06/22
Well it's the last week in Beijing and I'm catching up on the last few things that I want to see before heading home. Today we spent the whole day at the Summer Palace way out on the outskirts of Beijing. The Summer Palace was originally built in the 1100's for the emperor to visit during the summer's when life became to stressful in the Forbidden Palace. As you can see from the pictures the grounds were huge and included the main palace as well as a gigantic lake, island included.
MBA Student of Life
Friday, June 28, 2013
Back Home
Well I'm finally back home and although I was sad to leave all my friends and Beijing behind, I must say it feels great to be back in the states!
I'd like to thank all of the University of Arkansas Career Services team members that helped make this trip even possible! Without them I would have never been able to put a trip like this together. It was an incredible experience that I'll never forget!
The last week in Beijing was a blur of catching up on the last few things I'd missed as well as farewell dinners and goodbye's. The day I was set to leave Beijing I had a few extra hours in the morning to check out the 798 Art Zone. The art zone had all kinds of modern Chinese art that expressed a lot of the opinions and emotions of the younger Chinese population. As you can see from the pictures below, there is definitely a difference in attitude toward government from the younger population compared to the older generations. Surprise surprise.
After leaving Beijing and arriving in Seattle I discovered that I had a 10 hour layover until my next flight so after clearing customs and rechecking my bag I decided to head out and explore the city and have dinner with a relocated Fayetteville friend on the pier. Eating my first meal back in the states on the pier at Ivar's seafood restaurant was a great ending to a great trip!
That's all now for now. I'll keep posting more pictures in the future as I get everything together from the trip. Time for some Chipotle and sleep!
I'd like to thank all of the University of Arkansas Career Services team members that helped make this trip even possible! Without them I would have never been able to put a trip like this together. It was an incredible experience that I'll never forget!
The last week in Beijing was a blur of catching up on the last few things I'd missed as well as farewell dinners and goodbye's. The day I was set to leave Beijing I had a few extra hours in the morning to check out the 798 Art Zone. The art zone had all kinds of modern Chinese art that expressed a lot of the opinions and emotions of the younger Chinese population. As you can see from the pictures below, there is definitely a difference in attitude toward government from the younger population compared to the older generations. Surprise surprise.
After leaving Beijing and arriving in Seattle I discovered that I had a 10 hour layover until my next flight so after clearing customs and rechecking my bag I decided to head out and explore the city and have dinner with a relocated Fayetteville friend on the pier. Eating my first meal back in the states on the pier at Ivar's seafood restaurant was a great ending to a great trip!
That's all now for now. I'll keep posting more pictures in the future as I get everything together from the trip. Time for some Chipotle and sleep!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
7 Days In Beijing
06/20/13
Well I’m down to my last week in Beijing. When I first got here I made a list of
everything that I wanted to see and I have visited each place I’ve market it
off the list. Yesterday, I decided to go
over the list and see how much I actually had left. Surely there can’t be that much right? Nope.
Not even close.
Inspired by my lack of effort, I decided to knock two
of the main attractions off the list yesterday:
the Lama Temple and the Temple of Heaven.
First up, Lama Temple (a.k.a. Yonghe Temple). This is a Buddhist temple in the middle of
Beijing and one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world from what the
signs said. The grounds are plastered
with vibrant colors along the sides of each building and wonderful smells of
incense are all around. Getting out of
the smell of car exhaust and local… “perfumes” was very welcomed. There were five main buildings on the
grounds, each with their own Buddha.
Next, was the Temple of Heaven. This was one the most cultural experiences
I’ve had so far in Beijing. Walking
along the grounds we could see groups of elders playing cards as well as a
group singing a Chinese hymn that could be heard throughout the temple
grounds. The actual temple sits atop a
hill in the center of the park that has one of the best views of Beijing in the
city. It’s incredible to look around and
see all that has been built up around this 400 year old temple!
Well, that’s all for now. I’ll keep posting more and more stuff as the
week progresses. Tonight I’m going to an
entrepreneurship seminar where I hope to meet some entrepreneurs from around
the city. Should be interesting to hear
their stories about starting businesses in China!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
The Great Wall
06/17/13
This past weekend we went up to The Great Wall of
China to walk along the wall and watch the sunrise over the mountains. Overall I’d say this was one of the most
memorable experiences I’ve ever had traveling.
