Think China 2013 | Day 14 – View From the Top

Day 14’s collaborative blog post was written by Isaiah Mobley [IM], Khristan Antoine [KA], Jordan Williams [JW], and Lakeisha Harris [LH], four of the splendid 13 who are part of Think China 2013.

[JW] Today was our last full day all together. I’ve had and amazing time on this once in a life time study tour.

[JW] Today we visited the Yu Yuan Garden and went shopping at its bazaar in Shanghai. The garden was so amazing. It took 30 years to build the garden and the garden there today is not the original garden because in the 19th century it suffered from a lot of damage due to the opium war.

[JW] For me, the Garden was very peaceful, I enjoyed the quietness. Taylor Wheeler said that “I loved touching the fishes and turtles.” Seeing animals in the garden shocked me because I didn’t think they would be there.

[JW] Lakeisha Harris said “The garden reminded me of the Forbidden City.” I agree with her because everything was in both places blocked access to themselves to outside people. The Garden was first discovered in 1559.

[IM] Following the Yu Yuan Garden and shopping, we went to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai. The tower had two watch spots in it that were in a ball shape. One of the watch spots was in the middle of the tower while the other was near the top of the tower. The one in the middle of the tower included a see-through floor which made it look like visitors were able to walk on air many, many stories up in the sky.

[IM] The windows on the tower were a pinkish-purple type of color. The view from the tower was amazing. You could see countless numbers of skyscrapers and other buildings. The tower was very close to a river called The Huangpu River so there was also several boats, yachts and cargo ships passing by. At the top of the tower we also saw lightning and heard thunder and sooner than later it started to rain. The rain took away the extremely hot and humid weather.

[IM] There were also quite a few of my peers who weren’t so pleased with this experience. Lakiesha Harris said “I faced my fear of heights and it was a life changing experience. I will never forget it! I conquered my fear of heights! ” Lakiesha wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

[IM]”The tower was a huge beautiful building. I am extremely afraid of heights and when I went up, I thought I would pass out! Although Ms. Regina and Coach Nola helped me through it all,” said Taylor Wheeler.

[IM] Anthony Gallon said “I had a great time helping people over their fears of heights and I also got a lot of great pictures!”

[IM] I think that this was an unforgettable experience. This experience pushed people out of their comfort zone and brought people closer because of people helping others with their fears.

[KA] While inside the Pearl TV Tower, we visited the Museum of Shanghai. We were introduced to life size mannequins that portrayed images of the Chinese culture. The mannequins had so much detail it looked as if they were real. You saw a lot of China’s history walking through the museum.

[KA] Some of the things I saw I didn’t know had occurred. For example, I did not know about China’s cotton production. I learned that in Shanghai, cotton production was promoted by the innovation of textile tools by Huang Daopo. Even though l did not learn a lot of new things or maybe did not understand the philosophy, this leaves me with the intention to go out on my own and research the information.

[KA] “I have never been to a Chinese Museum before!! It was very exciting and detailed. As I was walking around, I saw statues that look like real people I have never seen anything like that before. There were times were it had gotten a little creepy and scary because I thought they were going to move. Overall, I enjoyed myself today and this something I will remember forever,” said Umiika Rose.

[LH] For our last stop of the day, me and my fellow peers had the opportunity to see the nightlife in Shanghai, China through a boat cruise. From what I saw my friends enjoyed the cruise and its beautifully scenery.

[LH] Unfortunately, I could not enjoy the beautiful view with my peers, because I got motion sickness and was forced to stay inside with Anthony Gallon and take pictures with random people . (I had fun inside seeing a variety of faces and taking pictures with them.)

[LH] The sight was breathtaking, the boat had pretty lights, and the ride was a surprise. The river we rode on was called Huangpu River. Huangpu is a 113 kilometers (70 mi)-long river in China flowing through Shanghai. It is the last significant tributary of the Yangtze before it empties into the East China Sea. The Bund and Lujiazui are located along the river. Huangpu River is the largest river in Shanghai, with Suzhou Creek being its major tributary. It is an average of 400 meters wide and 9 meters deep. It divides the city into two regions: Pudong to its east and Puxi to the west.

[LH] Shanghai gets most of its drinking water from the Huangpu and dumps most of its sewage into it (4 million tons in 1990 and only 4% of it is treated in any way). As a result of pollution, the tap water must be heavily chlorinated. Today, the main wharfs are located further down the Huangpu River and the buildings along the avenue, now called Zhongshan Number One Road East, house Chinese government offices such as the Foreign Trade Corporations and the Trade Union Headquarters.

[LH] Rahni Johnson said “I loved the scenery. All the lights were bright on the other boats and the buildings. Spending my last night in China around all my friends on the water was a beautiful experience and it made this whole China experience that much better… We ended it with a bang!!”

[LH] Another peer, Bryce Bell, said, “It was a great way to see Shanghai from a different perspective!” Isaiah Mobley said “I thought the lighting on the buildings and boats was very interesting and it drew a lot of attention. It kind of reminded me of Las Vegas.”

[LH] Though I could not fully enjoy this experience, it was a great way to end our life changing journey with this delegation.