China was one of the lucky countries that got to experience this year's solar eclipse. Too bad Shanghai had to be all stormy and cloudy and block out the sun. We still tried to enjoy the experience. Some friends and I went to this restaurant/gallery called the Factory. It was a really trendy place. The owner gave use welder's glass because she didn't trust the glasses that they were selling around China. We really didn't need them though because of the storm...

Day Three (Last day in Beijing): Yonghegong (Lama Temple), Tiananmen Square. Yonghegong: The Lama Temple is a Buddhist Temple. It was so interesting to see all the people there to pray and watch them in their process. There were so many beautiful statues of golden Buddhas. I wish we had a tour guide or someone that knew about Buddhism with us because I would have really like to hear what the statues meant and the purpose of the rituals and praying process. T...

Day Two: Tour to the Ming Tombs, Jade Factory, Great Wall (Badaling), Tea House, and The Silk Market, Houhai (at night) Ming Tombs: The Ming Tombs houses all of the Emperors from the Ming Dynasty. It was initially built because the wife of an Emperor died. He loved her so much that he wanted to find some place special to bury her. There are several different mounds that house the resting places of the Emperors. They do not know where the entrances to the to...

Day One: Passport Fiasco, The Forbidden City, Panjiayuan Market, Temple of Heaven, Donghuamen Night Market. Passport Fiasco: One of the girls that came to Beijing with me had been so busy with her internship this week that she didn't pack her bag until the night we left. Literally, like five minutes before we had to leave for our train. With the last minute packing she grabbed the wrong passport. She currently has two, one old and one new, and she grabbed...

This past weekend I went to Beijing for three days. It was so much fun, but so tiring because we crammed so much into only three days. We were constantly on the go and walking around the whole city. In order to get to Beijing, we took the over night train from Shanghai to Beijing. We left around 9:30pm on Friday night and arrived in Beijing around 7:15am on Saturday. The train was a really fun experience. I went to Beijing with three other girls that I met...