Due to the Great Firewall of China, I was not able to access this blog during my 2 weeks there. China likes to control the media in order to prevent mass opposition to the communist government. Economically, China has embraced most of the tenets of capitalism. However, I was surprised to discover that there are still many ways that government still believes in communism. Lack of free speech (i.e. media) is one of these ways. So Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger were not options while I was there.
In China, we spent a few days in Shanghai, over a week in Dalian, and a few days in Beijing.
When I looked at my IBI itinerary before this trip, Shanghai was near the top of my list of places that I was eager to see. This was because of all the pictures I’ve seen of the cityscape of Shanghai. Shanghai may be the most amazing and beautiful city around. It is home to some of the world’s tallest and most unique skyscrapers which reflect their colorful lights off the Yellow River below. This entire metropolitan area basically sprung up in the last 15 years. This is a testament to the aggressive role of the government in planning the future of the city as well as rapid economic emergence of China. China and India are often compared to each other, but being in Shanghai makes this comparison seem silly. China’s infrastructure is much more developed than India’s. Our group went to the top of the world’s third tallest building in Shanghai.
We took a train from Shanghai to Dalian on the same day and, in fact, about an hour after there was a devastating train crash in China. We mostly had class in the hotel that we were staying in. Dalian gives some perspective on how many people live in China. Even though I have never heard of Dalian and even though it is about the 20th largest city in China, it is home to more people than all US cities except for NYC.
Our trip culminated in the capital, Beijing—a city that should probably hold the title of “counterfeit capital of the world”. I was impressed at how much fake stuff you can buy in Beijing—basically anything, even electronics. About 15 of the other IBI students picked up some trendy counterfeit Dr. Dre Beats headphones for about 10-20% of what they would cost in the states. They even sounded pretty good and many of the people who bought them were convinced that these headphones were real. They did not sound quite like $350 headphones, but it took us about 30 minutes of research to finally determine that they were fake—a testament to the amazing abilities of Chinese counterfeiters. The best part of Beijing was the Great Wall. It was the second world wonder that I saw on this trip. A solid number of us made it to the top of the hill. It was a challenging climb on a hot, dry day.
It seems that about once a week I have a special experience that I would classify as a highlight of the trip. Looking back, climbing the Great Wall will be one of the highlights of the trip. Among these highlights are: the Taj Mahal and rickshaw rides in India, the cruise to London, running to the beach at the Hague in Netherlands, outdoor concerts in Paris, mountain lakes in Switzerland and Austria, walking up the Philosophers Way in Heidelberg, Germany and seeing fireworks from the top of the city, the Hill of Crosses and swimming in the Baltic in Lithuania.
What an amazing experience! I am finally back at home now and enjoying the Northwest for the next few days before I return to Cedarville to finish my undergraduate education. Thank you all who cared to read my blog as I enjoyed this journey. I plan on maintaining this blog as an outlet for my thoughts on other things in life. So there may be more to come.
The Great Wall: almost at the top of the hill.
The Great Wall: Celebrating at the top.
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