Author Archives: jpp5547

An Experience Like No Other

 

 

May 7th – 11th: Beijing

 

       Arriving in Beijing was by far one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Leading up to the day before we left for the trip it really never hit me that I would be traveling China, experiencing a brand-new culture all the way across the world. Some of the wonderful highlights of this portion included the national Opera house, National Museum, as well as Tiananmen Square, but my most memorable experiences by far in Beijing were born through our tours of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The Great Wall of China is a 13,170 long monstrosity and engineering feat that stretches across the Northern portion of China. Standing at the bottom was extremely humbling, thinking about the near thousands of steps that would be conquered that day. All the soccer that I have played in my entire life could not have prepared me for the workout I received on that day. Thinking about the construction of the great structure is still mind-boggling to me. Looking out over the terrain as well as the height and design of the wall made it one of the most impressive marvels I have ever been able to experience (I refuse to say witness because it was so much more than simply witnessing).

       Carrying on in Beijing takes us to some of the most beautiful, elegant, and intimidating architecture I have been able to witness in my entire life. The Forbidden city is a cultural representation of the dominance the Chinese have in the engineering aspect. The 9,999 rooms of the Forbidden city, with its emphasis on Gold trimmings and massive red wood columns, all built along a central access blew my mind away. In one of my classes first semester at Penn State I was able to learn about the Forbidden city more in depth, but what I learned in the classroom was nothing compared to experiencing the sheer size of the site. An architectural feat that used no nails throughout but rather a Du-gong bracket system shows both the immense thought into the magnificence and elegance of the city itself.

May 15th – 19th: Yangtze River Cruise

       One of my favorite experiences on the entire trip occurred after traveling many hours on a hard sleeper train (something I never thought I’d experience). After departing from the train, we boarded a cruise that would take us down the Yangtze River to Chongqing while experiencing all that we could along the way. The Engineering feat that was most impressive was the Three Gorges Dam. The construction of this Dam was by no means an easy feat, with the diversion of immense amounts of water to displaced families due to construction, its hard to imagine the worth of the Dam itself. But through what I was able to experience and learn about with the Dam and all the good it has brought through electricity and flood controls; the price seems to be surely worth the reward. But even so, my favorite part of this cruise came from the mini-exploration of one of the Three Gorges. The Xi-Ling gorge had me staring up at the mountains for so long that my neck hurt by the end. The magnificent sights were a breath taking natural art hidden deep within the Yangtze.

May 19th – 21st: Chongqing

       Chongqing was one of the first cities we got to experience with heavier Western influences while we were in China. The city itself is extremely large, consisting of over 33 million people residing in the city and living in the surrounding areas. The hotel we stayed in was very unique to the surrounding area as while all the other buildings rose around us, our hotel dropped into the cliff leading to the river with the lobby at the top. While in Chongqing, the main focus over the few days was to learn more about the assembly lines that create the things that we experience every day without placing much thought into where they come from. We were able to experience two separate factories, one produced cigarettes by the millions in an impressive but scary fashion, making a sleeve of cigarette packs about every few seconds. But the most memorable experience was one that we were unable to take pictures of so I will have to be descriptive. Visiting the Chongqing Ford factory was something I never thought I would be able to experience in my life. We were able to walk in and see the combination of man and machine working hand in hand to produce a brand-new car every 45th second. The precision of each instrument as well as assembly line with automation moving supplies both above and around your feet blew me away. By far two of the most influential engineering features of the entire trip all jam packed into a mere few days in Chongqing

May 28th – June 1st: Shanghai

       The last place that we visited in China was the magnificent city of Shanghai. Entering the city after a long 6-hour bus ride made the experience all the better. Driving through the city lit up after dark really showed the character and diversity that made the city its own attraction. One of the coolest experiences we got to see was the Shanghai tower. This unbelievable piece of engineering reaches the highest points of the city looking down on everything around it. We had the unique experience where we travelled to the 219th floor to the observation deck and viewed Shanghai from a literal bird’s eye view. The idea of constructing such a building gave me chills as I stared up from the bottom, arching my neck a full 90 degrees. In addition to the Shanghai tower, we also got to experience Shanghai Disney. Already having visited Disney world in Florida, this gave me an entirely new perspective to the cultural influences a country has even on something that is known worldwide. One of the most satisfying experiences in Shanghai came during our free time in our experience at the Bund. The Bund is simply the viewing area across the river to see Shanghai in its full beauty at night. The pictures above do it far more justice than any words could. The experience that I had in China is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life and I am so grateful to have spent it with so many great people.


By JP Pluck (JPP5547@psu.edu)