Eva Cohn China

I woke up at 6 am.  Got on the subway to get to Beijing shoudu jichang, or the airport! It was quite the trek but I got on my flight to Guangzhou.  When I left Beijing is was about 20 degrees.  I was wrapped up in my sweater, scarf, and winter jacket. When I landed…

The blog has been a little bit quiet since I’ve been in Beijing.  I’ve seen all there is to see and I’ve done all there is to do.  On my last day here before leaving for Guangzhou, I tried Malatang.  Malatang is just three different ways of saying spicy: hot, numbing, burning.  Don’t worry though,…

I was originally supposed to be in a dorm but they overbooked so for the same price they put me in a 3 person room.  It’s quite nice! I have two nice roommates but we are all on different schedules so we haven’t even said anything to each other yet.  However, I actually met a…

I decided to re-visit Houhai Lake to read by the now frozen lake. (If you look at one of my first blogs you can see it unfrozen.)  It was nice to see people ice skating and ice-chairing…I’m not quite sure why or how but Chinese people seemed to love skating on the ice with these…

This is the year of the horse.  The Chinese New Year is celebrated very differently than what I expected.  This holiday is predominately family centered.  There are no parades or lots of extravagant decorations in Beijing but it is one of the most important holidays in China.  At the hostel, I watched the infamous CCTV…

China’s National Museum is a massive 3 story building filled with all sorts of interesting exhibits.  I’ve been there once before with my foreign policy class to look at one of their largest exhibits about China’s history from the last dynasty until the present. However, it’s pretty cold outside so I decided to spend the…

When coming to Beijing, or anywhere in China for that matter, it is hard not to notice the smog.  As you walk out of your apartment, hotel, or hostel, you judge the day by the level of smog.  Clear blue skies and high visibility- it’s going to be a good day!  Grayness and barely able…

I had a nice stay at the University of Geosciences Convention Center Hotel across the street from my old university, but now it’s time to move on.  So goodbye hotel… …and hello Peking Yard Hostel! This is the lobby/lounge area.  It is quite nice and filled with large, comfy couches.  I am currently staying in…

Before heading off to the airport, my Dad ate one last 煎饼 (jian bing).  It’s made like a crepe but has sauces (some spicy and some not), a crunchy cracker type thing, and some greens.  It’s a great breakfast food/snack/on-the-good meal.   (I think he liked it!) For the next 20 days I am by…

On Monday, my Dad and I hired a driver for the day to take us to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.  Although I have been to the Great Wall before with my program, I wanted to make this trip just as special.  As I was thinking about how to go about doing that,…