Forbidden City Calling

      When it comes to travel I come from a very experienced family. I myself have never ventured far from home so the idea of going to China is a little overwhelming. I've gotten many emails, phone calls, and books in the mail from family members excited for me to embark on this journey. Unanimously, everyone has amazing things to say about the Forbidden City so it was a main focus while preparing for this trip.

      The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty(1368-1644) to the end of the Qing dynasty(1644-1912). The third Ming Emperor, Yung-lo built one of the most dazzling architectural masterpieces in the world. It is located in the center of Beijing, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings that spread across 72 acres and required more than a million workers.

     The Forbidden City is now the largest comprehensive museum in China. The exhibition "Splendor of the White Eagle: Arts and Power at the Saxon-Polish Court" (1670-1763) is being displayed till August. It includes pieces that were used by the Saxon court in the 17th and 18th centuries. These pieces come from the German museum: Dresden and are on display in the hopes that it will spark an interest for many Chinese natives into European history and treasures.

    I personally am excited to take in the craftsmanship that went into the architecture from the front gate to the "masterpieces" (buildings) that hold the art.

                                                                                            -Taylor
   

Nanluoguxiang- retail therapy

- Hidden Hutong

      Nanluoguxian is referred to as one of the most important stops for tourists when they travel though Beijing. This is especially true for those keen on retail therapy. It has several kilometers of shops, galleries and cafes. Many call it the most tourist friendly street in Beijing.

      It is a must see hutong. A hutong is a type of narrow street or alley that can be joined to other hutongs to form what can be considered a "neighborhood." They have the traditional architecture of Beijing with a modern crowd. Unfortunately, the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many of the old hutongs of Beijing disappeared to make way for modern streets and skyscrapers. This caused an outcry for legal protection of these historic neighborhoods in the latter part of the twentieth century. Many hutong areas were then given protected status. Nanluoguxian has been one of these protected areas since 1990 and is sure to be around for tourists to enjoy for years to come.

    I'm excited to explore these neighborhoods and see what makes Nanluoguxiang a must see by so many people.

                                                                                                            -Taylor

SWFC & National Museum of China

   I have never been to China before deciding to attend this field study. I am very intrigued and interested to know how the culture of China is shaped how it affects us all and also their very culture itself. I look forward to seeing the different variations of food culture and different amusements and  architecture . For many years and I've always have been interested in China, especially being very interested in martial arts because I grew up doing it.  The Shanghai world financial center is one of the tallest buildings in Shanghai. According to the Shanghai world financial Center official website it is Located in the Pudong District of Shanghai, advancing China’s most rapidly developing city, the Shanghai World Financial Center is a center for information as well as financial services. Here information and finance, the two great currents shaping the 21st century world converge and generate a powerful magnetism.  It was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed by the Mori building Company, with Leslie E. Robertson Associates as its structural engineer and China State Construction Engineering Corp  and Shanghai Construction (Group) General Co. a nteresting enough I thought this financial center was actually a big financial center to say the least, but in fact it is actually multitude of things. It consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and ground-floor shopping malls. I will attempt to shop their! Among this amazing skyscraper and all of the other beautiful buildings in Shanghai, The National Museum of China seems to stick out a lot since they do not only feature Chinese relics or architecture and history, they also feature a multitude of paintings from France. When I looked at their website I saw that they were French painting and I was interestingly dragged to it and question myself why. Although the website was very vague, I hope to learn why they feature these French arts and how this became to see many beautiful compositions. As I took a art history class at Rollins College my first summer semester there I became very drawn to art so this will be a very exciting experience that I hope to share soon. To meet China will be a very exciting adventure filled with knowledge and great sites. On economic standpoint China seems to be very interesting compared with the US since most of the products we  consume are made there. Overall I am truly excited and anticipate the journey that awaits so that I can begin sharing all my experiences.

Shanghai and Beijing are two cities that are very important to understand China and its development throughout the years. I don't know a lot about China, but I know that very important events throughout recent and ancient history happened in these two major cities.

An example is Tiananmen Square, which I have studied before and am very interested in getting to know more about it. Also, I am an economics major and it is very important to understand China given that it is or will soon be the biggest economy in the world.

