GEEO China Google Earth Presentation Script

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USA

Today I’d like to share a great experience I had traveling to China through a nonprofit called GEEO. GEEO helps educators travel abroad so they can learn more about other cultures and bring that learning home to their students. I was joined on my trip by teachers from all around the United States.

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Asia

China sits on the Asian continent, Earth’s largest. Can anyone name other countries in Asia? China is in East Asia, near Japan and North and South Korea.

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China

With over 1.4 billion people, China is one of the world’s most populous countries. Nearly one out of every five people on the planet lives in China. Until recently it was the most populous country; India now has a slightly larger population.

China is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations, with thousands of years of history. Powerful dynasties — the Qin, Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing — shaped Chinese culture, language, art, and architecture.

The geography is remarkably diverse: the Himalayas and Mount Everest in the west, the Gobi Desert in the north, fertile river valleys like the Yellow River and Yangtze in the east, and tropical forests in the south.

Today China is one of the world’s most influential powers, with the second-largest economy. Its culture has shaped the world — Confucianism influenced ideas about family and society; inventions like paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass changed history; and Chinese food, language, and art are recognized everywhere.

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Beijing

Our journey began in Beijing, China’s capital for the last 800+ years. With over 20 million residents, it’s a massive city that contains centuries-old architecture and modern infrastructure. Bullet trains, skyscrapers, and neon signs can be found alongside ancient temples and palaces.

Despite its size, Beijing holds pockets of quiet beauty in its gardens, tea houses, and historic alleyways called hutongs.

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Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square in central Beijing is one of the world’s largest public squares and the site of many important historical events. It’s surrounded by landmarks including the Great Hall of the People (where China’s national legislature meets), the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, and the Gate of Heavenly Peace with Chairman Mao Zedong’s famous portrait.

In 1989, tens of thousands of students and citizens gathered here calling for political reform and greater freedoms. The government declared martial law and sent in troops to forcibly clear the square. The violent crackdown resulted in many deaths, though the exact number remains unknown. The image of “Tank Man” — a lone protester standing in front of a column of tanks — became famous worldwide. The event is not openly discussed in China today due to government censorship, but it remains an important moment in global history and a reminder of the struggle for human rights and freedom of expression.

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Chairman Mao Memorial Hall

At the center of Tiananmen Square stands the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, where the preserved body of Mao Zedong is on display. Many Chinese visitors travel long distances to pay their respects. Mao was the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, and his influence on Chinese society, politics, and culture is still strong.

Whether or not you agree with Mao’s policies, there’s no question his legacy looms large in China’s national identity. His face is an important national symbol and appears on the country’s money.

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The Forbidden City

North of Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City, once home to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The enormous palace complex covers 180 acres with nearly 1,000 buildings, surrounded by a defensive wall and moat. For nearly 500 years it was closed to all but royal families and their staff — ordinary people couldn’t enter without permission, hence the name “forbidden.”

The design reflects traditional Chinese ideas of harmony, with buildings arranged along a central north-south axis. Colors, numbers, and symbols were carefully chosen to represent imperial power. Today, the Forbidden City houses the Palace Museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO World Heritage Sites are landmarks or areas designated by the UN for cultural or historical significance. The program conserves sites for future generations.

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Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven was built in the early 1400s during the Ming dynasty for rituals to ensure a good harvest. The emperor — known as the Son of Heaven — came here to pray for favorable weather and abundant crops. Its most famous building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a circular wooden structure built without nails and decorated in blue, gold, and red.

The grounds are huge — larger than the Forbidden City. Today it’s a popular public park where locals practice tai chi, fly kites, and play traditional instruments.

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The Great Wall of China

About 90 minutes outside Beijing, we visited the Great Wall. We explored the Mutianyu section, which winds dramatically along forested mountain ridges with watchtowers perched high above the valleys.

The Great Wall isn’t a single wall — it’s a vast network of walls, towers, and fortifications stretching over 13,000 miles across northern China. The earliest fortifications date back more than 2,000 years to the 7th century BCE, but the sections we visited were largely rebuilt during the Ming dynasty (14th–17th centuries).

The wall was built for defense against invasions from northern nomadic groups and to control trade and migration along the Silk Road. It became a powerful symbol of unity and national pride — one of the most incredible engineering feats in human history, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

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Xi’an

Next we took a high-speed bullet train to Xi’an, one of China’s oldest cities and former capital of several ancient dynasties. Today it’s home to over 12 million people. Once called Chang’an, it served as the eastern starting point of the Silk Road — the trade route connecting China with the Middle East and Europe — which made it one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the ancient world.

Xi’an’s old city walls are some of the best-preserved in China. Can you see their outline? Built in the 14th century during the Ming dynasty, the wall stretches about 8.5 miles around the old city, and visitors can walk or bike along the top.

