asinlin

[asinlin]

回家！Home Land/Home Free!

Ohh goodness, full access to everything!!

I am no longer in China. It's official!! :/ It now seems surreal that I can truly say that I LIVED in CHINA!!!!! While I did at a baby, without real memories it doesn’t feel “real.”

Since being back, I've already become used to all the amenities that I so dearly missed from before, however it does feel a little different. With my new perspective I am so much more appreciative of all teh things I do have. Things seem just naturally easier! As many know, Christmas is my FAVORITE holiday so I've been in the full Christmas spirit since my return and so my planning has been intensive in the festivities, catching up with old friends, eating to all my hearts desires, and enjoying the winter break. With this said, I have a feeling that my feelings of 'I'm not in China/the return culture shock’ will really catch up with me once the new term starts...

Since I've been back the major questions I've gotten include:

*Would I live in China in the future?: Yes and no. Would I first seek a job that is solely based in China?: No. However if the job fit all my conditions and I had set contract, I would be willing to work for a company that wanted to send me to China; Yes. It's all about the kind of job to me. The main thing is that I would want to know what I would be doing in China before just going to China to find a job once I was there.

*How/Have I changed? It's all about having an expanded perspective. I feel like I have,  more patience and things don't have to be so rushed, but it's really my family and friends that are the ones that have to tell me... and ultimately I do remind myself that even though I was a world away and having my own experiences, all my friends and family were too so there is so much to catch up on, from BOTH sides!

*Do I have regrets during this trip? There are always more traveling or things that I wish that I could have done, but what I did accomplish, do, and learn have helped me grow up and really appreciate everything; its what everyone "always" says, but it's sooo true: it's the EXPERIENCE of it all!!!

Christmas eve has just started (right now!), and next is my birthday, and than the New YEAR! Goodness, this really has been quite the year!!!  I can only hope that this next one has great adventures to be had!

[asinlin]

This past weekend, for my Chinese religion class our class went on a little field trip to the market where our “laoshi” (老师 teacher) and a monk bought 400 eels + several turtles, which came to a grand total of ¥2,800 (aka $500!!) We than went to the newer Fudan campus where we released the animals into the campus lake.

Now that it is December, Shanghai is getting colder and quite windy so it was definitely a chilly Saturday morning when we did this. However, despite the cold it was a humbling experience.

We chanted the "living beings liberation ritual" all together [just a part of it below]:

"May they live their natural life spans fully. May they be connected to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha(monks). May they swiftly progress towards the bliss of enlightenment. May the precious supreme Bodhicitta (Bodhi heart) Grow where it has not yet grown, Never diminish where it has grown, And flourish forever more."

and after this released the animals. Since all the eels were in a tub, the guys did the heavy duty work, but I actually was able to free a little turtle.

Overall, throughout this quarter I have found myself to be a little surprised by the subject itself and have been become a lot more interested in the many asian philosophies and religion. Learning about both Buddhism and Daoism has been eye-opening since I have now seen many famous temples placed around China and it is very clear that religion is one of the most prevailing parts of China's history today! It has certainly  taught me how to mediate properly and has helped me be aware, be focused, and to enjoy tea more ;]

Last class is tonight: I think I'll actually miss sitting on the cushions, reflecting as a class, and enjoying our teachers kindness and tea! (by far the most stress-free class!)

[asinlin]

@_@!?! 6 Days!

I should definitely be writing my essays or studying for 'finals' week, but it's time for a break and I just have to update now since there are ONLY six days left!!!!! 

This past weekend our group held a "Secret Santa Party," in which was it a true reminder that we literally have a week left in this country, something that is so hard to believe now that I have passed the 100 day, 3 month mark! It's a complete mixture of happiness and sadness right now: happy to go back to America but sad to leave the people and the location just when I was starting to get comfortable!! 

And when I say comfortable this includes the things that I am now not "shocked" to see or do during day-to-day living in Shanghai:

Chinese people (haha)! Chinese people everywhere; which includes the many street cleaners and garbage collectors, side vendors selling school supplies, clothing articles, corn, fake goods, etc., grandparents with little grandchildren (with bottomless pants on), policemen that sit at their stations (and this is what they do everyday), people just squatting on the side of the street, etc.

Asking questions and practicing my Chinese. I am still far from fluent and far from knowing everything about China, so I've gotten over the reactions of being an "ABC 人“ and I try and apply the Chinese I'm learning and practice, even if I don't always understand the full answer, I still get one...