The city I am forward to seeing the most is Shanghai because I have heard great things about the city. I imagine Shanghai to be a modern a very modern city, reflecting how good has been doing recently. Finally I want to understand better the chinese culture and try original chinese food.

Mao's Mausoleum and the Venice of the East

          Mao Zedong, the Chairman of China's Communist Party (and therefore head of China) from 1945 to 1976, rests in a crystal coffin in an enormous mausoleum, surrounded by a Memorial Hall. The Hall is located in the center of the famous Tiananmen Square, in the center of Beijing. The construction of the mausoleum represented the diversity of the people of China. With contributions from more than 700,000 people from across the country and materials from all across China, the memorial was built in less than a year. Hundreds of people line up every day outside the Mausoleum to pay their respects to the Chairman. Ironically, Mao requested that his body be cremated upon death; it was instead, embalmed and now rests in the mausoleum.

Zhouzhuang is a village near Shanghai that sits entirely upon buildings and homes built over water. Much like Venice, Italy, the townspeople get around using canals, boats and bridges. Though many of these water towns are common and popular in Chian, Zhouzhuang is the oldest and one of the best well-known. The town is more than a thousand years old, with pieces froevery dynasty and era of Chinese history. Though it's commonly known as a tourist location, the town is more than a thousand years old, with pieces from every dynasty and era of Chinese history. Because it is a common tourist location, however, it can get crowded with these visitors and some aggressive souvenir salespeople have been known to spoil visits.

I do not know much about China, her culture, nor her history. I really only have assumptions based on meeting some people from China, a semester at school, what I have seen on television and the two areas that I will be presenting during our excursions. I am looking forward to discovering first hand about China. During my research into the Peoples Square, I learned a little about its history, but more surprisingly I learned about the Tea Ceremony Scam.

This took me by surprise, how prevalent it was and how smooth they operate. I actually look forward to seeing it in action, but of course I will not participate (I don't like tea anyways). The Chinese people I have met in the past have been a very quite and unassuming. Almost to the point of being shy. But to be a scam artists takes boldness. I am not saying that the Chinese are not a bold or brave people, just that this type of behavior is not one I would have associated due to my limited interaction.

Another area of interest is in the food. It is my understanding that what I consider Chinese food has been very "Americanized". Although I have been recommended not to try the street vendor foods because my body may not be accustom to the local fare, it may be hard for this food junkie to resist. But this could be an opportunity for me to change my eating habits. I have recently been diagnosed with high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. My weaknesses are cheese and white breads. And red meat. I have been trying to adapt to a new eating lifestyle but have found great difficulty in changing. While I am in China, I will have an opportunity to be more mindful of what I eat, while also being denied some of the foods I find difficult to resist.

A friend of mine brought up another point. He asked me to count how many times we can see the Sun especially while in Beijing.The air quality in China is nothing like what we have here in the United States. There are apparently many mines and a lot of construction going on, This has led to a lot of dust particles that prohibit the chances of seeing a clear and sunny day. I will probably be bring a mask with me now that I know this.

Overall I have many assumptions about China. It is almost time to see what is true and what is not. And also what I missed.
Adam

Shanghai Museum - A Glimpse into China's Past

       In a big City Like Shanghai there are many museums, or so I am told. There is one Museum known as the Shanghai Museum, which has a very modern outward appearance, but inside it is contains many ancient relics of China’s past. According to their website, www.shanghaimuseum.net, there are eleven galleries that showcase many types of art including sculptures, paintings, and calligraphy. Some sculptures are made from a popular mineral known as jade. Jade is a medium chosen by many artists and sculptors for its beauty and meaning in Chinese Culture. Jade is said to even contain healing properties. I will be particularly interested to examine the Jade art. I have always admired it for its natural beauty.

       Museums are the window through which we look into the past. I like museums because they often house the proof that the past actually happened. You and I were not in the past so we cannot testify to its existence. Without the artifacts housed inside of museums we could never really verify that the past even occurred. Without museums we would never really know what has come before us, if anything at all. So a visit to the Shanghai museum will be a glimpse into China’s past. Consider the Jade Exhibit, no doubt will there be priceless artifacts from the past, each with a unique story of how it came to be. With that story and that artifact comes a physical link to the past that is otherwise completely gone.