Olympic Park (奥林匹克公园)

                                                                    大家好！

Over the past month, I've gone to the Olympic Park (奥林匹克公园) twice. The first time, I was only able to see the National Stadium more commonly referred to as the Bird's Nest (鸟巢). This second time that I went, I went to the just the park. Unfortunately the Water Cube (水立方) was closed. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to see the inside of the Water Cube, but that just means that I will have to come back to China in the future to see it. Right now, the Water Cube is getting ready to become the Ice Cube for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Since I've arrived in China, I've wanted to go to the Olympic Park. I really like watching the Olympics on TV every two years. It is so much fun, and I like seeing countries rallying together for the competitions. Even when things are not going so well between the countries in everyday life, the Olympics are a nice way to have competition in a non lethal way. It was a cool experience getting to go to the Olympic Park and being in a place that I remember seeing on TV so many years ago. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games were the first games that I remember actually seeing. Maybe by watching those Olympic Games eleven years ago, I subconsciously decided that one day I would end up in China.

The Olympic Park was constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics and in will also serve as the Olympic Park for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. I think that it is really cool that Beijing is reusing the facilities that they've already built for the winter games. Often times, Olympic Parks are abandoned which is a shame after so much money went into building them. So, I think that it is nice to see this Olympic Park getting more use. The Olympic Park is made up of several areas, the Bird's Nest, Water Cube, the National Indoor Stadium or the "Fan" (国家体育馆) the National Speed Skating Oval, (being built for the Winter Games) Olympic Green Convention Center, Olympic Green Hockey Field, Olympic Green Archery Field, Olympic Green Tennis Center, Promenade, Olympic Village, Digital Beijing Building, Ling Long Pagoda, and Beijing Olympic Tower. Like I said, this place is huge. I never thought about how big an Olympic Park would be, but it makes sense that it would be so big.

The Bird's Nest was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The stadium resembles a bird's nest hence the nickname. The opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games were held here and will again be held here in 2022. It was so cool to be sitting in the same seats were people were sitting during the 2008 Olympic Games. I could almost feel the same excitement that everyone who was there must have felt in 2008. Seeing it lit up at night was pretty cool too.

The Water Cube, or now the Ice Cube, hosted the swimming, diving, and synchronized swimming events. I was really sad that I wasn't able to go inside it this time. Not only can you usually go in and see where the events took place but they also converted a part of it into a water park. It would have been so cool to go inside. If I would have went earlier the first time I was there, I would have been able to go in since it wasn't closed yet. That's life I guess. I should be better at planning things by now. The Water Cube will be used for curling in 2022.

The Fan held the handball, artistic gymnastics, and trampoline events. It is called "the Fan" because it resembles a traditional Chinese folding fan. After the 2008 Olympic Games it was used for sports competitions as well as cultural and entertaining purposes. In 2022, it will be used for ice hockey.

In addition to all of the buildings you can visit, there is also a park. I ventured to the park the second time I went to the Olympic Park. This park is also huge. Unfortunately we weren't able to see very much at this park since we got side-track by going kayaking. It was totally worth it though. The Olympic Park has more courts for basketball, tennis, table tennis and so on. It was interesting to see so many people at this park with tents. I'm not entirely sure why they had tents and if you are allowed to camp there. I think that would be pretty cool if you were allowed to camp at the Olympic Park.

I'm really happy that I got to go. I didn't get to see everything but it's pretty hard to see everything. Definitely need to make another trip out there if possible but the semester is winding down. There is so much to do and see in Beijing. I think it's amazing that the Olympic Park still gets use everyday whether that be from tourism or people using the Water Cube for recreational purposes. It's also nice to see it being reused for the Winter Games. It would be cool if other countries took note of this and kept their parks in use and reused them in the future if they were to host the Olympics again. It's such a waste to not have them being used.

That's it for now. And I'll be seeing some of you sooner rather than later.

Until next time!
再见！
郎马乐

Host Family

                                                                        大家好！

So, my first semester in China has ended, but my time in China has only just begun. I moved from 北京 to Shijiazhuang (石家庄) for my winter break. 石家庄 is the capital and largest city of Hebei Province. I am so happy to get the chance to stay with a host family during my winter break. My Chinese friend was kind enough to ask her family if I could stay with them and now here I am living with a Chinese family. It’s been a time. Most times, I’m really confused by what’s going on and I don’t understand everything that’s been said to me. However, I’m really looking forward to improving my Chinese. 

