Tag Archives: Henan

Wednesday, May 29 – Excursion into the Taihang Mountains

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Eric Ye

Hi, this is Eric speaking.

It’s been a fantastic sixth day in China. Our hotel in Anyang, the Huanshuiwan International Hotel was an amazing facility. Even the shades were automated. After resting up from the excursion in Old Anyang, Johnson brought us to the Linzhou Taihang Grand Canyon (太行大峡谷), an AAAAA tourist spot, and boy was it breath-taking. The scenery and amenities were mind-blowing.

The Entrance to the Park

For the first order of business, we went to the bathrooms, and even the bathrooms were ranked AAA. The bathrooms could have used some air fresheners, but everything had a glossy sheen (bathroom images not included).

After the bathroom, some people bought local merchandise, including straw hats. Papa Sheehan demonstrated his haggling prowess cutting down the foreigner price from ￥16 to ￥10.

Connor, feeling smug about his new hat purchase

Arriving at the reception area

Map of the park

After taking a tram up to the base of the mountain and encountering a hulking overhang, we entered a gorgeous gorge with a cool draft, verdant abundance, and clear creeks.

Of the many pretty sights, my favorite in the canyon was the pool that collects the Flying Dragon Summit Waterfall (飞龙峰瀑布). The collecting pool was a beautiful mix of clear water tinged with yellow and a deep jade green. Several members even took commemorative selfies with the Professor at this scenic spot.

The crew crosses the Flying Dragon Pool

The Flying Dragon Pool at the Foot of the Flying Dragon Summit Waterfall

The source of the Flying Dragon Waterfall

After walking past a rickety bridge, we arrived at our lunch destination.

After gorging on a delightful lunch (replete with a variety of mountain foods including fungus), we left the gorge on an open-air tram that took us to the top of the gorge.

Matt, fighting on in the tram

The top of the gorge had many an attraction, from splendid views of the canyon valley to a plexiglass skybridge that showed a view of the canyon floor.

A panorama of the Taihang Grand Canyon from a viewing platform

A plexiglass skybridge that peers onto the canyon floor

As we wound down the canyon on foot, we witnessed a swath of mountain structures, including the the eponymous Taihang peak.

To GEA China 2019, although Taihang mountain may be far away, it will always be near and dear to our hearts

The class on another mountainous ledge

Tuesday May 28 – First day in Anyang

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Connor Chapkis 
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!

Clarence and Marissa

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:

Oracle bone characters and their modern equivalents

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:

Stele with a reproduction of an oracle bone inscription

Landscaping on the grounds of the oracle bone museum

Landscaping on the grounds of the oracle bone museum

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.

Researching popsicles in the old part of Anyang

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!

Pagoda in Anyang

View from the top of the pagoda

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.

At the hot springs

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