Seeing high-risers and construction everywhere! Buildings, big and uniform and construction for more is a constant. Construction here happens extremely fast, such as the newest "Shanghai Tower" in Pudong has already grown at least 30 floors in the 3 months I've been here (estimate).

Slow and restricted internet access. I have come accustomed and let go of not having to get the 'immediate' gratification of checking up on everything all the time.

Laundry and Hang-drying! Seeing underwear blowing in the wind doesn't phase me to much. And, now that I've gotten used to the stiff-cardboard effect that occurs to my clothes with hang-drying it's really not that bad, and way more eco-friendly!

”下课！” "休息！“ and the lovely music that accompanies these kind of announcements. In China, the signal for class transitions at a university are represented by classical music over the intercom, something that confused me at first but now I recognize and appreciate how much nicer it is than the bell system.

Ordering food: knowing that no matter what size group they will always assume 1 person is paying for everyone, they will only hand out 1-2 menus (for a group of 5), and never serve food to the table at one time. I have learned that if the food hasn't been brought out within 5 minutes, I need not hesitate to call out to the waitress to remind them about the food (it's the expectation!) **The provided dish-ware is always wrapped in plastic with a complete set for one: a bowl, plate, spoon, cup, chopsticks. Not the 'normal' dish-size, the bowl holds the rice and the plate is only used to catch the food. As well as drinks other than tea are never served in a glass, so be ready to buy a can or bottle. **Night Market Street Food = hot, delicious, made right in front of you, and cheap cheap cheap! Having skewers and vegetables grilled to perfection is always my regular. 

Shopping and Bargaining! I have probably gone to the market tooo many times but the bargaining is too hard to resist and I would say I'm pretty savvy at it! Here's my top tips and tricks that I've learned when bargaining: **When you say a price, stick with that price (it just means you have to do a little bit of math on the spot to come up with that price) When push comes to shove, the seller will usually (reluctant or not) go with this price, if not, it's China so you can always find someone else that will meet your price! **Always use strong expressions! Especially as my Chinese isn't the best, short and too the point phrases like "I'm a student" and "It's too expensive" coupled with a 'surprised tone' or 'troubled face' really emphasizes this message and gets the point across!

Reading and understanding the bus/subway system, the rush-hour times (7:30am/5:30pm) and what to expect during these times (aka being smooshed on all sides by asians), and the stations that are always jam-packed. No longer do I get turned around or have difficulty using my transport card. I've learned that the system while complex (mechanically) is actually quite simple!

Riding in Cab's and Rickshaw's, while cheap more often than not the drivers won't know the exact address of where we are going, rather the cross streets and even then, they'll take us to the general area and we'll have to try and direct them to where we want to go.

Of course this includes traffic, for the most part. My heart still skips an extra beat now and than when I see a motorbike zoom by, but for the most part I have overcome the accident (goodness that was at the very beginning of the trip) and understand the way the traffic flows now!

Ok, so that was a longer break than I probably should have taken, but I am going to miss the ample people watching, the cheap but delicious food, and the bargaining. Still, I really am looking forward to being home!!!!

[asinlin]

Huangshan Mountain: Lotus Peak! What a rewarding yet grueling hike! Such beautiful views and a truly inspirational adventure, I could post a million Photo's but for now sharing this video captures the essence ;]

[asinlin]

A fun little afternoon visit in Pudong to check-out the Super Brand Mall! For it being close to December in China the weather is still quite pleasant in Shanghai!

The Super Brand Mall was just that, super and with tons of different brands. The perfect example of any mall, there wasn't anything to crazy about this mall except that it has a total of 13 floors!!!! Quite the set-up, we spent most the time walking around and checking out the high fashion stores that had prices that were wayy to far above my price-range.

Common stores that I have found in China that is also in the US include: H&M, Sephora, Zara, American Apparel, Uniqlo, French Connection, Calvin and Klein, Couch, Luis Vuitton, Burberry, Nike, Timbaland, the list goes on... To sum it up, anything high-end, classy, including jewelry and bag stores you can find here in China.

More importantly I've come to learn that Christmas has definitely come to this city and I was surprised/excited to see it so heavily commercialized in China! You'll know that Christmas is a holiday in China when (English) Christmas songs are broadcast over the speaker system in November in Walmart, or when Christmas decorations are commonly sold on the side of the streets! Sure it's nothing close to the real deal, but it really just makes me alll the more excited to come back home to celebrate the larger meaning of Christmas, being with the family, sharing laughs with friends and food! (oh America)!

