Beijing

Students will have the opportunity to visit the capital of China in early November of fall semester for a period of seven to ten days. Activities in Beijing are an integral and important part of two Area Studies courses, Religion in China and Modern Chinese History.

In Beijing students will visit the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven, in addition we may visit the Daoist White Cloud Abbey, the early seventeenth-century tomb of Italian Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, and the Dongyue Temple, with its ghastly dioramas of hell.

Students may also have the opportunity to candidly discuss flashpoints in Sino-American relations, including trade imbalance with the United States and tensions across the straights with Taiwan, with the Chinese government's top political strategist with the Chinese central intelligence agency. Later that day, students might meet with representatives of the U.S. Department of State for a brief on the same issues in our bilateral relations from our own government's perspective, so students can compare different political views on these important contemporary problems that threaten regional and global security.

In the past students have also screened movies with the underground film director, Wang Chao, and have toured urban artist communities. We will also hike along wild sections of the Great Wall.

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