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Muslim Quarter & Great Mosque

One of Xi’an’s most fascinating areas is the Muslim Quarter, a lively market filled with food vendors and souvenir stalls. The neighborhood is home to China’s Hui Muslim community, descendants of Silk Road traders who settled here centuries ago.

The cultural blend shows up in the food and architecture. We saw vendors grilling lamb skewers, frying dumplings, and selling traditional sweets like persimmon cakes.

Nearby is the Great Mosque of Xi’an, one of the oldest and largest mosques in China, founded in the 8th century during the Tang dynasty. What makes it striking is its design — a functioning mosque whose architecture looks like a traditional Chinese temple, with courtyards, pavilions, and wooden carvings rather than typical domes or minarets.

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Terracotta Warriors

The highlight of Xi’an was the Terracotta Warriors, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

In 1974, farmers digging a well uncovered life-sized clay statues buried underground. They were part of an enormous army built to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of unified China, who ruled over 2,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have uncovered over 8,000 soldiers, along with horses, chariots, and weapons. Each warrior is unique, with different facial features, hairstyles, and armor.

After the emperor’s death, rebels overthrew the Qin dynasty and destroyed much of the site. The warriors were smashed into pieces and buried for centuries. Today archaeologists carefully reconstruct them piece by piece — sometimes from hundreds of fragments per warrior — and new discoveries are still being made.

The warriors were meant to protect the emperor in the afterlife. Standing before row after row of these reconstructed soldiers is truly awe-inspiring.

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Chengdu

We took a high-speed train to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China. With over 16 million people, Chengdu is known for its laid-back atmosphere.

Sichuan is famous worldwide for spicy food, especially dishes with the mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorn. Chengdu is recognized by UNESCO as a City of Gastronomy, and its history stretches back over 2,300 years.

We experienced Chengdu’s most iconic meal: Sichuan hotpot. A pot of bubbling broth sits at the table’s center — one side mild, the other filled with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns that create a tingling, numbing sensation. You drop in vegetables, tofu, noodles, or thin slices of meat, cook them at the table, and dip them in your own sauce. It’s not just a meal; it’s a social experience, and a fiery one.

But Chengdu is perhaps best known for something else: it’s home to China’s beloved national animal, the giant panda.

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Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

One of the highlights of Chengdu was the Giant Panda Research Base, one of the world’s leading centers dedicated to breeding and protecting giant pandas.

The giant panda is vulnerable — once endangered — and found only in Sichuan’s mountains and a few neighboring provinces. Fewer than 2,000 pandas live in the wild.

Scientists work to protect and grow the population through breeding programs, habitat protection, and public education. Visitors can see pandas of all ages, from newborn cubs to adults, living in enclosures that mimic natural bamboo forests.

Giant pandas are China’s national symbol, and their preservation is a major conservation success story. Chengdu plays a critical role in that effort.

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Red Panda Conservation Area

The base is also home to red pandas — smaller relatives of the giant panda, with reddish fur and long, bushy tails.

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People’s Park

Later that day we walked through People’s Park, one of Chengdu’s most popular gathering places. Locals come for tai chi, dancing, karaoke, traditional instruments, and tea at open-air teahouses. You can even see people having their ears cleaned — a traditional service in Sichuan tea culture.

Another highlight is the “matchmaking corner,” where parents post ads for their adult children in hopes of arranging introductions. It’s a tradition that captures the mix of old and new in Chinese family life.

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Leshan Giant Buddha

After leaving Chengdu, we stopped in the city of Leshan to see the Leshan Giant Buddha, the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world.

Carved into a red sandstone cliff during the Tang dynasty over 1,200 years ago, the statue stands 233 feet tall. Its shoulders are almost 100 feet wide, and a person could sit comfortably on one toe.

A monk named Haitong began the project in the 8th century, believing a giant Buddha would calm the dangerous currents where the Minjiang, Dadu, and Qingyi Rivers meet. The tons of stone removed during construction actually did alter the currents, making the river safer.

Visitors can walk down a riverside trail to stand beside the Buddha’s enormous feet, or take a boat ride to see the statue rising from the cliff face. Hidden drainage channels carved into the hair, collar, arms, and back divert rainwater — clever engineering that has protected the Buddha from erosion for over a millennium.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with nearby Mount Emei, one of Chinese Buddhism’s holiest mountains.

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Mount Emei

Our next stop was Mount Emei, rising over 10,000 feet above sea level. It has been a pilgrimage site for nearly 2,000 years, dotted with temples, monasteries, and breathtaking scenery. We spent a full day hiking the mountain.

We began at Wannian Temple, the “Ten-Thousand-Year Temple,” first built during the Eastern Jin dynasty around the 4th century. It’s known for its bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva seated on a white elephant — a figure associated with Mount Emei who represents wisdom and practice in Buddhism.

We continued through lush forests and stone stairways used by pilgrims for centuries to Bailong Cave, “White Dragon Cave.” According to legend, a white dragon once lived here, protecting the mountain and its pilgrims.

