The road
Every photograph that survived, 266 of them. Each one goes to the dispatch it came from.
So, it should be interesting to say the least and I’ll be sure to let you know how my first day goes.
CCM Intern
Every photograph that survived, 266 of them. Each one goes to the dispatch it came from.
2009-08-28Shipping OutI’m overlooking the runway as a slight drizzle falls over JFK.
Something I will never forget is the methodical but resounding cry of this woman who was selling tofu on the street.
Arrived in Chengde
2009-09-03Arrived in BeijingSince I emailed you at Narita, I boarded the next flight which I think was even more comfortable than the first. The chairs were weirdly shaped- with their backs resembling round pods.
2009-09-03Arrived in NaritaEven thousands of feet above ground you could tell it was a different world. Everything is so prim and proper, the land is so perfectly defined and divided..
2009-09-03Trip To ChengdeAs I write this we are climbing through the hills outside of Beijing on our way to Chengde.
2009-09-03Venturing Out in BeijingPeter and I set out to get lunch next, and walked into this huge cafeteria with a few hundred Chinese and not an American in sight.
2009-09-05Arrived in ChengdeAfter another couple hours on the road, we arrived at our hotel—the Chengde Puning Temple Hotel.
2009-09-05Trip to Chengde—The Great WallWe finally arrived at the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall of China, the best maintained part of the wall.
2009-09-16Chengde- 1st NightShortly after getting back everyone met in the banquet hall for a buffet-style dinner.
2009-09-16Chengde- Last NightThat night we were determined to find something other than a KTV bar, and took to the streets in a large group.
2009-09-16Mountain Resort- Encounter with an Ancient CaligraphistThe Mountain Resort is in the city of Chengde, in Hebei Province, and was where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty came in the summer to avoid the Beijing heat (the resort is known to be at least 3 degrees Celsius cooler than the city of Chengde itself).
2009-09-22Back in Beijing- Pizza and GenerosityIn the morning we visited the Puning Temple, in the same compound as our hotel. The main attraction was in a large, Buddhist temple overlooking the compound.
She was really interested in the fact that I had three sisters and such a wide spread in ages (13, 24, and 27).
Zoe
2009-10-08My Room- Shaoyuan 406This is my room; as you enter there is a bathroom immediately on your left which thankfully contains a western-style toilet, and a shower.
2009-10-08Studying LakesideToday I decided to walk to a nearby lake to find a relaxing and exotic place to study.
2009-10-08The Print ShopIn an effort to make my room feel homier, I decided I would print out some pictures of the trip thus far, and set out in search of a printing facility on campus.
2009-10-08The Summer PalaceOn an organized trip one Saturday, we went to the Summer Palace or Yihe Yuan in Chinese, which means “Gardens of Nurtured Harmony.” Not to be confused with the original Summer Palace, destroyed in the Second Opium War in 1860, the current Summer Palace started out as an expansive garden complex and later became the Summer Palace for the Empress Dowager Cixi.
2009-10-08ZoeThrough the program I was paired up with a language partner, who contacted me in the second week of September. Her name is , and after speaking on the phone briefly, we arranged to meet up.
2009-10-09Course OverviewAlthough I have been taking classes for a few weeks now, I have only recently settled into the feel of each course and the style in which the professor conducts it.
2009-10-09The Silk MarketThat night, seven friends and I (Emma, Arianna, Monica, Lihau, Jake, Ben, and Will) all decided to go the Silk Market, where we had heard you can get just about anything for dirt cheap.
2009-10-2760th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of ChinaThe buzz around campus and much of Beijing in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China began well over a month before its actual commemoration on October 1st, 2009.
2009-10-27Commuting in Beijing- the Good, the Bad, and the NewFor the first month, every Tuesday and Thursday my commute to work consisted of walking out Beida’s southwest gate, down Zhongguancun St.
2009-10-27Interning at Carbon Capital Management (CCM)I intern at Carbon Capital Management, a Japanese investment company which procures and manages low carbon technology projects throughout China (such as wind farms, solar farms, alternative energy developments etc…).
2009-10-27Wu TaoEarlier in the week, I received a call from , the son of Gung Gung’s (my grandfather’s) brother. He is therefore my Mom’s cousin and a first cousin once removed to me.
