China

My senior year of high school, I went on the spring break trip to China. Ever since I was little, I heard stories from my dad about China. He lived there for a few years around when he was 20 and I saw pictures of him standing on the Great Wall and I always wanted to see it. China had always been on my bucket list and when I saw the trip, I jumped at the chance to go there. We went to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai.

In Beijing, a must see/do list is: Donghuamen Night Market, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Hutongs, Peking Duck and  Peking Opera.

In Xi'an - Terracotta Warriors Museum, bike around the city wall, Muslim Quarter at night and Big Wild Goose Pagoda.  

In Shanghai - The bund, Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai World Financial Center. Jade Buddha Temple and explore downtown at night.

Tips

- Eat all the dumplings you lay your eyes on!! 

- Go to a tea sampling class and buy all the loose-leaf tea your heart desires (seriously! it’s so cheap there)

- Get some silks (also super cheap)

- Go out of your comfort zone and eat foods you never heard of at the Night Market

- DON'T eat at the Terracotta museum. The food was awful