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My China journey...
In the summer of 2004. My choir called Bel Canto went on our summer tour to China for about two weeks. After a 17 hour flight on the plane to China we didn't have any time to rest. As soon as we exited the Beijing Airport we got on the bus and headed to Tianamen Square the Forbidden City. It was truly an impressive sight. The Forbidden City has over 999 1/2 rooms in it. However, we were only able to walk through the three primary court yards. Even then it was a very cool experience. The city was full of statues of dragons and lions. As soon as we got out of the Forbidden City we literally headed across the street to the Temple of Heaven. It was a very large circular temple on it's own temple grounds that also had the temple of earth on them. After that we headed to our hotel which was a Beijing Best Western(which I find funny). When we entered we saw a banner hanging on the wall that said. "Welcome Bel Canto Nebraska Children's Chorus, USA". On the next day we went to the Great Wall of China. It was amazing. It was built a long a mountain range and you could see it extend for miles in both directions. We got the rare opportunity to perform a few songs on the wall itself at the gate that we were starting off from. After that we were free to spend some time doing whatever we wanted. While some just decided to browse the shops I decided to walk up as much of the wall as possible. Oh I almost forgot. Unlike our other tours this one had a special shadow tour for a group of our parents and my mom and dad were with us in China as well. After walking up a aways with Dr. Stroope and his wife they decided to start heading back down but I kept going. I think I walked at least a mile up and down the great wall. My legs felt like jelly afterward lol. Right afterward we drove a ways to a Cloisonne factory. Cloisonne is a unique art of making pots and other items out of copper. After we got to see the process we got the chance to shop around and I got this really cool dragon statue made of copper wire. After that we headed back to the hotel for dinner and went to bed. That night the pianist in the lobby played Eyes on Me from FFVIII. The next morning we went to the Empress's summer palace. Where we got the ride these really cool dragon boats across a river to get to the actual palace. What we saw there was absolutely amazing. There was a ship intricately carved into the side of the mountain. After that we were supposed to go to a music school with some kids and listen to some of their music however, they were still in school so instead we went to the Beijing zoo. There we saw Panda bears and it was really cool. It is where I got my dragon banner that I have hung in my room right now. After that we headed to the school and heard music played by traditional Chinese instruments. The next day was spent at a high school rehearsing for a performance in the high school's auditorium that night. The next day we drove to Tianjin. We were going there to perform with the choir of the Tianjin University. During the performance that night as we changing our formation for a different song one of the people behind me stepped onto a riser and it went unstable and fell. The guy was alright but it made a lot of noise lol. After a little help from some of the students everyone was set back up and we began. After the performance we went back to hotel to spend our one and only night in Tianjin. The very next day we headed to Xian.
After a short one hour flight to Xian we got off and loaded onto the bus and headed to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. We were able to see three very large pits and in them there were literally thousands of soldiers all standing in lines in an appropriate formation for battle. For dinner that night we went to a famous dumpling restaurant and got the treat of sampling many different kinds of dumplings. The next day we went to the Ming Tomb in the morning. I liked seeing all the armor and weapons of the Ming dynasty and it was very cool to see the burial sites of the emperors and empresses. That night we went to see a show called the Juan Dynasty Culture show. There we saw some truly impressive feats in acrobatics and martial arts. At the very end of the show though we got a great surprise. They lowered a red banner down from the ceiling that said "Warmly Welcome Bel Canto Nebraska Children's Chorus, USA." The next day we went to the Hua Qing Hot Springs. This was to be the parents last day in China and we'd be returing a few days later. After saying good bye to the parents we next headed to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Which was a very tall very impressive tower on the grounds there were monks often meditating and practicing martial arts. The next day was to be our last day in Xian. We first went to a museum of tablets. Wall after wall was lined with ancient tablets in many different forms of text. Some of them were statements from Confuscious. For lunch we went to the Temple of Earth in Xian and we ate a restaurant nearby. That evening we went to a Royal Welcoming Ceremony at the Xian city gate. This was a re-enactment of the original ceremony that warriors received when returning to the city from war. During that time Dr. Stroope received a ceremonial key to the city. After the ceremony we were allowed to go into the courtyard inside the gate and there were a large number of drummers. The next day we flew back to Beijing and had our final dinner at the Best Western hotel where our adventure had begun. I will never forget the experiences and the memories I received on my trip to China.