[asinlin]

Definitely not the 'traditional' Thanksgiving but certainly an interesting one while in China!

I instead got to experience some traditional Chinese Medicine. I received the Chinese Cupping treatment! It was to restore the balance of yin and yang to my body, the yang factor (toxins/stress/tensions) were flushed out so the that the yin (health/impacted nerves) was back to normal.  You'll note the well-known red circled marks that was left on my body and remained on my back for that following week, and you may ask, didn't that hurt? No, but it was the on-lookers reactions that really worried me... The flame to heat the cup for suction was a little scary to see, but it was really only the suction that I felt on my skin, and it was relaxing. The DTCM (Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine) told me that the reason why the suction cupping was darker on my right side then the other was due to the fact that I wasn't lying completely flat on the ground, so my body was unbalanced (as I was half lying on a cushion)

In addition to this I received 1 acupuncture to my hand! It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel good; it really didn't feel like anything had happened... probably won't do it again though... haha. It was pretty neat to find out that there are over 300 points that one can acupuncture on the body, intense!!! Also found out that you one can find out about the inner body just by looking/feeling ones ear! crazy.

Lastly, we burned some incense on our hand. This was mostly confusing because it was supposed to calm us, but all it did for anyone was burn us. One of the students didn't feel it, and ended up burning his hand quite badly!

*.*.*.*.* Than later that night we had an IES held Thanksgiving dinner, truly a treat and an unexpected surprise as China does not celebrate this American holiday. We were actually served fresh roasted Turkey (with cranberry sauce)! However, that was the only good thing. They offered stuffing in which one only found out it was stuffing by asking, and had pumpkin pie that had no pumpkin in it all, sugar cookies with smarties stuck on them (really quite odd). While those were a disappointment, there was refillable wine and there was plenty of food to be had; I of course enjoyed my fill :]

[asinlin]

How could I forget that Halloween happened the day before we left to go to Taiwan!?!

Can you guess who was who? In these photos our group included: Yoshi,  Pocahontas, Pinocchio, Tiger Lily, Ariel, Woody, Mulan, Cruella De' Vil, John Smith, the Beast, Shrek

Of course I don't have a picture with all the ladies up, but for being in China we all looked amazing, and most of us followed the DISNEY theme ;]

[asinlin]

太好了 Taiwan!!!!!!

It's been several weeks since I have been back from Taiwan, where the weather was gorgeous (exception of the first day) and the vacation was much needed! It was certainly an intensely action packed 7 days in Taipei with trips to the national park, museum, presidential hall and the 2 main government parties, nicely provided meals, hotels (with the softest beddddd ever)

As this was an IES associated program, we had a lot of lectures at the National Chengchi University that consisted of learning about Global Warming and the Taiwan Politics/Culture. Overall none were super exciting and while well structured, considering we are American students studying abroad in Shanghai, these didn't necessarily directly relate to what I am interested, but important matters were learned. For some of our lectures were also were able to visit their locations: the headquarters of both of the political parties in Taiwan, Taipei's Presidential Hall, China Telecom, a Taiwanese Middle School and the Zoo Conservation. However, my favorite trip included our "free" day of going to The National Park of Taiwan in Hualian. (A Beautiful day with beautiful pictures to come later)

To quickly compare Taiwan to China I will say this:

Weather really is gorgeous and clear. I almost felt like I was in San Jose with the palm trees and cloudy days! And the key part of this is that the terrible pollution has yet to reach this little island

FREEDOM. Open access to the internet! (of course I didn't bring my computer so I couldn't upload pics to facebook...) But the country itself is just safer and thus more 'free' feeling (and thus next point)

Even though the population isn't as large as in China, the population itself tends to follow the rules, as in traffic was reliable, people stopped for others. The sense of rushing and urgency was not as extreme. The people were also really open and sweet. Nobody seemed to be judgmental of the fact that we were foreigners. The Taiwanese college students alone are a testament to how generous and sweet everyone was.

The night markets were my favorite. With different delicious foods, and even better deals for clothing items, I spent several nights at the market browsing the stalls and taking in the most of Taiwan!

Lastly,  I know I said this before but that bed, sooo comfortable (in comparison to my hard-hard shanghai mattress). After an extremely huge feast I literally laid out on my back, my roommate likes to say as a "beached whale:" completely satisfied, stuffed, and not budging from my bed.

