Epics of India Course Diary : Week 1: Shanghai, Beijing, Lijiang... My Favorite Places!

Shanghai, China. I took part in the Journey to China 2014 summer study abroad program, where I spent a month of my summer traveling many different cities throughout China. Among the cities that I traveled to, Shanghai was the first and one of my favorites. The city of Shanghai is a relatively new city, becoming modernized within the last 20 years or so. The city is absolutely breathtaking with its mix of modern and traditional structures and I truly enjoyed experiencing its diverse culture. Being the first city I had traveled to, and the first time I had ever been out of the country, you could say it was a bit of a culture shock. With that being said, I had some incredible experiences in Shanghai, and visiting The Bund was definitely top on my list.

(Image information: personal photo of a group of Journey to China students at The Bund in Shanghai; photo from May 2014.)

Beijing, China. Another city that I had the pleasure of traveling to this summer was Beijing, the capital of China. This city was much different from Shanghai, in that it was an extremely old city with a lot of history. This was one of my favorite cities to travel to because of the amount of history. We got to travel to the Great Wall of China, which was the highlight of my trip. We grow up learning about the Great Wall all throughout the years of history classes, but nothing compares to experiencing it for yourself. It was breathtaking, and an experience of a lifetime that I will forever cherish.

(Image information: personal photo on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo of Journey to China students jumping on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

(Image information: personal photo on the Great Wall of China; photo from May 2014.)

Lijiang, China. Visiting Lijiang was one of my favorite parts of the Journey to China trip. This was the first city we had gotten to visit that hadn't been modernized. Lijiang has such natural beauty, and I was lucky enough to experience it first hand. We stayed in a hotel in "downtown" Lijiang, which had gravel roads and little huts all around selling hand made goods. The hotel was partly outdoors, and didn't even have air conditioning.. it was quite the experience. The culture was so different from the other parts of China because they lived such different, and much simpler, lives. My favorite part of this city was visiting the Tiger Leaping Gorge, a beautiful gorge within the mountains of Lijiang. The beauty of Lijiang is indescribable, and will forever remain my favorite place.