Upper School Mandarin Chinese Students Visit China

The saying goes, “if you want to see the past 100 years of China, go to Shanghai. If you want to see the past 1,000 years of China, go to Beijing. But if you want to see the past 5,000 years of China, go to Xi’an.” Over Spring Break, 18 students and 3 teachers spent 10 days in China, where we immersed ourselves in over 5,000 years of history. While our journey did not allow time for us to visit Shanghai, our itinerary was more than packed from visiting Beijing and Xi’an. 

Our first day of adventure began in Beijing with a trip to the Temple of Heaven. There, we met with a Tai Chi instructor, who taught us the fundamental steps of the practice. Then, we visited a local hutong, or alleyway, and learned the basics of Chinese calligraphy and knot-tying. Despite the initial challenge of figuring out how to create the complex knot structures, we ended up successfully creating our own knots for us to keep as souvenirs. 

The next day, we had a Peking Opera experience. We watched award-winning performers, painted our own Peking Opera-inspired masks, dressed up in vibrant traditional costumes, and some people even got their faces painted in the Peking Opera style! Did you know that colors are symbolic in the Peking Opera? Red masks represent loyalty and chivalry, blue masks represent strength and courage, while white masks represent villains.

We began the third day with a visit to the International School of Beijing (ISB) and shadowed local students. While I wasn’t expecting to spend time in a classroom during break, I enjoyed my time making new friends from across the globe. Once our visit to ISB concluded, we were whisked away to a karaoke bar. Even though our singing might not have been on par with Illumina’s, I’d like to say we were pretty close. We ended the day with hot pot at the viral Hai Di Lao restaurant, where we cooked our own meat in delicious broth. 

Our fourth day in China marked the end of the first half of our trip, and what better way to spend that than by hiking the infamous Great Wall of China! As we took a cable car up to the starting point of our walk, we marveled at the sheer length of the wall. From our view, the wall seemed to extend eternally; I can’t possibly imagine the measures it took to build it.

After, we visited the Summer Palace, where the emperor and the Empress Dowager Cixi, known as the Dragon Lady, resided during the summer months. The beautiful scenery and the warm breeze provided a vacation-like atmosphere—it was almost as though the area was paradise! 

The next morning, we had to wake up extremely early so we could catch the high-speed train to Xi’an. Despite the two cities being over 1,000 kilometers apart, the train was able to turn what would have been an 11-hour drive into a 4-hour trip. Once we arrived in Xi’an, however, we hit the ground running once again. We visited the Terracotta warriors, an “army” of statues created to protect the Qin emperor in the afterlife. After seeing row after row of unique soldiers, we got to create our own with the assistance of a master, whose father had previously been featured in documentaries. 

The sixth day of our trip was dedicated to the beauty of Chinese art and architecture as we visited a mosque, city wall, and folk art museum. Additionally, we watched a 10-minute water fountain show and spent the evening exploring a shopping area in Xi’an. 

The seventh day was our last day in Xi’an. We spent part of it visiting a village where, instead of building houses, people built cave-like structures in the soil. We learned Chinese paper cutting and got to try all kinds of dishes made from the local harvest. Later that day, we went to the Muslim Quarter, a bazaar filled with souvenirs. After watching a puppet show, we were set loose for two hours to practice our Chinese communication skills by bargaining with local vendors. 

Finally, on our last day in China, we took the high-speed train back to Beijing so that we could visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Despite the cold weather and fierce wind tunnels, I still found myself wowed by the architecture and culture that surrounded me on my last day. 

Our trip to China was unforgettable, and I am so grateful for the privilege to visit a country so rich in history and culture. Before the trip, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever go to China if not for a school trip. Now, I can’t wait for the opportunity to go back. Every day was a different expedition, and 10 days felt too short. More than these experiences, however, traveling with this group helped me bond with people from other grades as we created memories only we could share with each other. I have been hoping for a trip like this since I began studying Mandarin five years ago, and I feel incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity.