The Long Ride Over
Mount Fuji from the air.The airplane ride over was a long one at 12 hours from Chicago to Tokyo, and 4 hours from Tokyo to Beijing. Beijing was the first time we got out of an airport, and the first thing I noticed was how crazy the Beijing traffic is! But we got to our hotel and finally got a good night's sleep.
Chongqing
When we got to Chongqing we got to meet our teacher Robin, who showed us around the city and campus. Southwest University is beautiful, and our dorms are great!
One thing that I already love about China is that there is a break everyday from 12-2:30pm where stores and schools close down so that everyone can eat lunch then go home for a nap. We should definitely adopt this in the US.
One thing that I already love about China is that there is a break everyday from 12-2:30pm where stores and schools close down so that everyone can eat lunch then go home for a nap. We should definitely adopt this in the US.
Being sick :(
Unfortunately, after only a couple days in Chongqing I've already gotten sick. I've been feeling very flu-like for the last few days, so yesterday morning Robin and Pang laoshi took me to one of local student hospitals. I was amazed with how fast they worked! I went in, got checked out, got blood drawn, picked up my prescription of traditional Chinese herb pills, and was headed back to my room for rest in under 15 minutes. I've never even seen a doctor that fast in the US. I'm happy to say that I'm feeling 100% already today.
Teaching in China
This past weekend we went to a city called SheHong to teach English at a middle school. I was extremely nervous, having never attempted to teach a language to anyone before. My classes were very well behaved and extremely helpful though. A couple things that were very different from American schools were that for class breaks songs were played instead of bells. Also every Friday everyone gathers in the courtyard to take down the flag, then on Monday all the students wear uniforms for the raising of the flag in the morning. I played ping pong and basketball during the breaks with the students, both of which are very popular sports in China.
It was an excellent experience, and the teachers and staff were some of the best hosts we could of asked for! Every meal was enormous and they put us up in an excellent hotel. It was fantastic, but I'm glad to be back to my home away from home in SWU.
It was an excellent experience, and the teachers and staff were some of the best hosts we could of asked for! Every meal was enormous and they put us up in an excellent hotel. It was fantastic, but I'm glad to be back to my home away from home in SWU.
Where to begin...
Well it's been a little while since I've updated this and a lot has happened. We've visited downtown Chongqing, saw the Dazu Rock Carvings, and had custom clothes made. I guess I'll start with the clothes, which we are picking up today. I'll have to update with pictures later, but I got a pair of silk pants, a traditional Chinese shirt and vest, all for under $70 US dollars. That was Wednesday I believe, and they're already done today.
Thursday night we went to my first ever karaoke. Karaoke is a very popular thing to do here in China, so we had to get there a little early just to get a room to use. We had a ton of fun, but heavy rain knocked the whole block's power out for about 10 minutes, then we had to get a taxi in the rain when we were done. All in all it was an awesome night though!
Dazu Rock Carvings
This past Saturday we had the opportunity to visit the Buddhist carvings at the Dazu village. Dazu means "Big Feet" in Chinese, and was named so because of the giant footprints found there by the monk who started the carvings. We spent probably 2 hours walking through and seeing the excellent and beautiful rock carvings, it was amazing to see. Our guide said that many Buddhist come to pray to their gods here at the Dazu sight, so it is more than just beautiful carvings it is also a religious site for many Chinese Buddhists. Buddhism is one of the biggest religions in China, along with Taoism, Confucianism, and Islam. The carvings are hard to describe, so I'll just show you with the pictures I've taken.
Ancient Town
Before we went to the downtown part of Chongqing we visited Ancient Town which is supposed to be the oldest part of Chongqing. It was definitely the most crowded, there were so many people in the streets and in the shops that it was hard to walk. It was very cool to see some traditional buildings and art works in that setting though. I liked the style of paintings there so much in fact, that I bought 4 hand-painted scrolls of the 4 seasons, all very cheap thanks to Oliver who bargained for me and dropped the price substantially. They are beautiful! We also got to watch a man make candy art of zodiac animals, that was very neat. Some of the vendors would write your Chinese name on a paper and turn it into art for less than $5.
Downtown Chongqing
Yesterday (Sunday) we got to visit the downtown area of Chongqing, and it is enormous. It looks like a version of New York in China. At the center of town is the People's Liberation Monument, which according was the tallest building in Chongqing in the early 80s. It was built in the 1940's to inspire the Chinese people to fight back against their Japanese invaders. It now is much shorter than the huge skyscrapers that surround it, but still holds great meaning to the Chinese people.
