Our Last Day in China

On our final day in China we headed first to the port of Tianjin. It was about a 2.5 hour drive. We got out walked around and were lucky enough to be able to watch a boat leaving the port.





Cliff and John take a seat on the dock of the port.



Nina and Adam walk around to check out the area.




Will and Nikola show how huge the port machinery was.





Danielle stops in front of the machines.





A birthday dream come true for Justin, spending his 23rd birthday in the Tianjin sea port.



Lindsay, Brandy, Adam, Codie, Justin, Brett, Robert, Jake, Logan and Caitlin.



Adam, Stephanie, Bridget and Kristen.




The ship is being pulled out by the other boat.



The group watches the action.




After pulling the ship out the boat plays bumper cars to turn the ship out to sea.




There are two boats involved in getting this ship out to sea.



We had lunch at Pizza Hut near the port then we went back into the city.



Next we visited a Toyota plant for a interesting tour through their just-in time production line.




The showroom of the cars they produce at this plant.



Ryan and Nikola with their guest hats on.



Bridget trying out the Rio.




Our tour guide describing the differences between the cars.





We stopped by the new Olympic soccer arena before stopping by a new shopping mall and ending our evening at the Future Children's Creative Arts Center of Tianjin. We split up into 3 groups to tour the center and all met back on the 7th floor for our final Alumni Banquet of the trip.



Codie and Nikola on the bus.



The lobby of the center.



The view from our banquet room.




Dr. Chow and Dr. Riley introduce the University video, and thank our hosts for their hospitality.








Before dinner began we were given a performance by some of the children and two of the teachers from the center.




One of the performers welcomes Dr. Riley.





As the night winds down we all just enjoyed each others company before heading home.




Nikola and Chris catching some sleep on the bus.

We have had quite an amazing trip, but I know many of us our

exhausted and ready to return home.

As we have returned safely from China, we have gained a number of life stories.

To date I have been able to catch up on all of the pictures. I hope you have enjoyed following along with our experiences.

Please glance back through the previous entries as I have recently added pictures to a number of the blogs.

The Great Wall

The entrance to the Great Wall

Today was one visit that many of us had waited the whole trip for, The Great Wall of China. We were all up and out the door around 8 AM. It was about a 40 minute ride to a remote area of the wall. Our guides take us to this spot instead of the wall in Beijing because there were fewer tourist.

There it is!

One of the towers on the wall.

Our guide describing the different directions.

Ryan stops to capture a picture of the scenery.

Caitlin photographs one of the gardens before the wall.

Rob made it through the maze first because he cheated and jumped the walls.

Jimmy, John, Justin and Nikola wander through the maze.

Everyone who found their way through.

Last pit stop before climbing the wall.

The Great Wall of China

It was nice, we pretty much had the wall to ourselves. After getting some information from the tour guide, we were set free to walk the thousands of stairs for an hour and a half. I think we found out how the Chinese stay so thin, we all had quite the work out.

At the begining

Dr. France didn't come with us because of a migrane so we made a little sign. Will, Lindsay, Kristen, Megan and Laura.

The small white spots are some of the students who took the eastern route.

Will climbs the small steps up into the tower.

Some of the students pose on the steps.

Kristen and Bridget on the Great Wall.

This place was amazing

Will made it to the top.

Bridget, Laura and Kristen on the way back down the wall.

When the old wall started there was only one guide wall so it became a little dangerous.

Laura and our Chinese friend

It was a long way up

Kristen calling her family from the Great Wall

Megan and Lindsay

Jimmy, Laura, Chris, Jake, Bridget, Lindsay, Kristen and Megan

Bridget on a camel at the wall.

Around 11 we headed back to the hotel for lunch then boarded the bus for the city of Tianjin. We went to visit the Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, where we spent a few hours before heading off to dinner.

We could make our own dumplings at the restaruant

A few of our hosts welcoming us to Tianjin

The restaruant was very elaborate.

Rob enjoys being a King for a moment with Brandy and Codie on the Emperors throne.

Adam is King

Our hosts gave Brett a cake for his birthday.

He even got to blow out some candles to celebrate.

After dinner we took a quick stroll through the Tianjin TV tower. The restaurant at the top of the tower rotated so you could have a 360* view of the city.

