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China Fall 2006

In the fall of 2006 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)

 

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