The part of the wall we went to has rarely been traveled or repaired for
hundreds of years. After walking around the wall all day we made our way to the bottom of the mountains where we had an incredible BBQ dinner of squid, beef and homemade bread as well as a traditional Chinese show. Like I said, an incredible experience, but the pictures do most
of the talking……
06/13/13
It’s been a busy couple weeks of work and travel! Last week was my first full week of work here in China. The joys of Chinese rush hour commuting is an experience that will remind me to never take commuting in Fayetteville for granted ever again.
Each of my co-workers has been very helpful and many of them speak better English than I could ever hope to. Last week we went to an incredible Roasted Chicken lunch where every part of the chicken was available to eat. Including the head!
Since the beginning of this week was the Dragon Boat Festival I decided to take the train down to Shanghai to see the city and have a change of pace from Beijing. Riding on the bullet train to Shanghai led to some incredible views of the rural Chinese countryside as well as the massive ghost cities abandoned half way through construction.
Unlike Beijing, Shanghai is much smaller landmass wise as it is set up much like Manhattan. This leads to a very centralized downtown with massive skyscrapers and a picturesque skyline. It’s also a lot like Manhattan because EVERYTHING is very expensive. We walked down the East Nanjing Rd. which is a very famous shopping area. Most of the store names I’d never heard of but I’m told they’re popular all over the world.
We also toured the Yuyuan Gardens in the middle of the city. The gardens were constructed in the 1500’s and have gone through numerous renovations throughout the years creating a wonderful garden space in the middle of Shanghai. We spent some time walking around and then spent some time at a teahouse situated in the middle of a pond in the gardens.
Overall Shanghai was a great modern city to visit. More to come next week!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Fresh Prince of Beijing
05/31
The first full day of exploring the city ended up being an
incredible day and took me throughout many of the historical parts of the city
as well as being guided to some local cuisine that ended up being one of the
best meals I’ve ever had in my entire life….
We started out jumping on the Beijing subway at about
9AM. As Americans we think 9AM is well
into the workday and there should be little traffic. We found out the instant we walked into the
subway station that’s not the case.
After purchasing our tickets and finding the correct train, we walked to
the platform with the rest of the population of Beijing and I stood in the back
of the line figuring we’d have to wait a couple trains before being able to get
on. Not only was I wrong, but I was
about to witness one, if not all of the laws of physics get shattered as every
single person on the platform squeezed onto the train.
After a comfortable ride we arrived at our first stop,
Tiananmen Square. Many if not all of you
have heard about the protests of 1989 when a single man defied the whole
Chinese government by standing in front of army tanks as they made their way
through the square. The picture of the
one-man protest I think is one of the most powerful images I’ve ever seen.
At the northern most area of Tiananmen Square is the
Forbidden Palace, which was home to numerous Chinese emperors throughout the
centuries. It also sports 30,000
bedrooms in case they had in-laws in for the weekend.
Walking over the moat that surrounds the palace and in
through the main gate I was overwhelmed by the sheer size and quality of the
construction. Before reaching the actual
palace rooms where the emperor would live, there were three main gates we had
to go through that were each about a quarter-mile wide and 100 yards thick made
of rock and cement.
Continuing through the three gates you finally walk into the
actual entrance of the palace area which is a gigantic courtyard surrounded by
ancient buildings. Through the middle of
the courtyard lies a path made from jade called the Emperors Path. Only the emperor in power was ever allowed to
walk along the path while everyone else was required to stand along side while
the emperor made his way from building to building.
Building after building goes by as we walked throughout the
palace where we saw the throne room, his changing room, sleeping room, and my
personal favorite “doing nothing” room.
After walking over a mile through the palace we finally
approach the North Entrance and the gardens just inside the gate. Many of the trees are well over 300 years old
and create a really awesome area for the emperor to come hang out in. Also in the garden is a gigantic rock (shown
in the pictures) that was hauled, as one giant stone, from southern China all
the way to the palace so the emperor could look and play on it.