We entered a camp, with rows of Mongolian yurts of various sizes, bordering the open plain.
Riding out on the Mongolian Grasslands
2009-11-22Binhai Aircraft CarrierIn the classrooms and throughout the dorms of our 70-person international program, talk about a potentially monumental party began to surface.
2009-11-22Korean BBQ and Street VendorsOne evening, in search of a break from the campus dining halls, 6 of us set out to find a Korean barbeque restaurant.
We spent the next couple of hours climbing along one of the greatest achievements in history.
Cait Comes to Visit continued
2009-12-22Resonant Gorge- Camels, Sand-boards, and ATVS on the Gobi DesertThe second day we headed to the Resonant Sand Gorge where entertainment of all kinds on the dunes of the Gobi desert awaited us.
2009-12-22Riding out on the Mongolian GrasslandsOn the third day we drove farther into rural China to the Inner Mongolian grasslands. We entered a camp, with rows of Mongolian yurts of various sizes, bordering the open plain.
2009-12-22Beijing’s HutongsOne day after class, I was feeling compulsive and decided to go explore Beijing.
2009-12-22Boston College Social- BeijingOne Thursday night, the BC alumni China chapter met at one of Beijing’s Hilton Hotels; I, along with three other BC students studying at Beida and Professor Chapman (a BC associate professor and masters graduate) joined.
2009-12-22Chaoyang Acrobatic ShowOne evening some friends and I went to go see the .
2009-12-22Connecting with Ex-PatsOne weekend, I met with Bill Russo, a friend of my Dad’s at San Li Tun’s Bookworm, a very warm coffee bar/library.
2009-12-22Economic Trip to a Rural VillageAs part of my Rural Economics class, we took a field trip to a rural village just a few hours outside Beijing in order to observe first hand, the effect (or lack thereof) urbanization and modernization has had on rural economics and rural life in China.
2009-12-22Fang Mountain- Monkeys, Monks, and GondolasA week or so after returning to Beijing and resuming classes, we took a day trip to Beijing’s Feng Mountain (方山) which had a variety of old Buddhist Temple’s and caves.
2009-12-22Halloween in BeijingIn China, Halloween is not celebrated except by young adults who use it, like in the U.S., as an excuse to party.
2009-12-22Road to Inner Mongolia: Hengshan Hanging Temple, Yungang Buddhist Caves, and driving through Rural ChinaFor the national holiday, we had a long weekend of about five days; all the students planned various trips all around the country, from Shanghai to the Yellow Mountains.
2009-12-22Silk Market RevisitedI took another trip to the silk market, knocking some items of the Christmas list for my family and getting some personal souvenirs along the way.
2009-12-22“Welcome to Nei Mongol”That night in Datong a few of us set out into town in search of a good bar or adventure.
2010-01-13Cait Comes to Visit continuedOn Saturday morning, Cait and I took a taxi deep into the capital, to the south of the Forbidden City.
2010-01-13Cait Comes to VisitOn November 10th, my girlfriend Cait, came to visit me all the way from Boston.
2010-01-13Farewell Dinner with the CEO- Old Stories and New DreamsIn the last week of my internship, Ms. Lu, Carbon Capital Management’s CEO, invited me and the other intern out to dinner along with our boss whom we had worked under all semester, Lisa.
2010-01-17Study Trip: Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, ChengduOn the way back to our hotel we stopped to walk along Xi’an’s ancient city wall, which was surprisingly massive.
2010-01-17Study Trip: From Beijing to Xi’anIn the last few weeks of classes, everyone had to buckle down to finish term papers, final projects, and begin studying for final exams.
2010-01-17Study Trip: From Leshan to LijiangThe next day we went to the nearby city of Leshan to see the largest stone carved Buddha in the world.
2010-01-17Study Trip: Venturing Outside Lijiang, Dali, Kunming, and Back HomeIn Lijiang we stayed for five whole days and went on a number of excursions including to the nearby Dark Dragon Park, the Yulong Mountain where I rode a Yak, a rural Chinese village near Shigu (along the Yangtze River), and the world’s deepest river canyon—Tiger Leaping Gorge.