Opening Ceremony aka First Day in China
What better place to study abroad as a business student than China! The #1 county that does the most trading with the United States. With a population of 1.4 billion people and growing, China has a lot to offer. They are blooming as a county in the business world as well as have a rich history dating back tp over 3,000 years ago.
Traditional Chinese Painting Class: Holding up our finished pieces paintings
Tai Chi
To better immerse ourselves in the Chinese cultural we took classes to learn about tea ceremonies, learning to speak Chinese, Tai Chi, calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, and paper cutting. The traditional Chinese painting class was one of my favorites. Chinese painting set themselves a part from other culture’s art by the emphasis on motion. it is also one of the oldest continued art traditions in the world. We watched the teacher paint her flower in 15 minutes and it turned out beautifully. Then we all gave it a try and realized it was harder than it looked and takes years of practice to even become remotely good at it. Chinese painting uses only paint and water. Each painting has a different meaning so we painted flowers that best represent ourselves.
Terracotta Warriors
Views from the top
The Terroracotta Warriors are a collection of over 8,000 clay soldiers sculptured during the Qin Shi Huang who was the first Emperor of China! They were meant to protect the emperor in his afterlife. It was cool to see these thousands of clay soldiers up close and personal. Only about 2,000 of them are for viewing. If you looked closely you can see that they all have different faces. I can’t imagine the work it took to sculpt these warriors at the level of detail they are and the amount they created.
Summer Palace
Summer Palace is an imperial garden and temporary place of the royal family in the Qing Dynasty. It includes Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. The Summer Palace is mostly known for the 70,000 square meters of palaces and gardens. in 1961 it was one of the first national priority protected sites. It was been beautifully preserved and it a stunning places to see in person. We took a boat ride across the lake with the boat being in the shape of a dragon. On the water you can really see how large of an area the Summer Palace is and take in all the beauty of the mountains in the background and greenery.
The Great Wall of China
Did you really go to China if you didn’t visit the Great Wall? Not really. Of course this was one of the top places to see I was looking forward to in China! The Great Wall of China dates back to the 7th century BC. The wall is made of mainly stone that runs along the historical northern boarder of China. It was built in order to protect China against the raids and invasions of various nomadic groups that were seeking to expand their territory. Though thousands of years and many dynasties the wall has been rebuilt and maintained. Today the wall is not one continuous wall but rather just sections left. It is also a continuous staircase. Some of the steps were even a foot and a half tall. Therefore, it was very exhausting climbing up. Thankfully we went in the morning on a cloudy day. The view was awesome on the top making it well worth the hike up. China has a famous saying “You are not a hero until you climb the Great Wall”. Needless to say guess I am a hero now.
Zaijing China!
Overall China was nothing what I expected but everything I hoped for. I will definitely be using my 10 year visa to go back in the near future.
