In Beijing, we visited the extensive Forbidden City, built in during the Ming Dynasty. For centuries citizens were not allowed to enter. We also climbed the Great Wall of China, which was a surprisingly steep climb to even get to the top! For some odd reason, I always thought the Great Wall was flat where you could walk for miles and miles without feeling tired. I was mistaken. The Great Wall went up and down, like stairs; we didn't get too far. I originally wanted to walk a couple miles but soon realized that was not going to happen. We ended up walking probably a quarter of a mile until we turned around and went down the mountain.
On the third day, we went shopping in the city and were vendors would sell ANYTHING to you. And I mean anything. One woman tried to sell me a skirt... Yet, the majority of the vendors sold fake designer brand products like, Gucci, Polo and Louis Vuitton. After our time in Beijing we took a short plane ride down to Guilin. A relatively small town for China. About 1 million people currently live in Guilin. The city is beautiful and very clean. Everywhere you look you see a mountains and it has a very tropical feeling to it. Palm trees grace the sidewalks of the city and the humidity reminds me of hot summers in the DC. While in Guilin, we had the chance to visit the top high school in the whole city. Each class has an average of 60 students. Coming from SSSAS, it was a shock to see how one could learn in a class that size, yet the students were motivated and eager to learn.
Overall, the trip was a great experience. I was immersed in an entirely different culture and learned so much. I am so thankful for the experience and especially thankful for the two teachers, Profe Campbell and Mr. Yee, that went on the trip and did a great job guiding us throughout China. Read more about our experiences from Mr. Yee at China Be Trippin.
