Shandong Trip
Our trip to Shandong was organised through the university and pretty much every minute was devoted to touring particular places. I wasn’t too excited about being with the huge tour group (we had more than 100 people) and felt like we rushed around the whole time.
Climbing Mount Tai (famous mountain which most of the emperors climbed over the years) was a struggle but very worth it. I would have liked to have spent more time in some of the places - especially Qu Fu, the home town of ancient Chinese philosopher Kong Zi (Confucius).
Confucian thought is an integral part of Chinese way of life. From my understanding it seems to have much to do with common sense as well as devotion to family (especially your elders) and to social propriety. Being in Qu Fu and seeing the historic sites made me more aware of why Confucianism has remained a prominent ideology in China.
Getting to Shandong was also my first experience traveling by long-distance train in China. Beijing train station was a nightmare mix of crowds of people with oversized packages and construction equipment - even at 11:30pm on a Monday night.
The train was a bit hot and sticky, we had “hard sleeper” tickets so we had bunks but I barely fit into my allotted area. On the way back I discovered the bottom bunk has the most room - at least I could turn over and sit upright. We had fun playing cards and definitely disturbed the people in the carriage who were trying to sleep. Despite it being two of the most uncomfortable nights of my life it was still a great experience. I hear the newer trains that go to the bigger cities are much faster and probably a bit more comfy too.
Although it felt like a school excursion at times, it was an enjoyable trip. I didn’t realise before I came here that the university organised a trip for us, so it was a great break in the middle of the semester.
3 years ago