china
10.14 - 10.21, 2018 | 16 YO | FUJI X-T2
This time I had quite a dramatic beginning to my trip. While on Activity Week for my school trip with Woodstock, I was deep inside of the Himalayas cycling. 36 hours later, after an 18-hour drive back to Woodstock, I was down the mountain on my way to China. Although I’ve been to Shanghai before, I was little when I did, so I considered this to be my first real visit to this country that I share half my blood with. This trip was special, not only because I was getting to know a bit about my background, but also because it was a precious time for me to spend just with my grandparents. I came from Delhi, they came from Tokyo, and we met each other in Beijing. In the end, I think I prefer Shanghai over Beijing for the modernity of the city, but overall, I’m just really glad that I was able to have a peek into these vibrant cities before they change even more in the years to come.
Travel There
To get from my school in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas to Beijing, I first needed to take a 2-hour taxi ride down the mountain to the small airport in Dehradun, where I then took a 45-minute flight to Delhi, followed by a flight to Bangkok before I could take one last flight to reach Beijing — flying on six flights for this one week trip.
This was the first time leaving the borders of India since starting school in the country, and it was a thrilling sensation — although, I was only in India for three months before this trip. My diet in India had been challenging, so when I landed in Bangkok for my layover, I had a magical moment when I sat down for a meal and knew I wouldn’t get sick.
And this time around, hopping between the airports of Delhi, Bangkok, Beijing, and Shanghai, I don’t think it’s ever been clearer how much love I have for the atmospheres of airports filled with international people.
Beijing
Arriving in Beijing, my grandparents who came from Tokyo met me at arrivals. We headed to the Capital Hotel, and my grandfather had me sleep for a while, thinking that I needed one. After I woke up, my grandfather and I went on a walk around Tiananmen Square — just a few blocks away from the hotel—and eventually made our way to a mall where we had sushi. That sushi was the first time in three months where I had anything remotely fresh.
During our trip in China, my grandparents and I spent almost three days in Beijing, and about two in Shanghai.
Chinese Culture
On our second day in Beijing, we spent our time on the arts and culture of the city. We went to the Temple of Heaven, the 798 Art District, and, of course, the Great Wall. The pace of our days were quick given that we had such a limited amount of time in China.
The most captivating thing in Beijing for me was Tiananmen Square. It’s such an infamous place in the West, and yet when standing in front of it, China’s been able to put a positive spin on it, with tourists from within China swarming the street with smiles. For me, the amount of centralized power in the radius was eerie, and I couldn’t help being in awe a bit.
The Great Wall
When we visited the Great Wall, I realized that I never had a real concrete image of the landmark. So when I got to see it for myself, I found it to be a peaceful place — the endless wall felt meditative, and the air was considerably better up at the wall than it was in the middle of Beijing. After our visit to the Great Wall, we drove back towards town, stopped by the 798 Art District, and then had some delicious Peking Duck.
To Shanghai
After three days in Beijing, my grandparents and I headed for Shanghai by train. Riding the fastest (non-maglev) train in the world was a soothing experience, and traversing 1275 kilometers (typically a 12.5-hour drive) in four and a half hours was magical. This was exactly what I was excited for.
Something that I admire of the Chinese people is just how united the entire population is — and more specifically with how that translates to a new kind of efficiency I hadn’t seen before. My best reference for an ultra-efficient society has been Japan, but in China, I feel that because they strip all of the “unnecessary” polite formalities, people can cut straight to working quickly.
Once arriving in Shanghai, I was surprised by how different the city was compared to Beijing — it felt like Tokyo. Streets were clean, the sky was blue, and it was a concrete jungle — Beijing felt like it was more in the past.
The Bund
Beijing and Shanghai definitely both feel futuristic, but it’s as if they are on two different paths to the future. Beijing felt more like a dystopia with its smog, older cultural buildings, and less modern infrastructure. It felt bleak and Orwellian. On the other hand, Shanghai was clean, bright, and modern.
Shanghai
Shanghai felt truly international, and I could easily see myself enjoying living there one day.
After getting somewhat familiar with China, I felt more whole than I ever felt before — connecting with every bit of myself.
Travel Back
Seeing China was great — I could connect with half of my roots, and I got to witness China at its current state before it changes even more over the next decades. Traveling with my grandparents was a delight as always, and this one week was an interesting blip during my one year in India.
