I studied the history of China and Chinese characters at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The course focused on the contributions of the Silk Road which helped tie all of the interesting facts together. The course was composed of one week of lectures followed by a week of excursions. The lectures were held by three teachers, Professor Wang, Professor Zhang and Doctor Liu who were clearly very knowledgeable in the topics they taught. The afternoons were free and I spent them getting to know the other students from around the world as well as exploring Shanghai. The week of excursions was the most interesting part for me as it brought together everything we had learned about Chinese characters and their origin from oracle bones as well as the creation of the Silk Road and its importance as an ancient trade route connecting China with central Asia and eastern parts of Europe. I was amazed to be able to see the Terracotta Army, a legacy left behind by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang as well as the Mogao Caves a forgotten treasure in Dunhuang which illustrates the impact of Buddhism at the time as well as the artistic influences and wealth of the citizens at the time. It was also very useful to visit the museums and learn about each artefacts importance in much greater detail due to the expertise of our Professors and Doctor. I believe that the course was an appropriate length for the content provided and was full of fascinating information about the history of China. To make the course better I think the buddies should have organised a social so we could have met them properly and perhaps learned about the type of youth culture and educational differences in China. Also, I feel that a beginners Chinese course would have been very useful and I know for the other courses this is provided but I guess as this course is quite short it maybe difficult to provide. Apart from that I really enjoyed myself and found Professor Liu, Rose and Jingjing extremely helpful and friendly and really organised the course well! I would definitely recommend this course for people who want to learn more about China, not only about its history and roots but also its culture in the present day. Learning about a new culture with people from around the world also provided many different perspectives and I have been inspired to continue learning more since returning home to the UK.