Shannon Kean

University of Adelaide, Australia
Exchange to Tsinghua University, China

Studying in Beijing was the best experience of my life so far and by far the best opportunity that university has made available to me. Having very little travelling experience under my belt, let alone experience travelling alone, I have come away from my exchange with new understanding, and a great deal more confidence and independence.

Beijing is a city of overwhelming size and population, with a unique blend of historic and modern influences. It offers exposure to ‘old’ china, with the few remaining court homes and the many famous landmarks, such as the unmistakable Great Wall and Forbidden City, to the more modern music scene, high-rise buildings and architecture. I was able to indulge in numerous trips to the markets and shopping centres, restaurants serving Peking Duck, or Gong Bao Ji Ding (a must try), and the beautifully manicured gardens spread all around the city.

China, at the heart of Asia, offers opportunities to travel to the numerous countries it borders. I jumped at the opportunity to take a week-long tour of Mongolia, touring the Gobi Desert, grasslands, snow-capped mountains and wetlands. I had never imagined myself travelling to Mongolia, yet I enjoyed every second - from camping in the grasslands, staying with a nomadic family in their ger, to camel riding through a sand storm in the Gobi.

Tsinghua University offered comfortable accommodations, a great range of food, and an extensive choice of Chinese language classes. Before leaving Adelaide, my Chinese skills were pretty basic, and my listening skills poor. However, living in China gave me the opportunity to use and develop my skills, and in a very short time I noticed significant improvement in my listening and speaking skills. The university environment also encouraged greater communication and relations with local students, as well as other exchange students. One of the most rewarding experiences in China was the lifelong friendships I formed with people from all over the world.

At the end of my trip, I looked back on all I had experienced and all I had learnt, and was truly amazed at what I had accomplished. The Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Awards scholarship not only helped me to improve my Chinese language skills, but also gave me the freedom to travel and explore more of the amazing country that is China.

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