So, do I like it more than Shanghai? Yes and No. I felt that Taipei, the city itself was a little more livable well (in comparison to Shanghai) Why? Even though Shanghai’s development has been ground-breaking, because it has happened so fast it is noticeable where there are still areas that just haven't made the cut. Just being in Taiwan for a week showed me that Taipei's growth has also happened quickly but the growth has happened more naturally, leading to my idea that it has a little bit better sustainability... Yes, Taiwan was really quite amazing and it exceeded several of my expectations. Mostly I can see it being somewhere that I would want to vacation during the summer months.

I am sure there is more I am forgetting since its been so long ago, and I know I suck at updating but the pictures are coming...

[asinlin]

How could I neglect to mention my weekend in Suzhou!?!

A mere 35 minutes (via. bullet train) away from Shanghai, I had the pleasure to visit my close friend that is also from Seattle University and who is also studying abroad in China at Soochou University to celebrate her 21st birthday and visit her!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a fun weekend filled with: Birthday Celebrations: Meeting new friends + Pizza + KTV + Dancing, Sight Seeing of Tiger Hill and Old Town of Suzhou, Crabs and Stunna-Shades ;]

[asinlin]

我自己的小熊猫!!!!

*yes, it is a rock. and yes, I found it in taiwan!!!*

[asinlin]

在北京的一多件事：“It's a Small World After All"

Finally finished updating about the main things that I saw in Beijing, I am again reminded about time and how fast it goes by and how I actually skipped a couple of crazy parts that were not captured with my camera!

While in Beijing I was proven in all senses that "it is a small world after all," a concept that I just would not think of while in China.

To set up this scenario, it was the second to last night before we were leaving Beijing, so it was Wednesday night that my travel mates and I decided to go to the famous "Silk Market." We had a full day at Tienanmen Square/Forbidden City so we were tired from all the walking and pretty hungry. My friend and I had to go to the bathroom, so we went into the silk market first to relieve ourselves. On our way back out to meet up with our third group member, we decided that we just had to get pizza. Being in China for 'x'days we had indulged in a lot of Chinese food and we were ready for something different. Going into the Pizza place, I am stepping into the restaurant when I look over and who do I see, A CLASSMATE OF MINE FROM SEATTLE UNIVERSITY!!!! He was sitting and waiting for his travel partner (also another SU student classmate I know!) We definitely stared at each other for a couple seconds before we were able to fully register that we knew each other and go crazy about it!! I was pretty much in total disbelief for the entire conversation of catching up. Apparently he had noticed me and my friend going into the silk market the first time (which I had no idea he had recognized me) and his friend had gone to look for me. Deciding to wait at the pizza place for dinner and for his friend to return, his friend realized that it was near impossible to find me and flipped out when he was told that I had, per-chance, ran into my other friend. Long story short, it was a pretty epic "mini-SU reunion in China." The chances that while they were studying in Beijing, they hadn't gone anywhere for the national week long break, had decided to go to the silk market on that night, and eat pizza at that restaurant was pretty insane. Small world, and a one in a million kind of thing happening!

It's already been 2 weeks since the holiday and the school work has been piling on more than ever with midterms this week. We even had a meeting telling us that we have officially passed our 1/2 point on this stay in China and I still can't really except that we have been here for over 50days (6 weeks). Ok, I just have to make it through this week before our program is going Taiwan NEXT week!!!!!! So excited and I am totally looking forward to and ready for another break!!!!

[asinlin]

我 "ShiDu" 喜欢 看 风景 "十度"

After we spent most of our stay in the city my travel-mates and I decided to spend our last day in Beijing seeing more of the country in Beijing. Reading about a place that is well-known for its beautiful views we decided to travel the 4 hours north to visit ShiDu (pronounced "sure-do").

Expecting a peaceful hiking opportunity, one of the biggest things that surprised me  on this day out were the constant vendors that we would meet and pass-by along the marked trail due to the (also surprisingly) high volume of tourists. So even though we hiked and saw beautiful views because it is actually a "national park" it was highly marketed with tons of different activities offered to the many visitors (such as paint ball, bungee jumping, rafting, rock climbing, etc.) and was basically a tourist trap...

One of the coolest parts was at the very beginning [Top Photo] where we crossed this long and narrow bridge. Many of the travelers worked on swaying it back in forth so it felt a little dangerous and I kept on imagining that I was in the "Amazing Panda Adventure" saving the baby panda and being forced to cross the precarious bridge.

