Guilin is most famous for it’s terraced rice fields.  Since the type of mountains found in Guilin are quite steep, this is the only practical way for locals to grow rice.  This adventure lasted all day and was my favorite memory from the whole trip! We had an early start because it would take 2.5…

The past few weeks I have been thoroughly preparing for my Chinese midterm.  We have already learned an entire text book so I was reviewing everyday for hours (hence me lacking on this blog).  However, all my studying paid off and I found out today that I received a 95% on my midterm.  Hours after…

After a stressful week, last Friday I walked to this nearby temple to find a quiet place away from all the hustle and bustle.  Heavy construction was going on next door to the temple, but once I stepped through the doorway, the beautiful trees and gardens buffered out the noise.    I think this man…

This afternoon, my friend (from Temple University) Justine and I decided to go to 书院门 (Shu Yuan Men) which is a famous Calligraphy Street in Xi’an.  There were shops after shops selling calligraphy brushes and paper.  Although I didn’t want to buy any, we had a totally blast checking out all the artsy stalls. We then…

Last Friday afternoon, a small group of us went to climb Lou Guan Tai.  This mountain is quite famous in Xi’an because this is where Laotze apparently wrote the “Book of the Dao”. Most of the people decided to take horses up part of the way (the locals were very convincing!) but my friend Meghan…

During my Chinese Literature class on Thursday, my professor explained in depth the three most common schools of thought in China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.  During this discussion, my professor noted that Eastern thought focuses on the collective, while Western thought focuses on the individual.  I knew this before, but it can still be a…

8:30pm every night near the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an City is the fountain show.  It lasts about 30 minutes and the fountain is coordinated to classical Chinese music.  I’ve already seen it twice and I absolute love it.  I become so relaxed just watching the intricate water show.  Plus, I’ve met some really nice…

I mentioned in an earlier post that the cafeteria’s in Chinese universities are not only delicious but cheap.  I took a leap of faith and ordered the custom made soup.  I’m sooooo glad I did! They cooked the vegetables and made it a little spicy for me.  It was so scrumptious and cost my $0.73! …

My friend Valerie took this wonderful picture of me in front of Canton Tower while I was in Guangzhou.  She’s back at her university and I’m back at mine but hopefully we’ll meet again one day soon!

Xi’an is an old city.  Old as in, it is one of China’s four great ancient capitals with over 3,100 years of history.  With that being said, the ancient Xi’an is very different from the modern day Xi’an.  However, these two dynamic sides still coincide together.  When Xi’an was the capital of China, the people…