Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations Visited: Beijing and Shanghai, China

Langages Spoken: Chinese

Words Learned: 你好 (ni hao)- Hello; 谢谢 (Xiexie)- Thank you;
再见 (Zaijian)- Goodbye

Welcome to China!!! Y’all, I’m so excited to show you this incredible country. It’s only going to be a quick stop, and we’re only going to get a small glimpse at life here. Don’t worry, though. I promise it will be filled with beautiful sights, incredible history, and plenty of excitement and adventure!

The Chinese civilization is one of the earliest to exist in the span of humanity, and it’s impact has roared through time creating many of the traditions and elements that even define humanity as a whole today. Dating back to the 21st Century BCE (That’s over 22,000 YEARS AGO), there is not much of the earth that wasn’t expanded to during China’s many dynasties. The Silk Road, beginning around 207 BCE, was one of the first major contact points between China and other countries in the East, and the Roman Empire and other major powers in the West. Through this network, goods were traded across the world in ways never seen before, and for the first time, the world became a smaller place.

There is so much to talk about, and not much time. I’ll touch back on the Silk Road later and other major global Chinese impacts. But first, let’s go ahead and dive on in. We’re starting in the capital city of Beijing where the Emperor himself lived and ruled at various points in history. You ready? Let’s go!

Beijing, China

Welcome to Beijing, the ancient capitol of China that is the third most populated city in the entire world. It has been known under various other names, most notably Peking. I came here with two primary missions: to see the Forbidden City which was the Chinese Imperial Palace from 1420 to 1912, and to hike Great Wall of China.I arrived late in the evening, so I didn’t see much when I got into town. I rested and prepared for the next few days. The hostel I stayed in here in Beijing was also just really cool, and I enjoyed just getting to relax in a traditional Chinese neighborhood for a few hours.

The next morning I hit the ground running. I got up and made my way straight to the Forbidden City. It is known to get really packed, and tickets can even sell out each day. I didn’t want to miss it! The Forbidden City is a giant complex that housed the Emperors of China for almost 500 years. It was named the Forbidden City because no one was able to enter or leave it’s walls without the permission of the emperor. Many of my students may remember visiting it on Google Earth when we learned about China last year, so needless to say I was excited to get to visit it in real life finally.

Nowadays, anyone can enter the Forbidden City (or now also known as the Palace Museum). Y’all… this place is HUGE. I spent over 5 hours wandering through all the halls and locations. I won’t begin to go into what each specific hall is used for, but the palace is divided into two major sections: The Outer Court (or southern section) used for ceremonial reasons and the Inner Court (or back palace) used for the emperor’s residence and daily life.

There is a series of gates and ceremonial halls going straight down the center of the palace. The main is the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and is the oldest standing wooden structure in China today. It was the main spot for any important imperial ceremony. Behind it are the Hall of Central Harmony where the Emperor would rest for ceremonies, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony were ceremonies were rehearsed in private. They’re absolutely beautiful to look at, and each has many examples of Chinese symbolism throughout. Check out some of the pictures below!

There are so many other incredible things to see here in the palace as well. There was a private theater for performances for the emperor and his family, 6 separate smaller palaces on both the east and west side of the walled city, and nowadays lots of exhibits on Chinese history and artifacts. I could have probably spent another 2-3 hours here, but my brain was getting overwhelmed with all the history and it was time for a break.

I left the north side of the palace walls and headed to the park across the street called Jingshan Hill. It’s well known for having a great view of the Forbidden City from above. It was nice to sit out and nature for a bit and see it from above. It really put in perspective how large the entire palace really is.

I ended the exciting day with a short class on how to stuff and fold Chinese dumplings at my hostel and then eating more food than I could stuff down. It was then an early bed time because tomorrow was the big day- hiking the Great Wall of China.

• 

• 

I was so excited when I woke up. I had to get up early to make my way to the wall with a tour I signed up with. The wall itself is thousands of kilometers long and there are different sections you can visit. The closer to Beijing, the more busy the wall is. This tour had us go almost 2 hours away to a section known as the Jinshanling Section which was built in the late 1,500’s.

• 

• 

• 

The Great Wall as a whole began to be built in the 7th Century BCE in smaller sections. It was built as protection against invaders and was continually added on up through the mid-1600’s as it was needed. Contrary to popular belief, you cannot see the Great Wall from space. It’s an incredibly large (but not continuous) construction, but it is also narrow and therefore isn’t going to be seen from that far out.

It was definitely worth the 2 hour drive out to the Jinshanling Section of the Great Wall because my group basically had the entire wall to ourselves, and parts of it had been completely untouched and non-renovated since its construction. Y’all… it was incredible. It’s exactly what you picture in your head, and just as impressive as you could hope. I talked about locations not always living up to the hype in my last post on Japan, but this one completely surpassed it.

Seeing and walking along this incredible human achievement with my own eyes was really humbling. Many people died in the construction of this wall over time, and many lives were also saved as a result of its strength. You could feel the history walking along it, and the landscapes around it were equally as impressive. The wall is primarily built along the ridge of the mountains for added protection. Invading armies would have to not only scale and pass the wall to attack, but also climb the exhausting and steep hillside before even getting to the wall. It really was brilliant strategy that history shows us paid off.

We walked about 6km on the wall itself and got to see the towers as well. Some parts of the wall were so steep that it looked almost like another wall itself to climb! The last picture below was the steepest set of stairs I’ve ever seen!