I stayed with my host family for about a month. The first couple of days were very overwhelming as I met everyone. There was 阿姨 (ayi)，叔叔 (shushu)，二姨 (eryi)，小姨 (xiao yi)，姥爷 (laoye)，姥姥 (laolao) and those were just the people that I met on the first day. It felt like every other day I was meeting a new family member. Family is really important in China, and I experienced that first on with my family. They all wanted to talk to me and show me things. At times it was hard because they didn't speak English and I didn't know what to say in Chinese. Another thing that confused me was that I had to change houses three times. They explained why in Chinese but I didn't really understand. It was funny because they would ask me if it was okay that we were going to a different house. Of course it was okay. I just didn't know why. After the first week, we went to one house and we stayed there for the remainder of my stay with them. 

I went to a couple of places in 石家庄. I visited Xi Jinping's old workplace, an ancient town in 石家庄 and a the Hebei Museum. I didn't visit too many places but it was nice to just enjoy a slower pace of life after traveling for a couple of weeks and having school. It was nice to have family meals again and I learned a lot about Chinese lifestyle. After lunch, everyone would take a nap. I quite like this change. I've noticed this at my internship too. After everyone finishes lunch, they have about a half hour to take a quick nap. We would also go for walks after dinner which was nice too. I think we should start to implement these into our lives in America. 

One thing that we did every night was watch the national swimming finals in Hangzhou. My family would always put it on because they knew I could understand it even though it was in Chinese. It was a good way to hang out at the end of the night and we were all able to understand what was going on. Also it was a competition so there was a lot of cheering going for China and the United States (加油!). 

All in all, I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to live with a host family. I can now say that I have a family in China and I hope that one day they can visit me in America. 

Until next time!

再见！
郎马乐

Hohhot （呼和浩特）

                                                                     大家好！

For Spring Break, I decided to travel to Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). Last semester, I saw a movie that took place in Inner Mongolia and decided that I would like to visit Inner Mongolia myself. Despite the name Inner Mongolia, it is actually an autonomous region in China. I went to the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot (呼和浩特). 呼和浩特 was a very interesting place. It was very unique compared to the other cities I have visited in China so far. My favorite part was seeing the Mongol influence that was still there. A lot of signs have both Mandarin and Mongolian written on them. The Mongolian script is very beautiful too. On the buses in Beijing, the voice recording is in Mandarin and English but in 呼和浩特 is is in Mandarin and Mongolian. The Mongolian language sounds very similar to Russian or Eastern European languages. Interesting fact about 呼和浩特 is that it is often called the "Blue City." The color blue in Mongol culture is associated with the sky, purity, and eternity. According to the 2000 census, about 8.5% of the population in 呼和浩特 were Mongols.

The first day that we arrived in 呼和浩特 (by sleeper train no less) we went to Dazhao Temple (大昭寺) the Five Pagoda Temple (五塔寺）and the Islamic Food Street. The Five Pagoda Temple is a Buddhist Temple that was constructed from 1727-1732 by a Mongol monk. When we went to the Five Pagoda Temple there was no one there and we were wondering where everyone was. Then we went to Dazhao Temple and there was a Spring Festival party going on. It felt like everyone from the city was there. They were burning incense and just having a great time. Dazhao Temple is probably the most famous temple in 呼和浩特. It is also the oldest and largest temple in the city. The temple finished being constructed in 1579. The third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyasto, visited the temple in 1586 and blessed it. Now people from all over Mongolia come and visit the temple. It was really cool being there during the Spring Festival and seeing everyone praying and burning incense. It felt a little bit like we were in the way but I enjoyed getting to see people live their everyday life. After we left there we went to the Islamic Food Street. I bought some yak milk tea (牦牛奶茶). I should have known that it was going to be bad since it was only 5 kuai and the lady scooped it out of a bucket. It tasted like straight up liquid butter though. If you ever find yourself visiting 呼和浩特 you have to try something yak related whether it be yak milk or yak meat. Then you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not.

The next day we went to Zhaojun Tomb (昭君墓). Zhaojun Tomb is the resting place of Wang Zhaojun, a commoner woman from the Han dynasty. She married a nomadic chieftain named Xiongnu Chanyu. Fun fact, Wang Zhaojun is not actually buried there. Her true grave and cause of death are unknown. I thought it was really cool. Unfortunately, most of the places at the site were closed and it was so windy that we couldn't even climb up to the top of the mound. However, it was beautiful and I think in the summer time it most be a really cool place to go to.

On the last day we went to the Inner Mongolian Museum (内蒙古博物馆). This museum is huge! It was founded in 1957 for the tenth anniversary of Inner Mongolia becoming an autonomous region. The museum has many artifacts from ethnic tribes such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qidan, and Mongolians. It also offers insight into the traditions and history of Mongolians. There are three floors in the museum. The first floor is dedicated to nature, the second to history, and the third to culture. My favorite floor was probably the second floor. There was one exhibit where we got to see some of the nomadic tribes that lived in the area before the Mongolians and now Han Chinese. While we were there, an old man saw us and stopped to check out the white people. We took pictures with him and his family and then every time he saw us in the museum he would smile and wave at us. There was also a little girl who was too shy to ask for a photo. When we told her she could take a picture with us we were swarmed by about ten other Chinese families trying to take photos with us. We were celebrities for the day.

