China Fall 2006

In the fall of 2006 at the ripe age of 21, I went to Beijing, China to study with the IES program. The program was hosted at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and was considered a language intensive course. Before arrival I knew little about China, had absolutely no language experience, and had no idea of what to expect. After leaving I was conversational in Chinese and saw, experienced, and learned more then I ever thought possible.

Link to my Photo Portfolio of Top Images Here

Highlights of Almost 6 Months of Study are: 

• Silk Road Trip where we traveled ~4,500 miles over the course of three weeks (roughly the distance of going from San Francisco to Washington DC and back). Half of that in a plane and half in trains/buses. The variety of cultures seen in that span was unbelievable.
• Travel to the holy mountains of Taishan and Huangshan
• Eating amazing food everywhere we went
• Experiencing new things almost every day
• Being able to haggle in Chinese

Here is a list of all of the places I visited and the main attractions of each:

Beijing (This place is massive)(listed are notable landmarks)

• Great Wall section at Simatai
• Forbidden City
• Temple of Heaven
• plus thousands of other places

Xinjiang Province (Western China, borders Afghanistan)

• City of Kashgar
• Turpan Valley
• Karakorum Mountain Range
• Karakol Lake

Gansu Province

• Labrang Buddhist Monastery
• City of Xiahe
• Gancha Grasslands
• Jiayuguan Fortress
• City of Dunhuang

Shaanxi Province

• City of Xi’an
• Terra Cotta Warriors

Shandong Province

• Taishan Mountain (6,000 stairs to the top!)
• City of Tian’an
• Confucious Temple in the city of Qufu

Anhui Province

• Huangshan Mountain (probably one of the most beautiful mountains in the country)

Jiangsu Province

• Nanjiang (former capital city of China)

You can view a Google Map of my trip here (overlaid on China!)