I definitely have a deeper appreciation and understanding of Chinese history and culture after this week, after visiting current and past capital cities: Beijing, Luoyang, and Xian. During what felt like a short time, we had the opportunity to visit many sites and to learn a lot. Learning more about the dynasties that ruled China before and about their contributions to Chinese society, especially those before the Qin Dynasty, allowed me to have a wider view of Chinese history. We learned more about royalty through the Forbidden Palace and the Terracotta Warriors, and about Chinese Buddhism at the White Horse Temple and Longmen Grottoes. Being on the Great Wall, seeing the Terracotta Warriors, and being in the Bird’s Nest in the Olympic Center gave me a greater sense of China’s extensive history and continued development and filled me with amazement as these were sites I had often wanted to see but had only seen pictures of in my textbooks and online growing up.
I continue to be amazed at similarities I see between China and Vietnam (which I visited for the first time last year). Whether it’s the large stone tablets on the backs of stone tortoises, architecture and traditions in Buddhist temples, dynastic exchanges of power and their consequences, or royal palaces and fengshui, I appreciate being able to notice these influences and more from Chinese culture.
When we got back to No. 9, it felt as though it had only been a few days since we met up there the previous week to depart to the airport. This week went by too quickly, but I’m excited to be back in Zhuhai with my host family and the students at No. 9 as we complete our final preparations for our performance.