Missouri State University-West Plains

Skip to content Skip to navigation
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Dalian Campus Interns

Thoughts from student interns abroad

You are here: Home / General / Shanghai Trip

Shanghai Trip

2014 November 25 by Adolfo Cancino

During the National Holiday, some friends and I went to Shanghai. We took an overnight boat ride from Dalian to Weihai. The boat ride was a blast! We spent most of our time on the deck letting high winds push us around and letting the ocean mist cover our faces. The next morning we arrived in Weihai. After arriving in Weihai, we went to an island that commemorated the Sino-Japanese War. The island was very historic and I learned a lot. In addition to learning a lot, it was extremely fun! I wish we could’ve had more time there. After the island we went to a beautiful beach and got to experience some Weihai culture. Weihai was very similar to Dalian, but it had some subtle differences. We spent the night in Weihai and caught the train the next morning to go to Suzhou.

To be honest the train, at first, was not my favorite part of the trip. It was crowded and uncomfortable. At some point though, I asked my Chinese friend to teach me the chorus to a song called Xiao Pingguo, which means Little Apple. All of a sudden, a plethora of old ladies started singing with me. To my surprise we started a mini concert in the train! There were probably 15 old Chinese women listening to me sing random Chinese songs. They then asked me to sing American songs. We finished the concert with each of our groups singing our National Anthems. It was beautiful to hear all of the old ladies sing the Chinese National Anthem in unison. After we got off of that train we took an overnight train to Suzhou. This train was much more comfortable and spacious. We then arrived in Suzhou that morning.

After we got off of the train we headed straight to a place called Tiger Hill. It was a beautiful area with a gigantic pagoda. There were many festive things going on at Tiger Hill, so in addition to the raw scenic beauty, there was also a lot of celebrating. After Tiger Hill we took a bus to a water town in Suzhou called Zhouzhuang. This place looked and felt like Italy’s Venice. We rested that night in a beautiful hotel on the water. The next morning we got up, purchased many souvenirs and took a “gondola” ride through the city. After the boat ride we explored the city even further until we had to leave. When it was time to leave we took a bus to Shanghai, and from that bus we took a metro to our hostel.

Once we got to Shanghai we were exhausted, but we went out to get fried baozi and see the Pearl Tower. The Pearl Tower is beautiful at night; it shines with many different colors and immediately catches your attention. We then went back to our hostel where we shared a room with strangers. The room had a total of 10 people in it. The next day we went to the local markets and went up to the top of the Financial Building. The Financial Building was huge! We could see all of Shanghai (luckily it wasn’t smoggy that day). The tall tower was definitely one of the main highlights of my trip. We then slept in our hostel that night, which was very clean and homey. The next morning we got up and went to an amusement park. Unfortunately, it was National Holiday, which meant that the park was beyond crowded. We spent four hours there and only got to ride three rides. After we got done with the park we took a bullet train to the airport and departed for Dalian. Overall, my National Holiday was a fun experience that I will never forget.

Sino-Japanese War Island

A submarine

A war memorial

Tiger Hill

A street dragon on parade

A temple

Water Town

The canal between rows of houses

A bridge over a canal

Pearl Tower at night

The Pearl Tower lights up the night skyline

A large ship with the Pearl Tower in the night time background

Financial Building

The unique architecture of the Financial Building

Some of the Missouri State-West Plains interns

Filed Under: General

Recent Posts

  • Not So Cliche
  • Majestic Fur
  • Take Me Home… But Not Really!
  • An Ant on Top of an Ant Hill
  • Sticking Out but Fitting in

Archives

  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
New beginnings...endless possibilitiesNew beginnings...endless possibilities
  • Last Modified: March 14, 2017
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Disclosures
  • EO/AA/M/F/Veterans/Disability/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
  • © 2013 Board of Governors, Missouri State University
  • Contact Information