From Ms. Bilodeau, Tuesday, April 8, 2014:
We left Beijing at
5:00 am this morning! Do you realize that means we woke up at 4:00 am!! Our
three days in Beijing have gone by too quickly. Beijing is a huge city. It is
impossible to see everything on such a short stay but we managed to see a lot.
Every place of interest we visited has been built on a monumental scale with a
great deal of thought to detail. It's mind boggling to think of what went on
during the construction and design of the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, the
Forbidden City and the Hu Tang area. Well, Beijing 2014 is no different - wide
avenues, well planned pedestrian ways, stunning architecture ... Most
definitely a world class city. The girls enjoyed every moment, read their blogs
to hear more!
That sounds amazing, I only know what I know from pictures, but to experience the great monuments in person can be no less than beautiful. We're all pretty jealous over here, best of luck for the rest of the trip. -CM
ReplyDeleteWaking up so early seems like a small price to pay for such a great trip, I'm so glad you are enjoying your trip of a life time.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like so much fun. Waking up at 4 is worth it when you see such beautiful sights
ReplyDeleteWaking up at 4 is so worth it. It sounds like you guys are having an amazing time, I wish I was there. Between pictures and descriptions my mind is blown, it sounds like an amazing sight.
ReplyDeleteMs. Bilodeau, I can see that you are on the move; as is the nature of study tours I guess. Our trip was the same last year in the South. We would be in one massive city of five or six million you’d never heard of for a night, then we’d be packing our bags and off to the next in the morning. Though it may have been a little hectic, I’m really appreciative that we did it. At the time it was exciting because we were always on the move, and in retrospect it enabled us to see a lot more of China.
ReplyDeleteAltering subjects, I’m sure Beijing was a fantastic impressive city. Shanghai and Hong Kong certainly were for us. They clearly demonstrate that China most definitely is not a backwater place any more, but a large powerful country on the rise. I never fully was able to understand Chinese growth until I got there. You’re right, the infrastructure is amazing. The highways are massive, the subway systems are from like out of Star Trek, and the buildings are huge. If you haven’t already, I anticipate you guys will see an enormous amount of cranes as you venture out of Beijing and more into the suburbs/satellite cities, a clear indicator of China’s growth. Our tour guide in Nanjing once joked that the National Bird of China ought to be a crane because there are so many of them around. Also I was enamored in the fascinating blend between old and new in China’s cities. From my understanding, Beijing has tons of that. And by old I mean very old and by new I mean very new; similar to the differences you see in European cities but even more extreme. That really gives you a neat contrast we unfortunately aren’t able to observe and appreciate in the United States. In China, the close proximity, contrast, and juxtaposition between old and new buildings really gave me a sense of the different dynamics of Chinese culture, in once sense rooted in traditional Chinese Confucian values and on the other hand rooted in modernity, market capitalism, and growth. Last year I really enjoyed observing this trend from the highway, viewing the country from the road. I urge you all to do the same. There’s no way to observe what the country is really like than the bus or whatever mode of transportation you will be taking to get around places. Have a fantastic rest of your trip and I look forward to hearing how you’re stay in Zibo goes. Doug.
I would have been fine waking up that early if I had the chance to see china as you guys are experiencing it!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind waking up early if i got to see all the places you went to. One place i have always wanted to see was The Forbidden City, it really sounds like a good experience !
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