The Tianjin TV tower at night.

Tianjin after dark

Jimmy, Will and Rob stand with one foot on the moving carpet and one on the stable platform.

After an exhausting day of walking all over town, we checked into our hotel and had a quiet evening.

Mark and Logan wait for their room keys.

Tian Amen Square & The Forbidden City

The front of Tian Amen Square





The middle of the Square

Today we were up and moving onto our next stop in Beijing. We had a short flight and then drove about an hour into the city. Our first stop in Beijing was Tian Amen Square.




The front entrance of the Forbidden City




The military stood on guard, inside the entrance there was a large military appearance because a number of soldiers live here.




Dr. Riley and our Tianjin host Sal.




We got off the bus and walked through the square to the other end where the Forbidden City is located. We met up with a tour guide who walked us through the City.




These soldiers were practicing their stance.




This little boy wanted to be just like this soldier.




The main gate of the Forbidden City




View from Tian Amen Square




There is only one River in the Forbidden City, the Golden River, it is there to protect the area from fire. There is a marble path that runs through the city that was only for the Emperor. Anyone else found on the path was beheaded. The Empress was only allowed to walk on the path one day of her life, her wedding day. The center gate is also only for the Emperor as well.





The building on the left was only used three times a year for the biggest Chinese holidays.








The buildings must have 3 tier of marble due to Buddhist tradition.





Dragons are a pillar of Chinese culture.





This is the couple tree, because two trees form one at the top.








Our tour guide Jade gives the group some direction and information about the history of the city that is more than 600 years old.



One of the many thrones in the city.





Kristen, Mark, Codie, Nikola and Brandy

The view as we left the Forbidden City.

Waiting for the rest of the group outside the city.




Walking to the bus, after a long day.




The pond behind out hotel at sunset.



Bridget, Jake and Rob wait for others to walk over to dinner.


After visiting these two places we drove through Beijing and were off to Tianjin where we would stay for the evening. About 2 1/2 hours later we arrived at a remote business training center where we were the only people staying there. This hotel was located relatively close to the Great Wall, so it was an easier commute for our trip tomorrow. The grounds of this hotel were filled with gardens, a pool, a bowling alley, and a dance club. As hesitant as we were when we first arrived, the evening ended up to be a success. So far Tianjin is much different than where we've been. As our trip is quickly wrapping up, we all are eagerly awaiting the Great Wall in the morning.

Jiaotong University

Today the purpose of our class preparation, was a presentation at Jiaotong University. At 8:15 AM we headed to meet the students who were spending their holiday with us in school. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival in China. We started our day mingling with the students and then listened to the first lecture of the day. The first presentation we heard was from Guijin Zhaung about the origins of brand names. We had a short break and then watched 4 videos our groups compiled about Morgantown. Dr. Riley showed a University video and the Jiaotong professors showed one about their own university.

Intently listening to the speaker.

An introduction and welcoming from one of the Jiaotong professors.

Lunch with the Students

We then broke for lunch and walked across campus to the student union to have meals together. We ate in separate rooms with some Chinese students, allowing us some time to get to know each other.

The red team discusses advertising with some of the Chinese students

After lunch we split up into our small groups and presented our PowerPoint presentations in a discussion forum. Having these small groups gave us the opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences between China and America much more easily.

Kristen discusses Public Relations in the U.S.

After a few hours the groups came back together and each group announced what they had learned from the presentations.

Logan and another Jiaotong students explain what their group discussed.

Laura, Alice, Kristen and Bridget.

This entire experience helped to bridge some of the gaps between the cultures. Being able to ask the questions we had of students our age helped us see the similarities that exist. Before dinner the students gave us a tour of their campus.

Tina, Alice, Laura, Kristen and Porchia just before dinner.

Then we headed over to a hotel that is owned by Jiaotong University and had dinner with the students. We ended our day seeing the city at night with our new Chinese friends as we all look forward to a day off tomorrow.

Next post will be from Beijing after another flight on the 10th.

Terra-Cotta Warriors & The Wild Goose Pagoda

Today we started off traveling to see the 8th wonder of the world, the Terra-Cotta Warriors. The magnitude of the display was beyond belief.

These warriors are in the process of being repaired, then they will be placed back where they were originally found, with the others.