Finally after a full day in the palace we decided to walk over and try a "hot pot" meal. I have no idea what this is going to entail but I trust in our guide as we walk through the back alleys. A "hot pot" consists of a bowl of peanut sauce for dipping and a giant pot of boiling water sitting in the middle of the table. The waiter brings out plate after plate of various kinds of thinly sliced raw meat. We put the meat in the pot watch it cook, pick it out, dip it in the peanut sauce and go to town. After about 30 pieces of some of the freshest, best tasting meat I've ever had I come to the realization that I've just had one of the best meals of my entire life.
South Entrance to the Forbidden Palace
The start of the Palace after walking through the main
gates
Emperor’s Throne
Rock moved from Southern China as a gift to the
emperor
Burial ground built on top of a hill made out of
burned coal from the palace
North Entrance to Forbidden Palace
Monday, June 3, 2013
The Great Firewall of China
Well, I've made it to China, settled into my apartment and have had some time to explore the city. Since China blocks blogger.com I haven't been able to post until today when I figured out a nice work around for the sites China blocks, so I'm gonna post some backlog of what has been going on the past week.
The first is a post I made the day I got to China. As you read it, you'll see that I had quite an adventure just getting here......
The first is a post I made the day I got to China. As you read it, you'll see that I had quite an adventure just getting here......
05/31/2013
After months of preparation, renewed passports, visas
arriving at the last second, cancelled flights, and non-English speaking cab
drivers I’ve finally made it to Beijing!
As I talked about a few posts ago, traveling is an adventure
and I definitely was able to prove that true this past week on the way over. My adventure began in Fayetteville last
Wednesday at 5 AM leaving my house and getting to the Fayetteville
airport. A bit early I’ll say, but no
real problem there. My passport and visa
go through without a hitch, security was a breeze, the attendant when I checked
in even gave me “priority access” so I could board the plane airplane first. I’m finally sitting on the plane looking out the window as we start to push
out and I think "Who says this international travel thing is
hard?" I close my eyes and decide a nap
is the best way to prepare for the long day of travels ahead….
The plane is almost fully backed out of the gate and all of
a sudden I feel the little plane produce a giant shake and come to an immediate
stop. After a few intense moments of
sitting on the tarmac not moving the captain comes over the intercom and says
“we’ve got an issue with the steering, sit tight and we’ll keep you
updated.” My stress level rises a bit
after I realize my layover in Dallas is only 45 minutes and being late in that
airport could really test my running abilities.
Oh well, not much I can really do, I’m on an adventure right? About 10 minutes later the plane is moving
toward the gate and the captain comes over the intercom and informs all 36
enthusiastic passengers that we’re going to have to get off the plane, the
flight is cancelled. This is exciting!
After getting everyone off the plane, with as you can
imagine, giant smiles on our faces, we all make it to the gate desk where there
is not 3, not 2, but 1 American Airline worker ready to rebook 36 flights out
of Fayetteville. About an hour later I’m
finally able to talk to the worker and get my flight rebooked for Beijing. I won’t be leaving until 5 PM and instead of
flying out of Seattle to Beijing I’ll be leaving direct from Chicago on a 13
hour direct flight. I make sure the
American Airline worker can put me next to someone that weighs over 300lbs and
snores to make the flight really fun.
Throw a 2-year old in there as well.
Later that evening in Chicago after getting a months fill of Chipotle I trudge up to the
boarding gate dreading my 13 hour flight with only 3 square inches of sitting
room and hand the attendant my boarding pass.
She looks at me and says “oh, Mr. Andrews, we needed your seat, here’s
your new boarding pass.” I look down and
see that I’ve ben put in the best seat in business class. Overjoyed, I walk down the tunnel and onto the plane where I'm greeted with a glass of champagne and a hot towel. Other passengers glare at me knowing that I'm not really supposed to be in business class and give continue to shoot nasty looks at me as I get comfortable in my seat. I am unaffected, I plop my feet up, sit back and sip on my glass of champagne.
Three hours later I’m 32000 feet above Canada, sitting with
my legs stretched out in front of me, finishing the 3rd course of my
4-course meal, watching the new James Bond film. China. Here. I. Come.
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