China

                                 
     Greetings, everyone! This is Stephen Gaiber: The Autistic Traveler! This week I am going to discuss my all-time favorite trip since graduating high school...my trip to CHINA!!! I am going to talk about what I liked the most about China and what YOU the reader can explore if you ever go there! I went to China in the summer of 2008, right before the Summer Olympics in Bejing. I felt very enriched by the Chinese culture as I went on an organized tour and learned about the history of the cities of Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai.

 

        The first city that we checked out was Beijing. On the first day, we went to Tiananmen Square, which is the biggest square in the world! Did you know that the Tiananmen, also known as the Gate of Heavenly Peace, was built in 1415 during the Ming Dynasty? It was a gate in the wall of the Imperial City. In 1954, the Gate of China was destroyed, which allowed expansion of the square. This square has been a place for many political protests. The biggest protest was the 1989 protest, after the death of Hu Yaobang, a high-ranking official in China. 

       After Beijing, I visited the city of Xian.  An interesting part about this city was when I saw the Terracotta Army of Soldiers.  They are a collection of sculptures, depicting the armies under Qin Shi Huang. The art is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor to protect him from the afterlife. The soldiers were discovered by farmers digging a water well. I felt it was very interesting seeing these soldiers live in person and learning about their history and significance.

 

       The final part of the trip was Shanghai. It is known as the "Paris of the East." To be honest, even though I liked Shanghai, I feel it is more modernized and less historical than the other parts of China. We went on a tour of the city and went to the Shanghai Museum. The most memorable excursions in this city for me were a jade statue of Buddha and an acrobatic show! 

      The biggest highlight of the trip for me, by far, was going to the Great Wall of China!!! Did you know that the Great Wall of China is about 4,000 miles long?!? That's farther than the distance from Los Angeles to New York!!! It's great for anyone that wants to exercise for their next marathon. Here's some history of the wall. The wall started being built as early as 7BC and was made with brick, tamped earth, stone, wood and other material. The purpose of the wall was to protect the Chinese state as well as the empires and raids and invasions from the Nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steepe. The most famous part of the wall was built during Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. The wall was constantly rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced from lots of dynasties. The most famous part of the wall was built during the Ming Dynasty and much of this part of the wall remains standing today.

      The tour company that guided me through China was called smarTours. SmarTours is a tour company that offers guided tours, which includes airfare from select cities, hotels, tour guide, as well as optional excursions. The tour I went on to China was called the China Sampler, which was 10 days and included Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai. It is very reasonably priced and if one is single, the single supplement option is also very reasonable.  Some of the places SmartTours offers tours to are to Asia, India and Nepal, Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean and Israel, as well as to Australia and New Zealand. For more information, please visit https://www.smartours.com.

        I hope you will get the opportunity to experience China now that you have heard about it from the mind of someone with autism. I felt this was one of my favorite trips and being in China made become even passionate about travel. Imagine what a trip to China can do for you! I will in the upcoming weeks be making a video highlighting my trip to China.  I look forward to sharing with all of you how to make the most of your travel adventures! Stay tuned for the upcoming video!