The 2005 “China in Transition: Tradition in Change” field study covered thousands of miles over the most geographically and demographically diverse parts of China. The first half of the trip was in Yunnan Province, known as one of the most ethnically diverse parts of China, and the latter half in Xinjiang Province, known for a rich history and complicated ethnic issues as this is a part of China primarily inhabited by Muslims and with close ties to Central Asia and Russia.

Led by Jeffrey Levick, director of external affairs for the Council on East Asian studies (CEAS), and Eileen Walsh, a former post-doctoral associate at CEAS, and Luce Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Skidmore College, the group began their journey in Kunming, the palm tree-lined, provincial capital city of Yunnan Province. There they visited Yuantong Buddhist Temple and the Yunnan Nationalities Museum as introduction to the complex relationships between Han-Chinese and the 55 officially recognized minorities in China.

From Kunming the group headed into northwestern Yunnan along narrow, winding mountain roads with barely enough room for two passing busses. Participants wandered through the cobblestone maze of the “old city” of Lijiang, where they experienced the blazing spiciness of Dai and Naxi food, marketplace bargaining, and the conspicuous consumption of Chinese and foreign tourists. Near Lugu Lake on the border of Sichuan province, the group had the rare opportunity stay in a Mosou village, where they danced with locals, shared American songs and spent the night with a Mosou family. Other highlights in Yunnan included a sampling of yak butter and a brief stop at Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest gorges in the world where the Yangtze (actually called Jinsha in this region), cuts through two mountain ranges.

From the muddy banks of the Yangtze the group headed 2000 miles away to the desert towns in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The largest province in China, Xinjiang is home to the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. In Kashgar, the group visited the bright yellow Id Kah mosque, one of the largest mosques China. Participants wandered through Kashgar’s Sunday Bazaar, purchasing everything from expensive silk carpets to sun-dried apricots. A seven-hour bumpy bus ride along the Karakoram Highway to Tashkurgan provided stunning views, including the snowcapped Muztagh-Ata. Meanwhile, in Tashkurgan devoured laghman, the noodles Marco Polo supposedly brought back to Italy and that eventually were transformed into spaghetti. In Turpan, the group trekked up the dusty Jiaohe Ruins in 105-degree desert heat. One day later, yet another 2000 miles away, one could find the educators strolling along the Bund in Shanghai taking in the futuristic skyscrapers and sipping on Starbucks coffee. Throughout the journey the participants had a chance to listen to scholars and discuss their impressions and thoughts of the region.

The trip covered substantial ground—both physically and conceptually. This small group of educators experienced firsthand how the lives of ethnic minorities are hindered and helped by the influx of tourists and tourism money. As new roads have brought new wealth to the countryside, they’ve also brought deforestation and erosion. In Xinjiang, the participants could grasp the vastness of Chinese topography and question the role of religion and diversity in the geopolitics of the region. The trip ended with one night and day in Shanghai—a study in contrasts that allowed the group to put their experience within the greater context of China as an emergent economic and international center.