Walking the Great Wall of China will definitely be something I never forget, and I can’t wait to make it back one day in the future and see it again. I slept so well that night afterwards. I still had a few days left in Beijing and decided to slow down a bit. For months I had been walking 15-20km (9-12 miles) a day running crazily from one landmark and experience to the next and it was taking a toll on me. I couldn’t get enough sleep, I was constantly feeling a little sick, and it was affecting how I went through my day. It was nice to sleep in every day a bit, see one big thing, and then just relax (and even watch some Netflix!). Here is a snapshot of the highlights of the last few days in Beijing.

I went to the National History Museum of China one morning. It’s one of the largest museums in the world, and had a HUGE exhibit that went through the entirety of Chinese history from pre-civilization to modern day. I got to learn so much and see some beautiful artifacts. I can’t pretend that I remember everything I learned there (even the most excited learners can have a hard time focusing after a long time!), but it definitely helped me have a better understanding of places I have seen so far as well as the places I was going to during the rest of my time in China. There was also an amazing exhibit on the Silk Road which I mentioned back at the beginning of this post. They also had a few of the terra-cotta warrior from Xi-An here! I was happy to at least see some, since I wasn’t going to be able to make it there this journey to see the full thing. It’s definitely worth your time looking them up. It’s pretty impressive! Afterwards, I spent time in Tiananmen Square- a large open space outside of the Forbidden City that’s infamous for the protest back in 1989 where many protestors were killed trying to protest unfair rules and regulations.

I also spent a lot of time in the palaces and temples around the area. My favorite was the Summer Palace which I spent a full day just relaxing in the park and enjoying the beautiful lake, architecture, and weather. This was an Imperial Garden built in the Qing Dynasty back in the 1700’s. There were some amazing views and temples here to look at, including a really stunning and unique pagoda (the tower-like building below).

I spent quite a bit of time another day at the Temple of Heaven, a significant landmark of China and it’s culture. This was where Emperors would pray and hold ceremonies for a good harvest every year in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The temple is in another beautiful Imperial Garden. It has a really unique architecture-style as well. If you ever go to Epcot in Disney World, Orlando you can see a replica of this building in the Chinese Pavilion!

The rest of my time was spent wandering through smaller gardens (Beijing is FILLED with them!) and the hutongs- or traditional neighborhoods. The hutongs were so fun to just explore. Each street was small and beautiful, filled with hazy shops, red lanterns, and delicious foods!

Shanghai, China

My time in Beijing came to an end as all things must. It was nice slowing down for a few days, but I was excited for the next new city. Unfortunately, all of that rest wasn’t enough and I found myself pretty sick. Stupidly, I decided to still go out and explore despite having a fever, so I don’t have much to say about Shanghai. Once I got in town, I put my stuff down and headed out to see the famous Shanghai Skyline and walk along “the Bund” which goes along the water. Not my best decision- I definitely got more sick from it, but I got some beautiful photos!

Aren’t the buildings cool!? The skyline really lived up to the hype, and I was lucky with the weather. I stayed and sat for awhile since I really wasn’t feeling well enough to even walk around. I decided I needed to get some food in me, so I caved and head some American food that I normally don’t let myself have while traveling. I knew I needed calories and a full stomach to recover, which meant PIZZA HUT TIME! Y’all… I hadn’t had a real pizza in so long, let alone something that reminded me of home so much. And it. was. delicious. Belly full, I returned back to my hostel to get some rest.

The next day was a no-go. I was unquestionably sick when I woke up and I knew I had no choice but to rest. I don’t sit still well, though. I hate feeling like I’m wasting time of this adventure just sitting around doing nothing, but it couldn’t be avoided. If I had kept going, I was only going to get worse which meant I could have ended up seriously sick instead of just sort of sick. Despite the need for rest, I did leave my hostel long enough to get a coffee and a HAIRCUT. I hadn’t had my hair cut in over 4.5 months (Since I was in GERMANY on Christmas Eve!). I may have physically felt gross still, but that haircut made me feel so much better.

The next day I felt somewhat well enough to do a 1/2 day out on the town to see the main sites I still had left in Shanghai. There’s a beautiful historic center with stunning architecture and the City God Temple and the Yu Yuan Garden. I was pretty out of it today, so I won’t lie- I didn’t learn much today. BUT I still have some nice pictures.

My last day in Shanghai was a rainy one, and despite still recovering I had to check off my last major bucket list item for China- Shanghai, Disney! It was my last major park minus the one in California, so I knew I had to go while I could. This park is the newest Disney park, and it is so pretty! It has also my favorite castle of all the parks. I got to even meet Captain Marvel while I was there, see Mulan, and rode the coolest roller coaster of any Disney Park I’ve been too yet. Check it all out below!

My time in China was so short, and there are so many more places I wish I had had time to see. Getting sick definitely didn’t help either, but it happens. You just have to keep moving forward, and I definitely learned to take better care of myself for the remainder of this journey. I still have around 3 months after China until I return to the US, and that means that I need to really be better about being responsible and getting proper rest or I just won’t make it to the end.

China is an incredible country, rich in history and culture, and I know I’ll be back again one day to see the Great Wall again, visit Xi-An for the Terracotta Warriors, and explore the countryside more. For now the adventure continues back in South East Asia to a country that I honestly know very little about. Stick around and get some rest so you can join me when our plane lands in Vietnam next time! Until then,

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil