Dear Friend,
I remember reading a MLP Chinese book in 7th grade. In the book, there are many different historical places. The pictures were beautiful, there were green grass landscapes, clear blue water, and big bold buildings with a big history behind them. I was very excited to go see them in real life if I go to China again, it’s been 8 years since I went back. But that’s when I went to China this summer.
China is such a great place to visit during the summer. I went to China this summer for two weeks and it was so much fun spending time seeing my grandparents and my mom’s siblings. It is a place to enjoy being with your family and learn the history of China. I went to Beijing to travel to historical places and then went to Fuzhou to visit my grandparents. I met so many of my family members that I don’t remember meeting.
Beijing is such a great place to visit, especially with your family. It will give you many surprises as you arrive. As I visited Beijing in my first week, I traveled in a group full of children, adults, and even elders! We would wake up at 5am and travel on a bus to go to many different places. It was very tiring. There would be this person who would talk about the places we visited and its history, it was full of laughter, chatting, and even had a great time sleeping on the bus. We all bonded together, it also helped my Chinese a bit. Other than that, it was an adventure! Every time we all step out of the bus. We were all excited to see the next place we were going to visit. We traveled to The Great Wall of China, Tiananmen, a shopping center, jewelry(jade bracelets), summer palace, and more!
The place I was looking forward to was: “The Great Wall of China’. At school, I would hear and read the history of the Great wall of China and saw pictures of it. Once I saw the view in real life I was surprised. Visiting the Great Wall of China is very busy but with a beautiful landscape. I recommend you to visit this place in the fall or winter when the weather is cooler.
The main purpose of going to China was to visit my grandparents. Almost everyday on the phone, I would talk with them hoping I would meet them one day. As I knocked on their door at night. They came running out and hugged me. I was full of joy. Waking early chatting with them, going shopping for clothes and food, and eating in big restaurants.
I noticed many ideas and ways were different in China. First of all, the buildings are different from America. The place where I stayed (Fuzhou); there are more higher buildings(hotels), long chains of different variety shops stretching far, the weather, travel, measurements, and different styles of clothing. Be aware of the weather, the weather measurement is written in celsius which we both might not understand. But most importantly, it was hot, it even reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit! There was only one AC and the place was small. The beds are covered with brown long sticks knitted together, it was rough to sleep on.
As I stayed there. My grandparents involved me with various activities including shoveling rice, chatting with their friends to learn and listen to their Fuzhou language. I reconnected with some people and made new friends with the older and younger people. They were all excited to see my mom and I.
I wake up from a good sleep and walk downstairs to travel. I remember the first time I went on those motorcycles. Almost everyone traveled in motorcycles and paying to travel was by car. I was scared at first but once the motorcycles started traveling, I loved the feeling! The wind brushing against my face was so cooling, I felt free and happy.
I loved the food there! Most of the time, I would be eating outside in restaurants. There were places with a big table with lots of food, everyone getting up, holding their cups, clicking together, and bowing. For breakfast at Fuzhou In Beijing, I ate the famous “Beijing Duck”, it was juicy, crispy, and flavorful. You should definitely try it some day.
China is such a wonderful place to visit. You make fun experiences with new sweet memories and adventures every day. Although I only went to China for 2 weeks, I learned a lot of ideas, learning from Chinese culture, expanding my Chinese, and connecting with everyone. It is one of the happiest moments of my life.
(Second Prize)