Because our group had been planning on doing some steady hiking, we strayed off the clearly marked trail to a lesser marked trail, in which we soon discovered why the path had not been traveled on. As I was leading the group it took me a little bit to realize that once I looked up (instead of at my feet so as to not trip) there were HUGE webs that hung over our heads. Of course with huge webs what does that mean? HUGE SPIDERS. The LARGEST that I have ever seen (aside from at the zoo). Once our male-once-a-boyscout travel-mate declined from leading us on, we decided it was NOT safe or worth the scare of having HUGE spiders possibly land on us and turned back, seeing other humans was much better than 'human-size' spiders...        *I almost couldn't even focus on taking the picture [Bottom Right         Photo]. Also note that pictures can never really capture the true size of the         thing... The color alone was an indicator that it could be dangerous. Enough about remembering that!

The other pictures show the "key in the rock" [Middle Right Photo] which was a unique empty space that had formed in the karst rock. The shape of this rock is also said to look like a "dog" which our group declared really looks like a "dinosaur" or a "guy with a big nose" (so many interpretations). The "Gleam of Sky" [Middle Left Photo] was an extremely narrow passageway that lasted about a good 100 yards in which the only light was the narrow opening. Thank goodness I am not claustrophobic because once you go in, you either have to continue going all the way through the rock or go back.

With the beautiful weather we really lucked out and enjoyed this unique valley with it's  karst cliffs and peaks [Bottom Left Photo]. A couple of unexpected things, but nonetheless new things that I would have never realized was in Beijing!

[asinlin]

Tiananmen Square + Mao's Dead Body + Forbidden City 剩下的就是历史

To be at the places that Beijing is most known for was pretty monumental. Tiananmen Square [Top Right Photo] is large and the events that took place there just before I was born in '89 is mind-boggling. There were hundreds of people there, mostly Chinese, but many tour guides with foreigners, and the likes. The Tiananmen Gate held the largest photo of Mao ever [Top Left Photo], seriously impressively massive.

Of course across from the portrait was Mao's Mausoleum which holds his dead body. Heavily guarded by intense security, we had to leave ALL belongings (our bags with our camera's, phones, etc.) in storage before we were allowed access to view the body. Making a constantly moving line that wound around the building for at least a mile total, we were herded through the viewing of the body in which I stared in fascination at what everyone else came to catch a glimpse of. Rather morbid, his body was completely illuminated by the brightest light ever, and no offense but not the most attractive man ever, he really wasn't much to look at. Between the preservation of the body and the lighting his body glowed in the eeriest way. Let's just say that it is definitely something I can say I can check off my list of things to see and be done with...

The Forbidden City was just as the name states, the size of a (small) city. Before ever going into the city we visited its outer walls at night [Bottom Left Photo], in which the power of the lighting hinted at just how large it must be inside! During the day due to the vast area it covered we only had the energy to make it down the middle route [Bottom Middle Photo] which displayed the largest main halls and palaces that all of the Qing and Ming Imperial Family used. Because we didn't have a tour guide we read the signs outside of each hall/palace and it seemed that the translations focused mainly on the architecture and briefly stated what actually occurred at each place. Also it seemed as though most of the buildings incurred damages that happened was due to "fires caused by lightning." However, it was nice to see that most of the halls and palaces had not been "repainted" so that it was pretty authentic.

After making it through the city we continued onto walking up to the temple on-top of Jingshan Park [Bottom Left Photo] which showed a birds-eye view of the the Forbidden City in its entirety. A steep incline it was well worth the extra steps to see (even through the pollution) the view.

[asinlin]

我得看看中文化在 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CHINA!!!

So much history is to be had here!!! As a free museum, the line to get in was about a 30 minute wait and it was another day in which we spent the entire day there and only got to see about 2-3 exhibits out of the 14 open. With 6 floors and so many exhibits I was continuously amazed about all the history that China has.

The Road of Rejuvenation displayed an awesome timeline, in which I was able to read and see items from the Chinese history all the way from the Opium War of 1840 onward until the 2009. With 5 sections to this exhibit, I spent most of the day here. While a lot of the information was in Chinese there was definitely English writing too, and it was interesting to notice how it (of course) mainly focused on how it was a 'heroic struggle staged by all Chinese people for freedom, liberation and the country's revival under the guidance of the CPC.'

The next exhibit that spent a majority of time at was Ancient China. Covering an entire lower floor, they started back to the prehistoric times and into the beginning dynasties. I noticed a huge theme of bronze pottery and jade items, and was impressed with the fine detail of such work along with the preservation of such relics.

