oh hey it's CHINA!

Overall, this has been an absolutely INCREDIBLE experience! I will never forget this trip for as long as I live! I am so lucky I had the opportunity to do this.

I learned not only about business in China, but about its history, and its culture. I learned more about China in the two weeks I was there than I would have ever learned in four years of college. If you ever want to really experience and understand a country, you must go there and see it with your own eyes!

There is so much opportunity in China for business majors, like myself. Now that I have been to China I can really decide if it is somewhere I want to live and work.

My only critique is that this class should count as a CA credit... I mean really? I just learned all THIS and I don't even get a CA credit? ;)

My favorite thing about this trip is that we were constantly doing something! While it was very tiring, I felt like I really made the most of China while I was there! Andy Scott even said that we have experienced more of China in two weeks than he did in two years!

Thanks to everyone! To those who were at home that supported me through this trip by reading my blog and offering enthusiasm, thanks! To those who came with me to China and are now good friends of mine, thanks! And to Wei-Chung, thanks for planning this amazing trip! You deserve a huge pat on the back for the success of this trip! Thank you!

Have a great summer!

Being in Tian'anmen Sqaure was a CREEPY experience!

First of all, this was the hottest day we have experienced in China so far, so when we walked into Tian'anman square, where there is nothing to provide shade, I felt like I was on an endless desert!

When we were there, we weren't allowed to discuss any of the events that happened there a few years ago... all the tour guide had to say was "Tian'anman Square can hold 1 million Chinese people."

There were officials walking around, under cover and some in uniform, listening to people's conversations so if people talked about it they could get arrested.

In China, there are a lot of markets where you can haggle for the item that you're buying, but that's no the only form of retail in China.

Sunlitun is like a modern outdoor mall. There are a lot of name-brand shops. While the stuff that you buy there is slightly cheaper than what you would pay in America, it's still pretty expensive. I definitely preferred haggling at markets! 

We had lunch with Andy Scott, a Juniata alumnus, who works in China!

He majored in Communication at Juniata, and now works in Marketing for a technical company that creates ID tags.

It was interesting talking to someone with a similar background to us about what it's like to work in China. He said that he used a summer program at Middlebury in order to learn Chinese after becoming interested in Chinese culture and history at Juniata. After that summer he hopped on a plane to China and never looked back!

He said the only thing he really misses about the states is that he can't find any good hot wings! He said everything else you would want you can pretty much find in China.

We went to see some Chinese doctors and get some advice. Chinese medicine, they say, focuses more on solving problems rather than symptoms, unlike American medicine (I took this with a grain of salt, I don't think they know a whole lot about American medicine).

The use only herbs to heal, rather than drugs. I definitely appreciated this point of view, but I don't think that herbs can heal everything.

Hangzhou is one of the only green tea growing towns in China. They grow the best green tea, and only sell it locally. (They sell the leaves). It’s only sold locally because one, it’s government controlled, but also because it takes a lot time to get the tea ready so they wouldn’t have enough in supply to meet the demand if they went more than local.

I always knew green tea was good for you, but now I know to what extent and why! Green tea helps your body digest and filter out antioxidants which can cause high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. We were shown a demonstration proving this.

In the demo, the woman put rice and hot water into a glass, then added a ton of iodine! The whole glass and the rice turned black. They she added one serving of green tea to it (meaning a pinch of leaves and hot water) and the iodine completely dissolved away! But, the rice was still black. Then she took one of the pills they sell, which has 5 servings of green tea in it and dissolved it into the rice with more hot water. THE RICE TURNED WHITE. It was amazing! And it all comes from the ground J

Green tea can help you dramatically lose weight, because it makes your fat easier to filter out of your body. I’m definitely going to start drinking more green tea!

After lunch we took a boat ride on West Lake, which is part of Hangzhou (Hahn-joo). I really like Hangzhou, it has more and taller trees and reminds me of Pennsylvania. People there were generally nicer, too. If I live in China I would like to live there.

Purple sand teapots are considered one of the treasures of China. Purple sand is great for tea pots because it holds onto the flavor of what you put it in. So after using a purple sand teapot for a couple weeks you only have to add hot water to get the tea flavor (don’t wash it with soap though, just rinse with water!)

There was a master purple sand teapot maker who died in 1993, he designed amazing teapots that are still being created today. He made a tea pot that floats, has an air hole as to stop the water from coming out mid-pour if you’re pouring, has a no-drip spout, the lid won’t fall off even if you hold it 90 degrees, and floats in water! It’s an amazing tea pot, but besides the fact that it’s extremely useful it’s also a beautiful piece of artwork.

