by Lana Joyce
Pearl Tower:
On the third day in China, we started the day off by heading to see the Pearl Tower. The Pearl Tower is 1536 feet tall, being one of the tallest and most prominent towers in China. After admiring the exterior of the tower, we went inside and traveled to the observation deck. The observation deck is the second tallest viewing point of the tower at 253 meters tall. From the observation deck we had a chance to explore, take pictures, and more. During this time, my group decided to take lots of pictures, visit the highest viewing point at 263 meters, and browse the souvenirs for sale. After the group had a chance to explore, we all came back together in order to exit the tower. We took a glass elevator down to the bottom, allowing for a chance to see the descending view. Overall, this Pearl Tower experience was filled with tons of picture opportunities and historical learning.
Museum:
Within the Pearl Tower at the end of our experience, the group explored a Shanghai history museum. Walking throughout the museum gave the group a great opportunity to learn about various parts of Shanghai history. Within the museum a variety of objects were on display such as cars, figures, artwork, and more. Overall, this museum walkthrough gave the group the opportunity to learn about Shanghai history throughout time by viewing prominent artifacts and figures.
Food:
Today the group shared two meals together. We ate lunch in Shanghai at a small restaurant. At lunch, we were served a variety of family sized dishes to share. All of the dishes showcased popular Chinese cuisine such as beef dishes, chicken dishes, lettuce dishes, and more. The group ate dinner in Nanjing at a medium sized restaurant. At dinner, we were also served a variety of shareable Chinese cuisine dishes. Personally, this restaurant experience was my favorite, due to the chosen dishes that were served. We were given large portions of many different dishes such as dumplings, noodles, duck, and more. Overall, both lunch and dinner restaurants beautifully represented each city and their tasteful cuisine.
Train:
Half of today was spent in Shanghai while the other half was spent in Nanjing. After the Pearl Tower experience, the group was transported to the Shanghai train station. After making our way through security and ticketing, we took our seats on one of the many bullet trains in China that would take the group to Nanjing. I felt that this train ride was a fascinating experience because it provided me with a new perspective. In America, long distance ground public transportation is not encountered very often and usually only seen in larger cities. Although today, I learned about how China had a widespread, popular ground public transportation system. Not only did China have this advanced transportation system, but they also had high speed bullet trains installed. After around an hour on the train, the group exited and began on the next part of the Chinese language trip in Nanjing. Overall, this experience allowed for the group to learn about China’s advanced systems, learn about China’s high-tech systems, and see some new scenery on the way to Nanjing.
Temple:
The group’s first stop in Nanjing was the Confucius Temple. This temple is a historical site dedicated to Confucius, a great Chinese philosopher and educator. The original Confucius Temple in Nanjing was constructed in 1034 during the Song Dynasty. It was built to honor Confucius and serve as a center for Confucian studies and education. Once inside this historical site, the group spent some time wandering the grounds, viewing the temple and surrounding scenery. After our time viewing the temple, the group was allotted time to explore the surroundings streets and shops within. My group decided to step foot into a variety of stores such as multiple jewelry stores, souvenir stores, perfume stores, and more. This exploratory time allowed for the group to fully experience the culture and bright activity surrounding the Confucius Temple. Overall, our time spent at the Confucius Temple led to historical learning, meaningful ancient Chinese architectural sightseeing, and an outlook into Nanjing nightlife.
