Shijiazhuang

This is part of our Fourth of July celebration at an elementary school in Shijiazhuang.

Beijing

The army doing their drills right outside the Forbidden City

On the Great Wall of China!!

Beijing is the capital of China with a population around 14 million. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, tourism has really taken off. Sources say that in a few years Beijing along with China will be the number one tourist site in the world. Beijing has many things to do and see such as the Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China, the Olympic Green, Tiananmen Square and tons of shopping. You could spend years exploring Beijing but we only had a few days to see the best of the city.

Xi'an

A close up of the clay figures.
This sight was discovered by a peasant digging a well in 1974. Today the peasant's land in one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Excavations have discovered over 7,000 soldiers, and no two soldiers looks the same. Originally each warrior was colored with pigment and were holding a weapon. Today archeologist are still digging up new warriors.

The Terracotta Army

The Bell Tower in the center of Xi'an
This tower along with the Drum Tower was a way of warning and protecting the 30,000 people living inside of the city walls from outside intruders. The Bell Tower was built in 1384

Our hotel room in Xi'an

Xi'an is the ancient capitol of China. The history of Xi'an dates back to 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years. Today Xi'an is a very popular tourist city with such sites as the City Wall, Drum & Bell Towers, The Great Mosque and probably the most famous, the 8th wonder of the world, The Terracotta Army.

Guilin

Good ole' McDonald's

The Li River in Guilin

Guilin is a city in Southern China that is famous for the Li River and the karst mountain formations. This area has been inspiring poets and artest for thousands of year. This was our favorite stop along our journey.

Hangzhou

Entrance to Lingyin Si temple

West Lake

The famous West Lake in the center of town. This area was a favorite stopping area for Marco Polo along his long journey along the Silk Road.

Shanghai

The group at the conference at Shanghai Normal University

River cruise on the Huangpu River in Shanghai

Night market in Shanghai. Here you could find anything from chicken wings to fried scorpions!


Shanghai is the largest city in China with a population of over 14 million. Shanghai is a port city on the Yellow Sea. The name Shanghai means "above the sea". The colonial section of Shanghai which is known as The Bund is the glamorous, high living, and ultimately decadence area of town. Today Shanghai is growing at a rapid pace, new high rises are going up all over the city. Shanghai is an autonomous municipality, and recent explosion of economic and industrial development has made it one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

The Flight To China

Haz-vat crew on the plane after landing in Shanghai

The first leg of the trip was an 14 1/2 hour flight into Shanghai. After being checked by the Chinese Haz-vat team for Swine-flu symptoms, we were free to start exploring Shanghai...

Back In Kent

Well we made it back from our trip to China. The original plan was for Ryan and I to blog while we were on the trip, but due to a Communist government things got a little messed up. The Chinese government controls everything that is seen on the internet in China and unfortunately blogger.com is one of the restricted site. So now, 2 weeks later, we are able to finish our blog. Enjoy!
Ryan & Ryan

2009 Kent State China Study Abroad Trip

Back in August of 2008 I started working with Dr. Philip Wang, a professor in the Recreation, Park and Tourism Management program, on a study abroad trip to China. After many meetings and long office visits we finally put together a great trip. Our trip was offered to any Kent State student. Students were able to earn up to 12 credit hours on the trip. Classes included Intro to Global Tourism, Principles of Outdoor Recreation, Business Etiquette and a special topic class. The trip was a four week program that included one week of class work on the Kent campus followed by a three week tour of China. We left Cleveland on June 14 and returned July 7th. The idea of the trip was for students to learn about and explore everything that China has to offer. While in China we visited Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guilin, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang and Beijing. On our trip we visited such sights as The Bund, The Terracotta Army, the Reed Flute Cave, The Great Wall of China, the Olympic Complex in Beijing and the famous mountain peaks of the Guilin region, just to name a few. Not only were we seeing the sights we were also interacting with the locals. During the trip we volunteered at a Tourism conference in Shanghai, we taught recreational games to college students at several universities, and even put on a 4th of July party for elementary kids in a rural village. We stayed busy during the three week trip but enjoyed every minute of it!