The Terra-Cotta Warriors are estimated to be 2,200 years old and were around during the Qin Dynasty. We started first watching a quick video and browsing through the gift shop. One of the farmers who discovered the warriors was in the shop to sign his book.

Pit 1

There are three pits in the area that have different types of warriors. Pit 1 has an estimated 6,000 infantry soldiers. They are arranged in straight lines facing one direction. All of the soldiers are different in appearance.

Danielle, Laura, Kristen and Bridget pose in front of Pit 1.

You can see the magnitude by looking at the size of the people around the outside.

The entrance to Pit 3

Pit 3 is the smallest of the 3 with 68 warriors and they are all head of the forces who face each other. These statues are led by a 4 horse chariot. There was a fourth pit found but no statues were discovered.

Inside Pit 3.

The chariot of the generals.

You can see the position of the hands, they were holding reins at one time.

Laura, Nikola and Kristen.

These are the soldiers still being repaired.

Our tour guide Jeff, Ryan, Brett and Nikola

Mark and Adam trying to stay out of the rain.

The museum building.

Pit 2

Pit 2 has over 2,000 statues and holds a mix of military forces such as quick response, archers and horses etc.

The group waiting for our directions.

The front of Pit 1

Brett, Ryan and Megan take a break after Pit 3.

Inside Pit 2

Some of the warriors were placed in glass cases for a closer look

We left the Terra-Cotter Warriors and returned to the hostel for lunch.

Justin, Rob, Nikola, Kristen, Adam and Jake in front of the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Brandy and Codie outside the pagoda gate.

The Wild Goose Pagoda.

Adam, Justin and Ryan.

Stephanie and Kristen

Caitlin collected our plastic bottles off the bus to give to this old woman.

She posed for a picture with Caitlin and Danielle then asked for money after we had given her over a dozen plastic bottles.

An hour later we were off to the Wild Goose Pagoda. There are 12 Buddhist temples in Xi'an. When walking in, there were two towers, one is the bell tower on the west and is rung in the morning. On the east is the drum tower which is played in the evening. We spent about an hour walking through the grounds of the temple.

Rob, Caitlin, Jeff and Lindsay back at the hostel.

The shopping market near our hostel.

First blue skys of the trip!

The dumpling restaraunt where we ate the day before.

Upon our arrival back to the hostel we were given 70 yuan and set free for the night off. Many of the students headed back to the market to do some shopping. McDonald's was on the top of the list for many of us as we have all started to miss American food. Burgers and milk shakes helped to bridge the distance between China and the United States. Tomorrow we will meet up with the Chinese students from Jiaotong, so tonight was an early night for us all.

Xi'an State wall and Government Dinner

We woke up on the 6th with another full day ahead. We had breakfast and some time to catch up on e-mails or sleep. Around 9 AM we met our tour guide for Xi'an, Jeff, outside the hostel. From the hostel we walked to the south gate of the state wall. On this visit to the wall we were given more information about the city from Jeff.

Lindsay and Adam on their bike built for two.

Nikola stops to looks at a piece of history.

Some of the bike gang

Bridget and Kristen take a break on the wall.

Rob, Ryan and Codie taking a breather.

Danielle riding her bike.

We spread out quickly.

Some warriors headed to work.

Kristen and Bridget are all smiles.

Dr. Chow getting some exercise as well.



Some of the group relaxing after our 8 mile journey.

The entrance to the South Gate.

The way the Chinese potty train.

When we first picked out our bikes.

The Xi'an wall is about 8 miles long, and shaped in a rectangle around the city. The Chinese used to build walls around the city for protection. The wall was built with a gate on each wall and each gate was built with a bridge tower, an arrow tower and a main gate tower. There are 98 enemy towers on the wall for protection. The west wall is the start of the silk road and the east side runs along the Yellow River. Xi'an was the capital of China for 1,100 years and 13 dynasty's. Xi'an is still considered the cultural capital of China. After learning some facts about the wall all 33 of us climbed on bicycles and took the 8 mile trip around the tower. This ended up to be quite a sight but we all made it, with a great story to come home with.

Lunch at the dumpling restaurant.