The last exhibit I got to see was the Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculptures where it was easily the smallest exhibit but really showed the early stages of Buddhism, and as I am currently learning about Buddhism in my Religion and Philosophy class, I found it pretty interesting how these sculptures that dated all the way back to 5th century are still the main symbols that people religiously follow today.

[asinlin]

THE SUMMER PALACE IS 很大大大的!!

The above 2 pictures cannot even do justice to the enormity and beauty of the Summer Palace. Covering an area of 290 hectares (aka the size of a small town), this Palace was created in the 1750s as a private place for the Chinese Emperors and Empresses to enjoy when on vacation.

The top picture is a picture of me directly across the water from the main tower in the Palace which called the Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha. While you can see this main building, all the green foliage hides about 20 other towers on the island. My travel mates and I only made it around 2/3 around the lake because of just how large it is and the closing time of the palace!

The bottom picture is the view that I saw from standing at the top of the Tower of Fragrance of the Buddha. At 41 meters up, you can see just how tiny the boats are in comparison to the Kunming Lake size. The view was absolutely amazing and you can actually see where I am standing in the top picture, at 'Hall of Embracing the Universe' in the right area (the green mass) in the bottom picture.

[asinlin]

我很快乐 ON THE GREAT WALL!!!!!!

We went to Jiankou Great Wall which was definitely an adventure getting there. First via subway, than bus, than small car. It was so totally worth the distance and the time (a total 4 hours each way
)!!

This part of the wall is not as traversed upon and so the watchtowers/wall were pretty overgrown and preserved since it was built thousands of years ago.

While the incline was certainly steep, my travel mates and I treated ourselves to enjoying a bottle of 'Great Wall' wine and some asian snacks once we made it on-top of the wall. Of course the views were amazing, as was the weather!!!

[asinlin]

我在了北京六天：Beijing was a Blast!!

WOW! This past week went by wayyyy too fast! After leaving on Saturday and coming back Friday I enjoyed a full 6 days in Beijing and certainly lived up to being a full-time tourist with my travel mates. I have been able to finally upload pictures onto my laptop so I will let most of my pictures do the explaining of what I did/saw but there are certainly many things to be said about Beijing itself. Before I list off all my observations let it be said that with over 800miles separating these two cities there are definitely differences between the north and the south.

Beijing verses Shanghai:

The average population in Beijing is much taller and in-general better looking than what I have seen in Shanghai. -Men are much taller/bigger and seemed to have a more distinct chiseled structure. -Females are much more conservative. Throughout my stay, I did not see  ANY locals wearing shorts/skirts, aka showing bear legs. While not common in Shanghai to have legs showing, it is done and much more excepted. Heels are another thing that is highly accepted in Shanghai, where as I noticed more women wearing flats in Beijing. Their bone structure was also more defined.

Beijing is basically 3x as big as Shanghai. To put it into perspective, everywhere  we went we ended up staying there all day: i.e.: going to The Summer Palace, Forbidden City, National Museum of China, the Great Wall, Shidu. Shanghai is smaller in ratio and everything is much closer together.

Culturally, there are so many places to got to experience all of China's History. As Beijing's history is much older than Shanghai, it only makes sense. The main difference I noticed was the architecture in general, the way the subways were set-up. Shanghai's subway is much newer/cleaner.

Food!! the Beijing Peking Duck was by far one of the best meals ever! While Shanghai offers a range of international food, the food offered in Beijing was traditional and delicious and cheap!

Expenses in general: The price of living in Beijing is a lot cheaper!! -Beijing: taxi for a 20 minute ride = 30RMB ($5)   Shanghai: taxi for a 20 minute ride = 40RMB ($6.4)

With all this said, it has to be noted that while I have already seen at least 1,000 different Chinese people (since I am surrounded), it is completely true that everyone in every area looks different. There is no "standard Chinese person," each individual truly has a different sense of style (mixing strips/solids, wearing tights with shorts, couples wearing the same exact outfit, having their belly's hanging out, etc.

So, to sum up all these observations (and more that could be said), I can definitely agree that from my first-hand experience, Beijing is truly the more cultural capital of China in all senses and Shanghai as the more international area that strives to follow the western way of life.With today being a Monday, and having had school this past Saturday AND Sunday, I don't know how I will manage to get through a FULL 7 days of Class this week, buttt as I say one must live like the Chinese People do when living in China and it really was sooo worth getting a whole week off to travel!!!