Michael Vang summarizes his travel study trip to China, which included visits to major cities like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Xi'an, Shijiazhuang, and Beijing. Some highlights included seeing pandas in Chengdu, beautiful scenery at Jiuzhaigou National Park, exploring the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, attending a week of classes at Hebei Normal University, and hiking a section of the Great Wall. Overall, Michael had an enjoyable experience traveling around China with classmates and getting immersed in the local culture and sights.

1. China Travel Study Michael Vang

2. Hong Kong Stayed at a 5 Star Hotel in Hong Kong Rooms were really nice Had a nice pool outside Next to lots of shopping centers

3. Hong Kong Had dim sum for breakfast at a nice restaurant The food was really good Our first taste of food from Hong Kong

4. Hong Kong Went to the top of Victoria Peak Had a really good view of the scenery and city We drove passed the gate of one of Jackie Chan’s Houses in Hong Kong Was the first tourist site we went to in China

5. Hong Kong Went to a site with a lot of statues of the Gods Got to touch one of the Gods for luck Rained a little while we were there Had a lot of statues to look at

6. Hong Kong Went to Ocean Park Had a lot of things to do there Went on rollercoaster and other rides First place where we got to see pandas Had a good water show

7. Shen Zhen Stayed the night in Shen Zhen Met Bob who was very “cool” The translation for ceiling was messed up as “small pox” Massage was good there Meal was good Airport wasn’t too much hassle

8. Cheng Du Arrived in Cheng Du and met our local guide Rosa Flight wasn’t too bad Had lunch at a local restaurant and celebrated Jeremy’s birthday

9. Cheng Du Got to see the pandas in Cheng Du at the local panda exhibit Seeing the red panda was really something new We finished up by seeing other sites there then flew to our next destination

10. Cheng Du

11. Jiuzhaigou Arrived in Jiuzhaigou way up in the mountains Flight was different since we landed on the mountain side Stayed at a nice hotel in the lower areas of the valley

12. Jiuzhaigou Left the hotel and started our day in the valley Took the bus up to the different parts of the valley Saw the different mountains, lakes, and etc.

13. Jiuzhaigou Went to a national park in the area Viewed 3 different sections of the park Some people paid a fee to take photos with the tradition clothing from there on Had a nice hike The water there was really clear

14. Jiuzhaigou

15. Jiuzhaigou We didn’t get to see the Yellow Dragon Mountain due to the snow We ate lunch at a nice restaurant Went to the airport to get ready for our flight Said our goodbyes to Rosa and flew to our next destination

16. Xi’an Arrived in Xi’an Met our local guide Maria Ate lunch at a local restaurant Headed off to one of the museum in Xi’an Saw a lot about the history of China

17. Xi’an Went to the city wall and rode the bikes around the entire wall Took us around 2 hours along with taking photos Went to the theatre in the evening and tried a lot of different kinds of dumplings Saw a lot of very nice performances

18. Xi’an Went to an exhibit where they make potteries, statues, and decorations Later on we went the hot springs then to the Terracotta Warrior Museum All very interesting sites

19. Train Ride We rode on the train from Xi’an to Shijiazhuang We played card games and talked majority of the plane ride then fell asleep at midnight Woke up early in the morning to get ready to get off the train Successfully moved all the luggage off with no trouble

20. Shijiazhuang We finally arrived in Shijiazhuang and headed to Hebei Normal University We ate breakfast at KFC and it was different Checked in to our rooms and attended a press conference later for our arrival The biology students came to meet us and show us around town

21. Shijiazhuang We stayed on campus for one week We attended classes every morning and had a few afternoon activities such as painting We also went to the variety show at the new university We went to one of the temple sites near there Throughout the week we hung out with some of the students there and made new friends The week came by fast and we soon graduated out of our class Our professors were very nice We received certificates for attending the university On our free day we went to a temple and spent our last day in Shijiazhuang We then had to say goodbye to our new friends we made As our last morning came we left on a bus to Beijing

22. Beijing We arrived in Beijing and met our local guide May Went to go eat lunch and celebrated Lacey’s Birthday since we didn’t have time at the university Went to Tiananmen Square then the Forbidden City We then tried some high quality tea at a teahouse And then we ate at a local restaurant and then headed off to our hotel afterwards to retire for the night

23. Beijing The next day we headed off to the Great Wall We hiked up for about an hour and a half, a few of us made it all the way to the top It was a great experience After lunch we headed to the Summer Palace It was way bigger than the Forbidden City Then we saw the Beijing Olympic stadium and the water cube from the 2008 Summer Olympics This finished off our day The following day was a free day where we went to the Silk Market and spent all our Yuan

24. Back Home We flew back on many long flights back to the USA I really enjoyed the trip to China It was a great experience and I encourage others to experience it It was very fun hanging out with the classmates and professors This trip was a lot better than my expectations And I’m going to miss China!!