On Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, we took our final exams for Public Health and Chinese, wrapping up the first part of our trip in Beijing. After our exams were over, our friends in the 8 week programs departed for their long weekend trip while the Wanxiang Fellows stayed in Beijing. During our last couple days in Beijing, my friends and I took the subway to Summer Palace and Pearl Market. We also tried Hot Pot for the first time which was amazing!
Our last day of class with our Chinese professor
On Saturday, we all checked out of our dorms at Peking University and began our trip to Hangzhou. We took the bullet train, which was a great experience. The train traveled approximately 300 km/hour, yet the ride was so smooth that you could barely feel that you were moving. I spent a lot of the train ride watching out the window, looking at the many mountains, small towns, and large cities that we passed through.
Today wraps up our first full day in Hangzhou and it has been amazing. The city is absolutely beautiful and is much different from Beijing. From what I have experienced so far, it has a lot more green scenery and water, and is slightly less crowded. Today, we got a tour of West Lake, The Hu house, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacy, a Pagoda, and Buddhist temples. It felt as if we fit five days of touring into one, but that’s okay because we are making the most of our time here.
Hu’s Garden
I also enjoyed interacting with the Wanxiang Polytechnic Student Ambassadors. They joined us on our tour today and also hosted a welcome dinner in the evening. I am looking forward to spending more time with them and hopefully creating long-lasting connections and friendships. I will be in Hangzhou for approximately then next two weeks, and then off to Shanghai! Until next time.