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China like most things, is the emerging study abroad country. Every year the number of students going to China to learn Chinese or rather Mandarin increases dramatically. From emerald green paddies to tumbleweed stretches of the 2,000-year old Silk Road; from violent typhoons to mountain blizzards; and from the Terracotta army to the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, China is vast and varied. In addition to its breathtaking landscapes and rich history, the world's most populous country pumps with a pace of change that is overwhelming and intriguing, especially considering its context.
China led the world in areas of science, technology, philosophy and the arts for centuries upon centuries, but in the 1800s colonial powers and disease exhausted the country's cultural juju. In more recent times the Communist Party began towards economic expediency. A superpower economy now drives the development of sophisticated cities that stretch high and wide, full of streets that buzz with a seemingly orchestrated dance of cyclists, cars and pedestrians.
With a size slightly smaller than the United States, China's climate ranges from sultry summers and pleasantly cold to mild winters. The landscape is so immense that one could not generalize the climate, but it's not uncommon for nature to reassert its power with magnificent displays of monsoons, typhoons and snowstorms. It's also impossible to generalize Chinese people, as they range from worshippers of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, among others and include upwards of two hundred distinct ethnic minorities, some of them animist hill
tribes for example. Despite the population density many natural
wonders survive in China's expanse, and animals like snub-nosed
monkeys, black bears, moose, pandas, gazelles, tigers and crested
ibis' reside in China's grasslands, deserts and forests.
Complement you study abroad in China experience with a trip to the Great Wall of China, with a history that spans millennia, and the 15th-century Forbidden City, once the decadent home for emperors. Historical sites show a glimpse into the past, as do ways of life that have been steeping for centuries. Modern life has not spoiled the country's age-old traditions, distinct regional cuisines and dynamic character that have been maturing over the centuries.
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