CHINA

A recap on Drew's trip to CHINA

Last month I went on a little trip to China! At first I was really nervous and kind of scared to go because I wasn't sure what to expect. After all, I was about to visit a 6,000 + year old communist country with a population of over 1 billion. Despite the fact that I had plenty of Asia experience (lived in Japan for 6 years and been to Korea twice), I was still scared. It turned out to be one of the best traveling experiences of my life and easily one of the coolest places I have ever visited.

We started the trip in China's largest country... Shanghai. Me and two of my business associates quickly got away from the 20 million people in Shanghai and took the 4 hour train ride to a place called Ningbo. 2.5 million people seem like a lot less than 20 million but it was still a huge city. And one of the oldest cities in China. There we were able to experience the real culture of China including: traditional music, tea ceremonies, and temples. It was really fun. The best part is that we didn't speak any Chinese at all. We were met in Ningbo by several different companies that showed us around their factories and treated us to lunch. I hope I don't sound odd when I say that Ningbo provided me with one of the most rewarding, spiritually and culturally awakening experiences of my life.

From there we went back to Shanghai before heading north to Beijing. There in the capital we went to the familiar sites such as the GW of China, the Forbidden City, and Tianenmen Square. We also went to one of the best black markets in China. I arrived in China with a back pack and and a change of clothes and left with 6 backpacks full of anything you can think of.

All in all, I highly recommend China and look forward to returning in the future, with my wife. It is an amazingly cultural country and the history could not be learned in a lifetime. If not for business, me and Megan plan on going there after we graduate next fall!