During the fall of 2017, my best friend Wendy, an international student from China, invited me to come home with her over the summer to see the sights and experience the culture of China. We saw many unforgettable sights during our twelve days there, but probably the most breathtaking was the Great Wall of China. It was beautiful and possibly one of the greatest experiences of my life to be able to experience such an important part of world history.
We visited many different cities in the eastern region of China, beginning in Shanghai, then visiting Hangzhou, which was beautiful, especially the historic and scenic Westlake area. The picture shown below is a view of one of the gardens surrounding the Westlake.
We then continued on to my friend’s home in Yiwu, where we met her family and celebrated a traditional Chinese holiday with them. Next, we travelled to Beijing, where we saw the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square (security was very reluctant to let us Americans inside).
Our next stop was Xian, where we got the opportunity to see the famous terra-cotta warriors, a very interesting experience.
Overall, the experience provided me with a new understanding of the world and allowed me to experience one of the oldest cultures still in existence today. It was also eye opening to see firsthand the things you hear about often in the news- censorship, high beauty standards, and of course the colossal traffic jams. Overall, my trip to China was a great experience and it really showed me the true scope of the world as a whole.