Next we traveled to the center of town by bus past the bell tower. We were given some time to wander through the local markets and practice our bargaining some more. We met back up around noon and headed to the famous dumpling restaurant for lunch. This lunch was full of a wide range of dumplings and at the end we had dumpling soup. We were told that if you find 3 mini dumplings in your bowl of soup you will have good luck. After lunch we returned to the hostel to freshen up for our governmental seminar and dinner.

Around 4:30 we all were dressed up and off to the Environmental Protection Office to hear Mr. Lee talk about his job. We learned about the province and how they are trying to clean up the environment. Mr. Lee gave us some presents including a cloth bag promoting going green.

Dr. Riley introduces Mr. Lee

Finally it was off to the Hyatt to have dinner with the governor of the Shaanxi province. This dinner was a test for our Chinese etiquette. There were 8 students randomly selected to sit in on the televised meeting between Dr. Riley and the governor. In this meeting the two discussed the cooperation between West Virginia University and the Shaanxi province. After the meeting we all had dinner in the room with the governor and 4 lucky students were able to sit at his table. At the end of dinner the governor gave us all a framed piece of art for which the province is known. He told us you could only find this item in the Xi'an area. After a wonderful evening that left us a bit humbled we went back to the hostel for the evening.

Dr. Riley and the governor converse via a translator about the cooperation of our University and China.

The beautiful table settings for dinner.

Awaiting the Governor

Introducing the presents he had given all of us.

Ryan displaying his gift with Mr. Lee.

Ryan sharing a drink with the Governor.

The whole group, before heading home for the evening.

Xi'an Alumni Association Dinner & Gate Entering Ceremony

John and Rob pose with two Chinese sales women at the airport, wearing the new craze in fashion in China.



Today we were up and packed at 6:30 AM so the bell boys could take our bags to the bus. Then we all had a western style breakfast before boarding the bus for our drive to the airport. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time, so many of us took advantage of the massage chairs in the airport. After getting checked in we had to say our goodbyes to Michael, Madam Wong, and Julie for this was the end of our trip with them. Our guides so far have have been wonderful, and I think many on the trip will leave with a few more friends then when we all started. We exchanged information, said our goodbyes and headed for Xi'an.





One of the guides welcomes Dr. France with some beautiful flowers.



After an uneventful flight we arrived in Xi'an where we would stay in a youth hostel. We were met at the airport by a number of people with signs and flowers for the professors; we had a very warm Chinese welcoming.



Dr. Chow annouces the schedule for that day to the students, in the meeting room of the Youth Hostel.



Our rooms in the Xi'an Hostel

We had an hour bus ride to the city, and upon our arrival we were greeted by some young adults. The hostel is above and beyond the normal youth hostels of Europe.



Evelyn and Lindsey in their room.



A picture of the first floor of Danielle and Caitlin's room.



The hostel gives us a chance to relax together in the common area. It is relatively new, yet built with the traditional architecture of China. We all were given our keys and went to discover our rooms.

Dr. Chow thanks our hosts

Next, we had some free time in the city before having an Alumni Association dinner with many of the former students of the Center for Chinese Business at West Virginia University.

Dr. Chow annouces the plans for the evening

Adam with a number of the WVU alumni.

Relaxing after dinner waiting for our next directions.

The excitement started after dinner when we all walked to what we were told was a very special ceremony that was performed for Former President Bill Clinton on his visit to Xi'an. This ceremony was the equivalent to being given the city key. We walked to the city wall where there was a crowd of people being held outside the gate by security. The group of over 30 walked right through security and we were able to experience another once in a life time opportunity. This is a very ancient tradition, and as Dr. Chow said he was ok to go through the wall because they gave him his visa. We had a quick tour of the South Gate of the wall then returned to the hostel.



Walking into our show, there was a crowd waiting outside.



He was annoucing the special program we had in store.



Walking across the draw bridge.





Some ancient traditions.

Part of our amazing performance.

The whole group after the welcoming ceremony.

Dr. Riley and Dr. Chow with there "visas" or keys to the city.

The steps to the wall at night.

The street by our hostel in Xi'an

The bell tower in the distance.

Exploring the State Wall.

Tomorrow we will be spending more time at the wall. So far this trip keeps giving us more exciting surprises, and apparently over here we're kind of a big deal. Since arriving in China we have been treated like royalty, and they have given us nothing but respect.