Heriberto Sedeno visited China and Tibet in May 16, 2012. This trip was led by Virginia Bower, a Princeton graduate and adjunct Associate professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

1. HERIBERTO SEDENO JOINS THE
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE
SPONSORED TRIP TO CHINA
AND TIBET

2. Heriberto Sedeno visited China and Tibet in May 16,
2012. This trip was led by Virginia Bower, a
Princeton graduate and adjunct Associate professor
at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has
contributed to numerous museum catalogs and
exhibitions, a co-editor of “Chinese Ceramics: from
the Paleolithic period to the Qin dynasty. Ms. Bower
as an expert in Chinese art and archeology
contracted with Smithsonian Institute to lead this
cultural voyage to China and Tibet.

3. Mr. Sedeno left Austin to join other members of the
group in San Francisco to take the 12-hour flight to
Beijing. His exploration of Beijing, a 2,000-year-old
city, began at Tiananmen Square the symbolic heart
of China visiting the Forbidden City, seat of imperial
power during the Ming and Qin dynasty. He also
visited the Temple of Heaven where the emperors
once worshipped and the Great Wall of China (a
UNESCO World Heritage Site) at the Mutianyu
section of the wall, where he took a cable car up to
the partially reconstructed ramparts and walk along
the seemingly endless fortification over 4,000 miles
in length.

4. Mr. Sedeno also rode a rickshaw ride along the Beijing
Hutongs (the old imperial neighborhoods by the side of
the Forbidden City). There he visited a traditionalist,
communal life-style home of a calligraphist and his
family. Next stop, the Summer Palace, the previous
home of the Empress Dowager Cixi in late 19th – early
20th century, whose final act of power was to install Puyi,
at the age of three, as the last emperor of China. This
historic event was depicted in the 1987 biopic “The Last
Emperor of China”. Puyi’s life is shown from his ascent
to the throne in 1908 as a small boy, overseen the
collapse of his Manchurian Qin dynasty in 1920, to his
imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese
communist regime.

5. From Beijing, the travel group flew to Xi’an the
Imperial capital city of many dynasties. Xi’an is
located in the Shaanxi province along the Wei river
valley. It is also significant in history that this city
was the beginning of the “Silk Road” a 4,000 mile
trail ending in Damascus, Syria close to the
Mediterranean thus connecting with Europe. At
Xi’an Mr. Sedeno visited the world famous site of the
Terra-cotta Warriors. 7,000 life-size soldiers created
to guard China’s first emperor (Qin Shihuang 210
BCE) in the afterlife. He also took a leisurely walk on
top of the famous imperial walls, which fortified the
city.

6. Next stop, Chengdu, where Mr. Sedeno visited the
renowned Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, the
only such panda refuge in the world. Chengdu is the
provincial capital of Sichuan, famous for its agricultural
productivity and fine spicy cuisine. Paper money was first
circulated here in the 11th century, and financial institutions
remain a pillar of the city’s economy. Textiles also add to
Chengdu’s historic reputation for weaving fine silk brocades
which were traded on the Silk Road” to be enjoyed by
European royalty. Of important note, during World War II,
Chengdu became a base for US B-29’s that flew from India
over the Himalayan called the “Hump” to China.

7. Chengdu is the entry point to Lhasa, Tibet,
which will be discussed in another article.