Summary of China Trip

The following is an extremely brief overview of the five months I spent in China.

-Arrived in China with no place to stay.

-Found an apartment, but the bathroom and heat didn’t work. Lack of heat became major issues because of below zero temperatures.

-International student adventure weekend

-Beginning of school at Peking University

-The first of many trips to the Silk Market

-My 21st Birthday

-Trip to Xi’an

-Tuesday trip to nowhere

-Day Trip to Tianjin via bullet train

–Interesting weekend trip to Datong which included: trips to the Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Monastery and one of the oldest sections of the Great Wall, my first camel ride and karaoke with ten random Chinese people from our restaurant. In addition to these things I also met am 89 year old, four-foot cave man and was able to tour his home/cave.

-Visits to the Chaoyang Acrobatics Show and Beijing Zoo

-Failed trip to Longqing Gorge

–Summer Palace

-Ate scorpions, starfish, silk worms, duck neck, and a few other things at Wangfujing Snack Street

-One mile sled down the top of the Great Wall at Mutianyu

-Tours of many of the temples in Beijing, including the Temple of Heaven

-Wild trip to Inner Mongolia desert and grasslands. Rode camels, atvs, and a sled down the largest sand dune in the desert. Rode horses, watched Mongolian wrestling, survived the night in a yurt in freezing temperatures, and watched sunrise on the grasslands. After a week covered in sand and dirt went to potentially the greatest spa in the world for the price.

-Visits to two of Beijing’s highest points: Coal Hill and Fragrant Hills.

–Tea and mud baths at Jiuhua Spa Resort

–Xu Xiake Tourism Festival and China Tourism Day: Included visits to Ningbo, Ninghai, Zhejiang Grand Canyon and the famous Buddhist mountain Putuoshan.

–Lama and Confucius Temple in Beijing

–Fat Boy Slim Concert at the Great Wall

-My final trip, including stops at: Hangzhouand the beautiful surrounding areas, Huangshan, and Shanghai

Lama and Confucius Temple

This week included a trip to two of the nicest temples in the city of Beijing. Located near the center of the city, both temples are only about a three-minute walk apart. They are two of the nicest temples I have visited in all of China, and I would recommend a short visit to both. It is possible to see the entirety of both temples in about an hour.

My first stop was to the Yonghe temple, which is also known as the Lama temple. People filled the area, offering prayers and incense to many of the holy figures. The structures within the temple are maintained very well, giving visitors a chance to see these beautiful buildings in all of their glory. Approximately fifty monks were chanting inside one of the largest buildings, with a crowd of visitors watching and listening nearby. I was captivated by them, and stood listening to their music like prayer for a few minutes. It is extremely difficult to describe the scene, since you must view it in person to fully understand, but it was definitely the highlight of my trip to the temples.

Just down the road from the Lama temple is the Confucius temple. There are far less buildings at the Confucius temple, but it contains many large stone tablets that have historical value. The surrounding area is lined with trees and provides a very nice image with the temple in the background.