I had a great time in 呼和浩特 and would like to go back and explore the grasslands since it was too cold to go this time.

Until next time.

再见！

郎马乐

Harbin (哈尔滨)

                                                                     大家好！

Over winter break, I took a trip to Harbin (哈尔滨) with a friend of mine from Milwaukee. 哈尔滨 is the capital of Heilongjiang Province. This province is the farthest north in China you can get. At one point, it used to be a part of Russia. That's why there is a lot of Russian architecture, food, and influence. 哈尔滨 is also know as the "Ice City." In the winter, it is known for its ice and snow sculptures which we were able to see. 哈尔滨 is also historical important because of its relationship with Russian. Today, it serves as an important gateway for Sino-Russian trade and containing a sizable Russian diaspora. It was a very cool city and only a seven hour bus ride to Russia.

Our trip to 哈尔滨 was an adventure. It was the first time that I was traveling without someone who spoke better Chinese then me. It was completely up to me to navigate the city, buy food and tickets, and just function overall in 哈尔滨. Sometimes it was stressful, but overall I feel like it was very beneficial for my Chinese. My friend and I took a sleeper train to 哈尔滨. The train was about nine and a half hours long. Sleeper trains are an experience. I think everyone should take one just for the experience of taking a sleeper train. It's not my favorite way of traveling but it definitely isn't the worse.

Upon arrival, my friend and I went to Central Street. Central Street is cool because it has a lot of traditional architecture. The street was built in 1898. Today, it is home to many types of architecture styles such as Baroque and Byzantine. There are also little Russian bakeries and French fashion houses. We went to St. Sophia's Cathedral which is in the center of Central Street. St. Sophia's Cathedral was built in 1907 after the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Trans-Siberian Railway connected the Russian city Vladivostok to northeast China. When we went, the cathedral was under renovations so we weren't allowed to go in. During the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, the cathedral was closed. Today, the cathedral has been turned into a museum.

On our second day, we went to Ice and Snow World. It was the first day that it was open to the public but not all of of the sculptures were done. It was still cool even though we only got to see a couple of done sculptures and a few half done sculptures. It was also the coldest day in Harbin when we were there so we had to layer up and we would occasionally just go and buy something to drink so that we could stay inside. Just outside Ice and Snow World is Russia Town. We went to Russia Town hoping to be able to try some Russian food. However, everything was closed since it was only the first day that the park was opened. We walked around looking for food and then decided to walk across the river (there were lots of people on the river so it was okay to walk on) and head towards the city. Walking across the ice was cool and it was quicker than trying to go out the way that we came in. We decided that for dinner we would go to the Ice Palace. The Ice Palace is located in a hotel and is only opened in the winter. The palace is completely built out of ice and has to be kept at a very low temperature so that it doesn't melt. It is known for serving hotpot (火锅). We were so excited to eat there, but when we got there and saw the prices of the hotpot, we quickly realized that we couldn't afford it and left to go somewhere cheaper. We did manage to get some pictures before we left though.

On the third day, we went to the Siberian Tiger Park. The Siberian Tiger Park was built in 1996 in order to preserve the species. This park reminded me a lot of the Panda Research Facility in Chengdu (成都). I would say that it isn't as nice as the Panda Research Facility but the goals are the same. They would one day like to be able to release the tigers who are quickly going extinct. However, some of the tigers are kept in such small cages and that's not right. It would have been nice if all of the tigers were allowed in the big pens like most of them were. It's not a perfect place but it's trying. The tour itself is like a safari. We are in a big safari-like vehicle and travel through each pen. The tigers get really close to you. I've never seen so many tigers in one place. The Siberian Tiger Park is the largest natural park for wild Siberian Tigers in the world. I think it is important to preserve the species and to educate people that these are real animals that don't deserve to be killed. However, there are still some problems with the park that hopefully in the future will be fixed and that the tigers will one day get to return to the wild. That night, we went and got a 哈尔滨 style 火锅. It wasn't what I tried to order but it was very tasty and I'm happy that we got to eat it.

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to 哈尔滨. It was a good place to practice my Chinese more since not a lot of people speak English there. Though, I was surprised at how many people we met that did speak some English. I highly recommend traveling to 哈尔滨 if you are ever in China. I've also heard that it is beautiful in the summer as well.

