2026 SMA China Explorers Program

Blog 8

A Last Day Full of Food, Culture, & Gratitude

Today was our last day in China. We woke up in the city of Shanghai at the Jianguo Hotel. We ate a delicious breakfast and boarded the bus to visit SUCC (Shanghai Urban Construction College). During our visit, we participated in a cooking class where we made zongzi (a sticky rice dumpling made for the Dragon Boat Festival, which starts tomorrow).

We also got to engage and make videos with the Chinese college students to better understand student life in China. We then went to lunch at Dafugui Flagship Restaurant where we had a great meal.

In the afternoon, we visited Yu Garden where we saw pavilions, ponds, and beautiful bridges that date back to the Ming dynasty. Here we took many pictures, and I got the chance to purchase many souvenirs.

We then visited Tianzifang, a place for a lot of shopping in places like cafes, boutiques, galleries, and much more. We then returned to the hotel to get all dressed up for our final celebratory dinner.

After a quick glam, we took the bus to Yerixiali Xinjiang restaurant. The food here was amazing, with a mix of different cultures and an immersive dance performance. One of the food highlights was lamb.

Towards the end of dinner, we reflected on our trip, sharing gratitude towards our peers, teachers, guides, and highlights of the trip with a few happy tears. Everyone shared something/someone they were grateful for, and it was a great final meal together.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and had one final chance to explore the city of Shanghai. We explored the mall, bought some delicious matcha and McDonald’s, and visited many shops. Then we returned to the hotel, packed up, and said good night to the city of Shanghai. We couldn’t imagine a better full last day in China and are beyond grateful for this opportunity.

By Leslie Hernandez & Jazmin Hernandez

Blog 7

The Streets of Shanghai

We started off our day bright and early at six in the morning, with a lovely view of the Nanjing streets from our hotel room. Early mornings are tough, but we get through it with the delicious breakfast the hotel provides.

After breakfast, we made our way to the train station. While on the train, we could see the beautiful landscape and architecture surrounding both Nanjing and Shanghai. Shanghai is known for its rich blend of cultures, futuristic attractions, and exceptional cuisine!

After a short walk, we reached our lunch spot at Haidilao! Haidilao is a popular Chinese hotpot location, known for its exceptional service. Besides the delicious hotpot and the ability to build your own sauce, we got the show of a lifetime from a worker as he skillfully swung around a noodle!

After our amazing lunch experience, we visited Nanjing Road, one of Shanghai’s most popular tourist spots and a popular shopping avenue! After some quick shopping we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower, a TV tower and one of the largest buildings in Shanghai. From the tower’s glass floors, we viewed the massive and beautiful city of Shanghai.

Then finally, a wonderful dinner filled with rice, mapo tofu, and many veggies. After arriving at our hotel, which is located right in the middle of the city, we checked into our rooms and had some free time to explore the local area. After another exciting day, we headed back to get some rest.

By Samantha Badillo-Gomez & Katie Stack

Blog 6

Never Hungry in Nanjing

Today, we started off the day a little earlier because we were heading to the Hongshan Zoo, which was a 40-minute drive from the hotel. At the zoo, we saw the great panda as a group! We got the opportunity to break off into groups where we saw various other animals such as capybaras, red pandas, lizards, and multiple monkeys! While exploring the zoo, my group and I got sausage sticks and watermelon juice, which was so delicious! Our favorite animal was the great panda, as they’re not common to see in other zoos.

After the zoo, we headed to lunch at Jiuyuanjiangnan! My favorite dish was the sticky rice dumplings with red bean paste, which our group called glorp due to the texture! We all highly enjoyed it. We then took the bus to Sun Yat-Sen Mausoleum. We broke up in small groups once again to go up the many steps. We walked around and enjoyed the scenery and got some ice cream!

Our group leader and tour guide then surprised us with a small trip to a mall before dinner! We got to explore for 50 minutes. We visited clothing stores, toy stores, and bookstores, and bought many snacks! We then got to enjoy dinner at Xunweiliuchao. We had multiple options to choose from in the family-style meal. It was incredibly delicious. We then headed back to the hotel to discuss plans for tomorrow. After that, we got some free time to explore the area around the hotel to end our day!

By Ema Villalpando

Blog 5

An Unforgettable Day in Nanjing

Our first full day in Nanjing started the morning off at 9:30 am after an amazing hotel breakfast with local specialties like dumplings! From the hotel, we rode the bus over to the city wall of Nanjing. At the city wall, we were given time to explore the nearby park and observe the lake around it.

After free time, we walked along the wall and took many great photos! We even ran into a group of college students from the US. We then headed off to lunch at a Hunan restaurant (cuisine famous for its spice in the southern part of China) where we tried “century-old” eggs, tripe, and stinky tofu and had the specialty dumplings, which were all enjoyable!

Once lunch was finished, we celebrated our beloved Dr. Chen’s birthday with a lychee and rose-flavored cake. Following lunch, we had a fine arts class where we crafted gold- flaked picture frames and flower hairpins while dressed up in traditional robes. We were then given free time to explore and have dinner. We were also given a challenge to take pictures and converse with locals! Lastly, the night was finished off with a boat ride with a gorgeous atmosphere.

