This is a collection of pictures from Rutgers students, faculty, staff, and alumni, that capture memorable moments as they traveled to China or other Chinese-speaking world in Asia or anywhere else within the last three years.
Photos by Tao Jiang (Rutgers faculty in Religion & Philosophy): both pictures were taken in teahouses in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, known for its teahouses. The New York Times characterizes Chengdu as a city "where the pace is slow, the food is spicy and there’s always time for a good gossip over a cup of tea." The one on the left, taken in the summer of 2023, is someone serving tea, using an especially long teapot. The one on the right, taken in early 2024, is someone removing a client's earwax, a popular service in Chengdu teahouses (BTW: doctors do not recommend removing earwax this way).
Photos by Dian Shang (MA student in Asian Languages and Cultures): The four pictures were photographed at Fayuan Temple (法源寺) in Beijing three years ago with my friend from Hebei (河北). We met online in a poetry society I founded, often collaborating on poems and lyrics. In 2021, he decided to travel from Hebei to meet me in Beijing. Interestingly, we entered Fayuan Temple spontaneously. We arrived around 4 pm, serendipitously witnessing monks conducting a Buddhist ritual. The ritual was solemn, marked by the tranquil sound of wooden fish and monks' recitations. Many people watched, few recording or photographing. To my surprise, my friend, neither a Buddhist nor particularly interested in Buddhism, was moved to tears by the solemnity. Since I am a follower of Buddhism, it was comforting to see him moved by the Buddhist ritual. However, I was unsure whether his tears were a sign of understanding Buddhism or simply a reaction to the solemnity of the ritual. But in either way, his behavior reminded me of the Buddha's teaching that everyone possesses inherent Buddhahood. After the ritual, we explored the Guanyin Hall (觀音殿), Weituo Hall (韋馱殿), and Pilu Hall (毗盧殿). I was particularly fond of the first half of the couplet on Pilu Hall, which captured aspects of Mahayana Buddhism, though the second half was less impressive. Additionally, I cherish the photo of him approaching a short wall, bathed in a beam of sunset light. The scene's tranquility and transcendence mirrored the realm of enlightenment. It was around the time Fayuan Temple was closing, and he poured some water on the ground, then picked up a branch and wrote a pentasyllabic quatrain.
Photos by Jinyoung Oh (a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences studying computer science): My Chinese zodiac sign is sheep so I bonded with my animal (in picture one). The second one is a picture of me acting like a fish in Ordos which is an area with lots of deserts.
Photos by Jasmine Liu (刘语馨, a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in Chinese):
Image 1 Dining hall (食堂): Both my grandparents used to work at 成都理工大学 (official English name: Chengdu University of Technology), so they still live in the area and can eat at the dining halls as former faculty. This photo shows one of the campus dining halls, and it was very interesting as an American college student to compare this Chinese university with Rutgers. I loved the colorful upside-down umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, and I loved the food there even more. From 包子 (bao or steamed stuffed bun) to 豆浆 (soy milk) and 油条 (fried dough sticks), I often find myself thinking about the tasty foods offered at that dining hall.
Image 2 Thatched cottage (草堂): One of the cultural sites I visited last year was the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu, which is a park that honors the Chinese poet Du Fu. As it was midsummer at the time, all of the greenery was in full bloom, so paired with the traditional architecture, the park was serene and reminiscent of another time.
Image 3 (Market): My grandparents took us to a local market in Chengdu one morning, and I took this picture to capture the vibrance of the food stalls and the items being sold there. I haven't seen many markets like this in the U.S., so I was excited about the abundance of fresh and delicious-looking foods.
Image 4 (Metro): We visited Taipei for the first time last year and heavily relied on the Metro to get around. It was very clean, fast, and convenient to use! This photo highlights the modern Metro station and the beautiful scenery in the background.
Photos by Emily Kwon (MD candidate at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School): April 2022 Scuba diving in Lanyu Island, Taiwan. From 2021-2022, I taught English in Taiwan through the Fulbright program. I learned how to scuba dive. This was taken on one of my dives. Here I am, reuniting with my family. December 2021 Hiking Hehuanshan in Central Taiwan. The “Baiyue” is a list of one hundred mountain peaks in Taiwan that are over 3000 meters in height. On this trip, my friends and I hiked the main, east, and north peak trails. Because of the high altitude, this was the first time I saw frost in Taiwan. One of my favorite memories was seeing the “yunhai” or sea of clouds.
Photos by Yuer Lan (a junior in Rutgers Business School, with a double major in Business Analytics and Information Technology and Asian Studies, along with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies): During my childhood, my travels were invariably educational. For instance, upon visiting Mt. Lu, I was expected to recite Li Bai's verse, "Soaring down three thousand feet, it seemed as though the Milky Way had cascaded into the nine heavens." Similarly, at Yueyang Tower, I endeavored to grasp the age-old dilemma faced by scholars between the solitude of temple life (Working in officialdom) and the worldly engagement of "jianghu" (the wider society). Over time, these excursions to China's landmarks transformed into a journey tracing the footsteps of historical figures, overshadowing the serene experience of simply being present and appreciating the beauty before me. Gradually, my enthusiasm for travel diminished. Our journeys became preoccupied with delving into the tales of the ancients, neglecting the opportunity for self-discovery amidst our wanderings. If traveling thousands of miles is likened to reading thousands of books, then what is the essence of travel? On mornings when I find myself in the Forbidden City, I am essentially stepping away from reality. I search for a fragment of peace within its expansive walls, indifferent to the number of emperors who have resided here, the historical shifts, or the dynastic changes. My focus is solely on my internal experience. Indeed, I feel tiny here, so diminutive that my ability to appreciate the grandeur of this place diminishes as I stand in the sunlight, becoming merely a shadow within its majesty.
