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Heriberto Sedeno visited China and Tibet in May 16, 2012. This trip was led by Virginia Bower, a Princeton graduate and adjunct Associate professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
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HERIBERTO SEDENO JOINS THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE SPONSORED TRIP TO CHINA AND TIBET
Heriberto Sedeno visited China and Tibet in May 16, 2012. This trip was led by Virginia Bower, a Princeton graduate and adjunct Associate professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She has contributed to numerous museum catalogs and exhibitions, a co-editor of “Chinese Ceramics: from the Paleolithic period to the Qin dynasty. Ms. Bower as an expert in Chinese art and archeology contracted with Smithsonian Institute to lead this cultural voyage to China and Tibet.
Mr. Sedeno left Austin to join other members of the group in San Francisco to take the 12-hour flight to Beijing. His exploration of Beijing, a 2,000-year-old city, began at Tiananmen Square the symbolic heart of China visiting the Forbidden City, seat of imperial power during the Ming and Qin dynasty. He also visited the Temple of Heaven where the emperors once worshipped and the Great Wall of China (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) at the Mutianyu section of the wall, where he took a cable car up to the partially reconstructed ramparts and walk along the seemingly endless fortification over 4,000 miles in length.
Mr. Sedeno also rode a rickshaw ride along the Beijing Hutongs (the old imperial neighborhoods by the side of the Forbidden City). There he visited a traditionalist, communal life-style home of a calligraphist and his family. Next stop, the Summer Palace, the previous home of the Empress Dowager Cixi in late 19th – early 20th century, whose final act of power was to install Puyi, at the age of three, as the last emperor of China. This historic event was depicted in the 1987 biopic “The Last Emperor of China”. Puyi’s life is shown from his ascent to the throne in 1908 as a small boy, overseen the collapse of his Manchurian Qin dynasty in 1920, to his imprisonment and political rehabilitation by the Chinese communist regime.
From Beijing, the travel group flew to Xi’an the Imperial capital city of many dynasties. Xi’an is located in the Shaanxi province along the Wei river valley. It is also significant in history that this city was the beginning of the “Silk Road” a 4,000 mile trail ending in Damascus, Syria close to the Mediterranean thus connecting with Europe. At Xi’an Mr. Sedeno visited the world famous site of the Terra-cotta Warriors. 7,000 life-size soldiers created to guard China’s first emperor (Qin Shihuang 210 BCE) in the afterlife. He also took a leisurely walk on top of the famous imperial walls, which fortified the city.
Next stop, Chengdu, where Mr. Sedeno visited the renowned Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, the only such panda refuge in the world. Chengdu is the provincial capital of Sichuan, famous for its agricultural productivity and fine spicy cuisine. Paper money was first circulated here in the 11th century, and financial institutions remain a pillar of the city’s economy. Textiles also add to Chengdu’s historic reputation for weaving fine silk brocades which were traded on the Silk Road” to be enjoyed by European royalty. Of important note, during World War II, Chengdu became a base for US B-29’s that flew from India over the Himalayan called the “Hump” to China.
Chengdu is the entry point to Lhasa, Tibet, which will be discussed in another article.