See you next time!
再见
郎马乐

Kunming 昆明

                                                                              大家好！ 

The last city on our study trip was to Kunming (昆明). 昆明 is the capital of Yunnan Province and is the biggest city. Even though we didn't have anything planned for our time in 昆明 we still found plenty to do.  

昆明 is commonly referred to as "Spring City” because of the temperature. Year round it feels like spring weather. Fun fact about 昆明 is that during WWII it was a military center for China. 昆明 is also the home to many of China’s ethnic minorities. China has 56 ethnicities. 55 of the 56 ethnicities are minorities. There are over 5 million people living in the city of 昆明. Over 4 million are Han Chinese, the main ethnicity in China. The most prominent minority in 昆明 is the Yi people. However, there are also Hui, Bai, Miao, Dai, Naxi, Manchu, Mongol, and Tibetan people living in 昆明 just to name a few. It was very cool to get to see some of these ethnic minorities at the Ethnic Minorities Park.  

The Ethnic Minorities Park or Yunnan Ethnic Villages was probably one of my favorite things that we saw on the whole study trip. The park is very comparable to a theme park. There are over 25 ethnic minorities represented in the park. The park displays their architecture and folklore. We walked around and visited a couple of villages. My favorite village was the Mosuo Village because the Mosuo people were dancing and having a show. We were allowed to go in and dance with them. It was very fun and definitely a highlight of the trip. Each village showcased the diverse, local ethnic culture. They displayed a variety of buildings, lifestyles, and religious beliefs of the various people in Yunnan. It’s a place that I would love to go to again since we only saw about half of the villages. If you ever find yourself in 昆明 you should definitely check out the park.  

At the end of the day we had one last group dinner before returning to Beijing (北京). It was a good way to end a great study trip to Yunnan. I learned so much during the trip and was able to do so many things that I never thought I would get a chance to do. I’m so thankful that I was able to go on this trip.  

再见 

马乐

Dali

大理 

大家好！ 

For the next two days of our study trip, we went to Dali (大理). 大理 is a city in the northwest of Yunnan Province. The Dali Old Town was the medieval capital of the Bai people’s kingdom of Nanzhao (8th century) and the Kingdom of Dali (937-1253). The Bai people originated in 大理 about 3,000 years ago. This area became significantly Muslim (Hui) during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. 大理 has also been a center for regional commerce. It was a crossroads between Tibet, China, Burma, and Southeast Asia. In 1925, a huge earthquake damaged the area severely. Today, the city is an official tourist city along with 丽江.  

We took a 3-hour bus ride from 丽江 to 大理. Once we arrived, a group of us heading into the Old Town. The Old Town was similar to the Old Town of 丽江. However, a difference was that it was a lot smaller and it was easier to follow. There weren’t as many side alleys to get lost down. While walking around, there were these guys making candy and dancing. They invited me to try to make the candy and dance with them. I think my back up plan for the future is to return to 大理 and make candy while dancing.  

The next day we went to Erhai Lake (洱海). The name means "Ear Sea." It is an alpine fault lake in Yunnan Province and was named Erhai Lake because travelers said that it resembled an ear. We went on a cruise around the lake and stopped at two islands during our trip. On both sides of the lake, there are mountains. During the cruise, we were treated to trying three types of tea and watching the Bai people dance. I thought it was really cool watching the Bai people dance. They were so good. One of the teas was very bitter, another was too sweet, and the third one tasted like cinnamon. Out of all three, I think my favorite one was the cinnamon one although I wasn’t a big fan on any of them. The first island that we stopped at was so small. As soon as we got off, people were trying to sell us various food items and souvenirs. We quickly got back on the boat and headed to the second island. The second island was much cooler. It was really big and had several giant statues. The island didn’t feel very Chinese to me. Someone on the trip said it reminded them of Southeast Asia. I don’t know what it reminded me off, but it felt like we weren’t in China anymore. After the cruise, we went to another ancient town. There are so many ancient towns and streets in China. I think it’s cool that they’ve been preserved but they’ve all turned into tourist attractions. They really only sell souvenirs there and most local people don’t even live in the ancient cities anymore. So even though it’s cool that they’ve been preserved, I think it’s a shame that the local people don’t live there and that it has turned into more of a tourist attraction than an authentic home of the local people.  

That night, we returned to the old town near our hotel for a group dinner. This group dinner featured the Bai people who worked at the restaurant putting on another show. The show was so amazing, and I was sad that there weren’t more people in the restaurant to enjoy it. After the show, they came and toasted to friendship with us. I think my favorite food item at the group dinner were these potatoes that were kind of spicy. They were so delicious. There was also this ground pork dish with tomatoes and green peppers in it. It reminded me of my mom’s homemade salsa. It didn’t taste like it but kind of looked similar.  

The next day we took a train to our final destination, Kunming (昆明). See you there! 

再见！ 

马乐