Downtown Chongqing shows the modern side of China, with it's huge buildings and luxury stores like Gucci and Rolex. Everyone dresses in western clothes, just like you would find in any major US city. I barely felt like I was in another country, just another city that only spoke Mandarin. We even had KFC while we were there, and even though it had a distinctly Chinese flavor, it was still very western and seemed like home.
Downtown Chongqing shows the modern side of China, with it's huge buildings and luxury stores like Gucci and Rolex. Everyone dresses in western clothes, just like you would find in any major US city. I barely felt like I was in another country, just another city that only spoke Mandarin. We even had KFC while we were there, and even though it had a distinctly Chinese flavor, it was still very western and seemed like home.
Hong Ya Cave
After visiting downtown, we went to see a place called Hong Ya Cave. It used to be a fortress but now is similar to Ancient Town, as it is filled with traditional shops. Mixed in with the classic shops though, are western styled restaurants such as an Irish pub and a Tex-Mex style restaurant. It is a very unique blending of the two cultures, and a fun place to see. The very top floor gives an excellent view of the city, as well as the rivers flowing together. From the top, you can see the different colors of the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers converging at the city center. The Yangtze is a muddy yellow color, while the Jialing is a deep green and they make a very distinct line as they mix together. Here are a few more pictures from the Hong Ya area for your enjoyment.
Jindaoxia
On our last full day in Chongqing we visited Jindaoxia, the Golden Blade Gorge. It was probably the most beautiful place I have been in China, absolutely breathtaking. It was a lot of walking, but well worth it to see the many waterfalls, caves, and wildlife. While we were there we had the chance to feed some monkeys peanuts out of our hands, definitely a first for me! I can not accurately describe the beauty of this place so I'll just show it with pictures.
Last Night in Chongqing
When we came back from Jindaoxia I was completely exhausted and still needed to pack, but I had the opportunity to have hot pot one last time with the friends I have made here. I couldn't of asked for a better last night.
Beijing
After a late dinner with friends the night before, the others and I had to get up early at 5:45am for the drive to the Chongqing airport. After about an hour delay on the runway, we set off for Beijing. Landing in Beijing is always a sight because Peking International is a huge city in and of it's self. We made our way through the huge airport and found our driver, who took us straight to the Great Wall.
Great Wall
When we got out at the Great Wall I couldn't believe how enormous it was, We could only see a part of it due to being in a valley but even that small part was huge. It was extremely steep and climbed up the mountains surrounding Beijing. We immediately set off to climb to the highest guard tower we could in the short 1.5 hours we had. By the time I had got to where I wanted to be my legs were on fire and I was completely out of breath, but the view was totally worth it. We could look down the wall from the top and see exactly how very steep it was. I am so happy that we had the chance to visit this place. After we came back down we were taken to our hotel rooms at Minzu University, where we all had a much needed rest.
Summer Palace
The next morning we left early for a very busy day of touring, starting with the Summer Palace. We entered through the Imperial Garden, then made our way to the huge lake that occupied much of the grounds. There were many paddle boats on the lake, plus a few shaped like dragons. Considering this day was the day of the Dragon Boat Festival in China we decided to cross the lake on a dragon boat. As we got farther into the lake the actual palace comes into view and we could see just how unbelievably big it was. It is even more amazing when you consider that the entire area of the Summer Palace were reserved for the Emperor only. After we crossed the lake we visited 17 Arches Bridge and Dragon King Island. The island was named this because when the palace was built, people believed that a dragon controlled the weather. It was very crowded that day, but very cool to see nonetheless.
Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City
After the Summer Palace we got some lunch at a shopping are across the street from Tienanmen Square. We went shopping in that area after lunch and I found some really cool engraved chopsticks for about $5 US dollars. After lunch and shopping we crossed the street to Tienanmen and mad our way through the square. Our tour guide told us that Tienanmen Square is the largest public square in the world. After seeing it I believe it! Luckily it wasn't too crowdedwhich meant we could move through easy and get some good pictures. Even though Tienanmen isn't as much of an attraction as some of the other places we went I was very excited to be here because of all the history it has, both good and bad. Once we made our way to the end of the square, w.e were at the gates of the Forbidden City. This place was reserved for the Emperor, Empress, and high ranking officials, but now anyone can walk through freely. There are many ancient buildings to see, all with beautiful Chinese architecture. It took us almost 1.5 hours to walk all the way through. On the way out we got a great view of the moat that surrounds the city, it was very beautiful.
Olympic Square
The last stop on our tour for that day was the Olympic Square with the Bird's Nest and Water Cube from the 2008 Olympic Games. Both were very interesting pieces of architecture and very neat to see in person..
Home Again
Well after a very short month in China, I am back home. I already miss it, but it is good to be back and have some much needed rest :)