Tuesday, May 28th was our first full day in Anyang, and we were all extremely excited to explore the museum holding the city’s most important cultural relic: oracle bones!

We were hesitant to leave the hotel, since the amenities were incredibly nice—we had bathtubs, a ping pong room, an amazing breakfast, and more—but we knew the day ahead would be great. First off, Clarence was having trouble deciding his hairstyle for the day—luckily, Marissa, the braid queen, was able to help him match with her!

Once we got to the museum, the professor and I passed the time by playing a game where we extended our arms above us to pour water in our mouths—pretty sure I fared better than he did. Then Johnson, our tour guide, took us into the first of the exhibits about the oracle bones. Essentially, the ancient Chinese would place immense heat on the shells of turtles, crack them with various implements, and interpret the cracks as Chinese characters to predict events or fortunes. Their associations of the signs were elaborate:

The professor had never been to Anyang before—and as a historian of China, he was clearly elated to see all of the relics and oracle bones that he’d heard so much about. His happiness was infectious, and it made all of the students interested in the exhibits. The landscaping of the museums was beautiful, as well:

Afterwards, we headed to the old city center of Anyang to conduct field research. Luckily for my group studying popsicles, we hit the jackpot—there was a food/popsicle stand almost every block, and we got the chance to see a lot of different displays and speak to quite a few shopkeepers.

The old town was one of the highlights of the day for us. Every street was lined with vendors selling clothes, accessories, and food, so it was an excellent chance for us to get a feel for the energy of the place.

Only a few meters from the old town stood a pagoda, a kind of ancient structure intended to hold sacred relics. Some of us climbed to the top of the pagoda (through cramped and winding stairways) and were rewarded with stunning, 360-degree views of the city!

On our way back to the hotel, I picked up some scallion pancakes and bao buns at a market for dinner, and some students decided to decompress by walking over to the hot springs at our hotel! It was so fun putting on our bathrobes and relaxing in a hot tub.

We all had a blast in Anyang – onwards to the next day!