Study abroad programs for college and gap students
Photo Essay: CET Shanghai
Photos by Victoria Ontiveros (Johns Hopkins University), Student Correspondent CET Shanghai, Fall 2018
For the National Day holidays, some friends and I traveled to Yunnan. In Kunming, vibrant flowers were everywhere.While in Kunming, we made sure to stop by Shilin, the stone forest. I had read about Shilin in my Chinese textbooks years ago and was dying to go!Our next stop was Dali, a city about 2 hours outside of Kunming. In Dali, we took cable cars up a mountain to visit a temple.The mountain below us was dotted with graves. As we rode up, we saw a man tending to the graves amongst the trees.Once at the top of the mountain, we spent time wandering around the temple. As we walked around, we were enveloped in the smell of the burning incense.After Dali, we went to Lijiang. We spent our two days there in Old Lijiang, which is mostly a series of small streets lined with shops selling snacks or handmaid crafts made by the Naxi ethnic group.Many shops were selling beautifully woven blankets and scarves. We all bought some to bring back home as souvenirs.The Naxi language is the oldest hieroglyphics language that is still in use.We made sure to stop by Wan Gu Lou, the highest point in Old Lijiang.From the top of Wan Gu Lou, you could see all of Lijiang.After Wan Gu Lou, we spent the rest of our day wandering the streets of Lijiang. Canals flow through all of old Lijiang. At night, you can light a paper boat and set it off into the canals for good luck.