Purple sand teapots aren’t cheap, (for China standards, for American standards it’s a steal). They had all sorts of sets or cups or pots you could buy.

Today was a really busy day! In the morning we went to see the pearl distributors of Wuxi, which makes most of its economy from the pearls. There are four different pearls: purple, gold, white, and pink. Gold is the most precious.

You know the pearl is real if you rub the pearl and dust comes off of it. Pearl dust is really good for your skin. People can use it in masks or take it as a pill for their skin. You can dissolve it in anything (even milk!) and you will receive the benefits.

In the afternoon, we went to see the biggest buddha in the world! It's located in a giant park with various statues and things going on. We had to take a trolley to get anywhere!

Within the park we went to 3 things:

1. Palace

We went to a giant, gorgeous palace which houses lots of beautiful statues and art! It was one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. In order to be respectful, you're not allowed to speak, and they make you wear shoe covers on your feet.

This sounds a little extreme, but once I entered I understood why. When you enter the palace the beauty of everything is overwhelming, and noise would have just ruined the moment. The palace is one of my favorite things I've seen so far.

Me and my zodiac :)

2. Water show

After the palace, we took the trolley to see a water show. It was magnificent! It's a GIANT statue with carvings on it surrounded by water, and water spurted up at different times to music. Then at one point they released doves which circled the trees, it was an amazing moment. Then at the top of the statue, a golden baby buddha comes out of the top and starts slowing spinning to see the crowd.

It sounds cheesey, but it was so cool! The music was great and it was a really really great moment!

3. Giant Buddha

The giant buddha is the biggest buddha statue in the world! It's the biggest because they created it standing, not sitting. The right hand is held up as to protect China from national disasters, and the left hand is at its side as to grant everyone's wishes.

It's made out of bronze, the whole thing! And it's seamless, and was welded really nicely.

It say on top of this giant staircase, which had 216 stairs. Because it is believed in Buddhism that human beings have 108 problems in their life, and 108 solutions. Therefore 216 stairs to the top!

I can't believe I made it to the top. It wasn't as hard as the great wall, but man it was high! But once you got to the top it felt great!

This morning we went to the jade market! Jade is really common in China. There is white jade, jedite, and jade. Jedite is the most popular form in China because of its history with the emperor!

The rock you can find jade in doesn't look pretty on the outside, so is often thought to just be a normal rock. It was used originally to balance a ship that was returning to China. Obviously all the rock had broken by the time they arrived, and they discovered jade!

The idea that jade can protect you is a popular one in China today. Many years ago, when women had bounded feet and therefore had a hard time walking, they would wear jade bracelets so if they fell the jade would protect their wrists. The jade would break instead of their wrists. Today, people wear jade near your heart and acupuncture spots because it is still believed that jade can protect your health.

You can tell it's jade by tapping it, if it has a round-sounding clink then it's real. Also, real jade semi-transparent, so if you see a bright green piece of jewelry, it's probably not all jade because they added coloring to it.

I wish we could take pictures, but we weren't allowed. There was a lot of beautiful jewelry for sale! 

At the end of the day we saw the Yangtze River, which connects Western China to Eastern China. We stood on the first all Chinese-made bridge! It's strongly protected today by guards because it's a symbol of China's power.

Inside the reception area, below the bridge:

After lunch we went to see the Confucius Temple in Nanjing. It's located on a large street of shops.

We went to the silk factory this morning!

Jiangsu is known for its silk making. Silk is a super-textile! It:

Dries quickly

Can't be ripped

Strong

Maintains the same temperature no matter how warm or cold it is.

Comes from a silk worm, which we use every part of so it's not wasteful

It's amazing everything that silk can do! You can use the silk to make not only clothes and scarves, but also comforters - which are really useful because they last for a while and prevent more allergens than cotton. They also maintain the same temperature all year round, so it keeps you warm in winter and cool in the summer.

You can eat the pupa of a silkworm and it has a lot of protein and is good for your skin! (I don't really want to eat it though, kind of gross lol)

You can also take silkworm soil (silk worm poop) and put it in your pillow and it can help ease headaches, decrease cholesterol, and tons of other things! I know it sounds gross, but all silk worms eat are mulberry leaves, so it's not unnatural.