About this Blog
This blog is one of the requirements for Cal Poly Pomona's College of Environmental Design - 2011 China Summer Abroad Program. This annual summer program is in partnership with North China University of Technology (NCUT) in Beijing and was held this year from June 28 to August 1. The program is an intensive interdisciplinary studio of students of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning of both Cal Poly Pomona and NCUT.
By using photos and sketches as my visual communication media, accompanied with written components, this blog is meant to challenge my convention way of representation and recording. Rather than recreate the typical post card images that we always see about China (though sometimes it's unavoidable), each photograph shown here focuses on a detail that often missed by many visitors of China. This blog became my personal sojourn through the Chinese urban landscape.
1.3 Billion People
I’ve been to a lot of crowded places. But nothing prepared me to what I encountered in China. It might seem to be an exaggerated observation to say, but every crowded place I went to it felt like the entire population of China was with me.
Forbidden City was the first Chinese urban space that I got the first taste of this type of crowd. I can’t deny that I was astounded by its grandeur and attention to details, but Forbidden City is all about sequential experience. But unfortunately when everyone else is moving through the same direction it makes the whole experience a lot harder. The hot and humid summer weather didn’t help either. In my case, it was an overwhelming experience, and as a result, I had a hard time enjoying one of the most historical sites in China. (photos A: Forbidden City, B: Shanghai Pavilion, C: Great Wall)
Shanghai’s China Pavilion is another architectural marvel. Its massive scale attracts a lot of foreigners and locals. But here, the experience starts outside the pavilion where visitors wait in line, standing for at least 2.5 hours to get into the pavilion. It was interesting to see how the Chinese cope with the long wait. Of course, some confrontations also result from the long wait especially when few try to cut in front to get ahead. Once I was in, maneuvering in the building was as difficult as standing outside the line to get in. Just like the Forbidden City where one move along in a sequential manner, the Pavilion is no different. At the Pavilion, the sequence starts with contemporary, fast-changing China; then through classical Chinese city and finishes with vision for the future city. Just imagine when hundreds of people moving in the same direction as you are to get through all the exhibits.
Every now and then, you will find your own escape from the massive crowd. Unfortunately, such places are hard to find in China's urban cities.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Overall, my trip to China was one of the greatest ones. With a culture that is so complex, China’s urban landscape provides the most interesting stories that only Chinese can offer.
The city of Beijing is a mixture of everything China can offer: the overwhelming crowd; the air that some say it’s the summer gloom while others think it’s the pollution; the subways where passengers turn into sardines; the street carts where scorpions and other bugs are served; the street shopping where the skills of bargaining can either bring you new friends or create more enemies (with the store owners); the forbidden place that is not so forbidden; the bird’s nest where mythical Chinese dragons can lay their eggs; the giant cube that cannot make up its mind on what color to use; the enormous square in the center where a red canvass (with prints of 4 little yellow stars and one big yellow star) is waving continuously; and the wall that looks like the spine of a dragon on a hazy day.
South of Beijing, with its many gardens, Suzhou is where serenity hides: its canals make the city the Venice of the East; and traffic is almost nonexistence. Shanghai, on the other hand, is a play of western and eastern architecture styles. Their buildings are seemingly non-stop reaching for heaven and the long corridor of Nanjing Road provides a good pedestrian shopping experience. Additionally, Xi’an’s Terracotta Soldiers Museum was impressive and the hike to Mount Hua Shan was an experience of a lifetime in which the saying “the journey is more important than the destination” is manifested.
After five weeks in China, I firmly believe that the Great Wall is not the greatest thing the country has, but its their culture.
For more information on Cal Poly Pomona's China Summer Abroad Program visit http://www.calpolypomonachina.blogspot.com/
I’ve been to a lot of crowded places. But nothing prepared me to what I encountered in China. It might seem to be an exaggerated observation to say, but every crowded place I went to it felt like the entire population of China was with me. 
Shanghai’s China Pavilion is another architectural marvel. Its massive scale attracts a lot of foreigners and locals. But here, the experience starts outside the pavilion where visitors wait in line, standing for at least 2.5 hours to get into the pavilion. It was interesting to see how the Chinese cope with the long wait. Of course, some confrontations also result from the long wait especially when few try to cut in front to get ahead. Once I was in, maneuvering in the building was as difficult as standing outside the line to get in. Just like the Forbidden City where one move along in a sequential manner, the Pavilion is no different. At the Pavilion, the sequence starts with contemporary, fast-changing China; then through classical Chinese city and finishes with vision for the future city. Just imagine when hundreds of people moving in the same direction as you are to get through all the exhibits. 