By Chloe Churchill & Brenna Gunshore

Blog 4

Among the Locals at the Temple of Heaven

We were moving cities today (to Nanjing!), and we had packed everything up last night, which allowed us quite a bit of free time between breakfast and checkout. In the morning, we set out for the Temple of Heaven. Prior to seeing the temple, however, we were encouraged to spend some time exploring an outdoor gym in the park of the temple filled with strong, very flexible locals. There, I discovered my legs were more malleable than I thought they were. As a result, I was briefly taken under the wing of a friendly, talented elderly man, who encouraged me to try more and more poses on the nearby benches and exercise equipment. Surprisingly, that gathered quite a crowd, and I think it is safe to say videos of me attempting calisthenics will be saved on a few people’s phones for a while.

After that exciting experience, we entered the Temple of Heaven, where we learned about the importance of evergreen trees and the significance of pillars that made up the temple. The structure and structural supports of the building symbolize the zodiac signs, seasons, and many other things. After exploring the temple grounds, we headed to the high-speed train station, where we took off for Nanjing (traveling 1000 km in a little over 3 hours!)

The train station was much bigger and much more like an airport than I thought it would be. In addition to the station being fun, the train was an amazing experience. Everything was so smooth yet so fast, and it was nice to watch the landscapes pass by and change by the minute. I give it five stars and would love to ride it again.

After the train ride, we met our new tour guide, Jessica, and headed to a family-style dinner where I had the pleasure of trying some date cake and straight gluten (both get five stars). By the end of dinner, my friends and I were a little slap-happy, but we ended up getting to the hotel just fine, where we all will hopefully get a good night’s sleep.

Some interesting observations throughout the day:

∙We set an alarm for 7 am but I woke up at 6:48 to someone clearing their throat quite loudly in the hallway. They then continued clearing their throat for the next five minutes.

∙At breakfast, we discovered that the machine that could make warm milk tea could also whip up a piping hot orange juice, which my roommate deemed ‘not as good as the cold one.’ After breakfast, we headed back to the room and read a little.

Blog 3

A Day Through the Heart of Beijing

This morning, we got to enjoy a little more sleep before heading to our first activity of the day. We walked through the Hutongs (Beijing alleyways) to a paper cutting workshop where we made the characters for happiness and spring (囍，春), then we had free time to explore some of the streets nearby to shop and eat lunch.

My group went to a tea store, got some jewelry, and got some boba before heading to lunch, where we had chicken dumpling soup, zha jiang mian (a classic Beijing noodle dish), and beef shu mai.

Then we traveled to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is a major center for Chinese politics and cultural pride. The square and the area surrounding it contain important government buildings, the memorial to Mao Zedong, the National Museum, and the gate to the Forbidden City, all of which lie on the city’s central axis. The Forbidden City itself was the imperial palace for 24 emperors across the Ming and Qing dynasties, and walking through its massive gates felt like stepping directly into Chinese history.

We finished our day with a celebratory dinner of Peking Duck!

Blog 2

Exploring China’s history: The Great Wall & Summer Palace

Today we woke up bright and early to reach the Mutianyu Great Wall before the traffic and heat did.

Before we left the hotel, we ate our breakfast at the hotel, which was buffet style. The food was interesting because lots of the food that was considered breakfast in China is what we would consider lunch or dinner types of food.

We arrived at the Great Wall after learning about its history on our bus ride there. The wall was incredible, especially when you think about how they managed to make it in the past with none of the technology that we have today.

The walk on the Wall was intense, but it was worth it, and it had many great views. Many of the steps were very steep, but we made pretty good progress. During our walk, both of our groups saw some cats, which were very cute. We all were treated to some popsicles too, which helped to combat the immense heat.

Right after the Great Wall of China, we drove to lunch, where we enjoyed a family-style meal consisting of chicken, beef, lamb, rice, and various vegetables! Following lunch, we drove to the Summer Palace, which is the world’s largest and best-preserved Imperial garden. It was originally constructed in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong as a celebration of his mother’s birthday; however, during the Second Opium War, it was burned to the ground by French-Anglo armies and later reconstructed in 1895.

During our time at the Summer Palace, we enjoyed wandering the gardens and architecture, taking lots of photos, and exploring the gift shops. For dinner, we had Beijing copper hotpot with lots of meat and vegetables. Afterwards, we had plenty of time to enjoy exploring the local area and shops surrounding our hotel!

By Sophia Luzniak & Catherine Burlew

Blog 1

Our China Adventure Begins!

After a long flight, we finally arrived in Beijing! The airport was bustling with excitement, and we can’t wait to explore this new place. We checked into our hotel and settled in before heading out for our first group dinner. Our first impression of Beijing it is bustling and has beautiful architecture, and we’re excited to see what the rest of the trip has in store.

We were greeted by our Walking Tree Program Leader Alena and tour guide Gary at the airport, who were incredibly friendly and helpful. They will be showing us around for the entire trip and gave us some helpful tips to make the most out of our experience.

The food here is amazing! We had delicious kungpao chicken for dinner, and everyone loved it. We can’t wait to try more local food during our trip.

Welcome to the Walking Tree Blog!