard to wrap our minds around the fact that someone lived there! It reminded all of us of how old the place we were at actually was, and how special it’s meaning was. It brought us back to reality for a little, as we all had to reflect on the importance of where we were.
Finally, our last (and most of ours favorite) adventure of the day was shopping. Shopping was unlike anything we had ever encountered. Shopping in china is an intense process on the streets of china. Each of us split up into groups of three and ventured into different parts of the street market to try and do a little bargaining. However, most of us were very bad at this. Because we have to bargain in yuan, and not in USD, we had little to no idea of what these items were actually worth. After three hours of “great deals”, terrible bargaining tactics, and bu yao (Meaning I don’t want) we finished off our day with dumplings for dinner!
Overall, I think this was one of my favorite days. Not because of the fun things we got to do, but because of the way we all connected a little bit more. Not only with each other, but with the realistic side of china. We really got to understand more of china through the museum, garden, and the people on the streets trying to sell you anything they could. This was definitely a day I’ll remember!
-David Snyder
Global Pathways Spring Program 