The trail led to Qingyin Pavilion, one of the mountain’s most picturesque spots. “Qingyin” means “Pure Sound” — streams rush through narrow gorges, creating a constant sound of flowing water, and the elegant wooden pavilion has long been a place for meditation.

Higher up, we reached the Monkey Zone, where wild macaques live along the trail. They’re clever, mischievous, and not shy — known to snatch food or water bottles from visitors. By day’s end we’d experienced sacred temples, beautiful nature, and wild monkeys: a true reflection of what makes Mount Emei special.

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Yangshuo

From Mount Emei, we traveled southeast to Yangshuo, a peaceful town that felt like a different China — rural, relaxed, and surrounded by stunning scenery. It’s a popular spot for hiking, cycling, and boating.

The area is known for dramatic karst limestone mountains that have inspired Chinese poets and painters for centuries. Karst topography forms when limestone bedrock is slowly dissolved by mildly acidic rainwater over millions of years: rain picks up carbon dioxide from air and soil, becomes mildly acidic, and dissolves the soft limestone underground. Over time this carves out caves, tunnels, and sinkholes. Eventually some caves collapse, leaving behind the sharp, steep peaks we see today.

Yangshuo’s karst hills are part of a vast limestone plateau that once lay beneath a shallow sea hundreds of millions of years ago. As the sea retreated and the land lifted, erosion sculpted the dramatic towers and ridges. This distinctive landscape is called “tower karst” because the hills look like stone towers rising from the earth.

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Li River

One of the highlights of Yangshuo was a bamboo raft ride down the Li River, floating past towering limestone peaks, quiet villages, and fishing boats along the banks.

This landscape appears on the back of the 20-yuan banknote. In person, it feels like stepping into a traditional Chinese painting. After the raft ride, we crossed the river by ferry to Dabeicun village, traveling through countryside past rice paddies and farmhouses to the Jia Community Restaurant, where local women cooked and served our meal — working together to create economic opportunities for their families. It’s a clear example of how responsible tourism can support rural communities and preserve traditional ways of life.

One traditional practice along the Li River is cormorant fishing. Fishermen train cormorants to dive and catch fish; a ring around the bird’s neck keeps it from swallowing larger fish, so it brings them back to the boat, and the fishermen reward it with smaller fish it can eat. This method has been practiced in southern China for over a thousand years. Today it’s mostly done for cultural demonstrations, but it’s a fascinating reminder of how people have lived with the river for generations.

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Shanghai

Finally, we ended our journey in Shanghai, China’s largest city and one of the most dynamic in the world. With a population of more than 26 million, it’s a global financial hub, a cultural center, and a showcase of modern China’s growth.

Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River and has been a key trading port for centuries. In the 19th century, parts of the city were controlled by foreign powers, which shaped its architecture and culture.

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The Bund

One of Shanghai’s most famous places is the Bund, a promenade along the Huangpu River. On one side stand grand European-style buildings dating to the early 20th century, when Shanghai was an international trading hub — they once housed banks, trading houses, and consulates from around the world.

Across the river is the futuristic skyline of Pudong, with some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world, lit up at night like something out of a sci-fi movie.

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Shanghai Museum

Shanghai is home to the Shanghai Museum, considered one of China’s best. Its collections include ancient bronze vessels from over 3,000 years ago, ceramics, jade, carvings, ancient coins, and traditional Chinese painting. It’s a treasure house of Chinese art and history that helped connect everything we’d seen on our journey — like walking through thousands of years of Chinese history under one roof.

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Yuyuan Gardens & Market

After the museum, we took the metro to Yuyuan Gardens, a classical Chinese garden built in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty. The gardens are designed as a miniature world of harmony, with winding pathways, koi ponds, stone bridges, and peaceful pavilions.

Next door is the bustling Yuyuan Market, filled with shops and food stalls where you can try Shanghai snacks and buy traditional crafts. The contrast between the quiet gardens and the lively market makes this one of the most memorable corners of the city.

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Pudong Skyline

That night we returned to Pudong to take in some of Shanghai’s most iconic skyscrapers. The Oriental Pearl Tower, with its futuristic spheres, was once the tallest structure in the city; it houses an observation deck with a glass floor — perfect if you’re not afraid of heights.

The Shanghai Tower is currently the tallest building in China and the third tallest in the world, standing at 2,073 feet (632 meters). Its twisting design reduces wind resistance, and it has the fastest elevators in the world, traveling up to 45 miles per hour. From the observation deck you get a 360-degree view of the skyline, the river, and the endless grid of lights stretching to the horizon.

The Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center are also among the tallest skyscrapers on Earth. At night the skyline lights up with dazzling colors — one of the most spectacular city views anywhere — and you can take a river cruise to see it up close.

Did you extend your trip and visit more of China or East Asia? If so, share those places with your students too.