Hello, Beijing

City scenes from Beijing.

By Cindy DeLong
UNL Graduate Student

City scenes from Beijing.

We arrived in Beijing and finally made it to our hotel by 5 Thursday evening. 

Dr. Crews, Amanda and I all left home early-early on Wednesday to catch 6 a.m. flights to Chicago. From there we flew direct to Beijing Capital International Airport. We survived the 13 hour trip (as did our luggage YAY!), made it through immigration and customs only to have to BEG a taxi driver to try to fit all of our luggage (and us of course) into one cab so we only had to take one taxi to the hotel. 

Finally SUCCESS and we were on our way.  One of the first things we noticed about Beijing was the drab skies. It wasn't overcast, it was smog. 

The  cab driver didn't understand English and we didn't understand Chinese. I had (smartly I thought) put a document on my iPad listing each of our hotels, their phone numbers and addresses. When I showed this to him it was useless -- it was not in Chinese characters and the phone number was for calling from the U.S. 

OK...

Dr. Crews thought to pull out her guidebook that had the hotel listed and a Chinese address and a phone number the driver could use. Eventually he got us there. 

Note to self: ALWAYS carry destination information in Chinese characters.

The first thing we did at the hotel was to get a card with the hotel name, address, phone, and map in Chinese. Don't leave the hotel without it!

A pedicab driver waits for a fare.

Cindy DeLong is working on a master's degree in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor of sciences in home economics (clothing and textiles) and journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the New England Quilt Museum as a curatorial intern and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum as a collections intern.

To the Top of the World and Back

Me at the beginning of our climb! We hiked all the way to the lookout point
at the top of the picture. (Look for the black arrow.) Talk about a hike!

By Amanda Lensch
UNL Graduate Student

I took this picture from the top of a particularly steep set of
steps after Cindy and Dr. Crews had climbed down. Yikes!

On this trip there was one ‘tourist site’ that I had to see. Of course it was the Great Wall of China. (I mean how can you go to China without seeing the Great Wall?)

On Saturday, we were part of a tour that took us two hours by bus outside of Beijing to the Mutianyu section of the wall. All I can say is it was great. Great in size-certainly. Great in beauty – absolutely.

Great in tiring us out – like you wouldn’t believe!

The building of the Great Wall began in the 7th century B.C. when China was comprised of many small kingdoms, and was used as a defense mechanism against warring neighbors. The Mutianyu section of the wall was built about 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. At one point, portions of the wall were even used as a means to protect the Silk Road, which was vital to China’s production of silk and their ability to trade globally. To read more about the history of the Great Wall, go here.

Your lovely IQSCM China team (minus Marin)
at the end of our climb!

Upon arriving we took a not so glorified ski lift up to the wall. Our guide recommended that we explore the wall to the right of the lift, as it was typically less crowded, albeit a more challenging hike. So of course, this is what Cindy, Dr. Crews and I decided to do.

The guide wasn’t kidding about it being more challenging. I have the sore muscles to prove it.

I’ve included some pictures of the climb we made to share our great accomplishment with you!

It was a heart racing, muscles burning kind of climb – up and down big steps, little steps, through lookouts, and more. But we did it, and it was so worth it! You feel on top of the world as you take in the breathtaking scenery all around you.

So amazing!

We spent several hours on the wall, before taking, of all things, a toboggan down the mountain! Yes, all three of us took a toboggan down – and we have proof! Topping it all off was a tasty traditional Chinese lunch at the base of the mountain with our tour group.

Simply spectacular.

Successful ride down the mountain! Love having
the opportunity to embrace the inner child!

Amanda Lensch is working on a master’s in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor’s degree in apparel merchandising, design and production with an emphasis in museum studies and a minor in entrepreneurial studies from Iowa State University. She is a graduate assistant working in collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum and previously interned at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Ky., and Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Our Trip's Dual Purposes

We've been talking a lot in this blog about our research agenda for our upcoming trip: searching for examples of patchwork from Shaanxi Province. Our trip to China has another purpose as well, however: to represent the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at Xi'an Jiaotong University's (XJTU) "University of Nebraska Week."

In April, 2012, the University of Nebraska (NU) and XJTU celebrated the opening of the American Exchange Center, an NU-wide initiative that aims to expose Chinese students and faculty to United States history, law, medicine, art, culture and government. The exchange center is one component of NU’s overall global engagement strategy to build relationships with key nations that will benefit Nebraska and the world. Only 10 such centers won seed funding from the U.S. government after a competitive application process.

This year's celebration of the NU-XJTU partnership will include performances by members of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Music, as well as presentations by members of NU's administration, faculty, and staff. This schedule includes lectures by IQSCM Director, Patricia Crews, and myself. Dr. Crews will be talking about "Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers" (a related talk she gave in 2006 can be found here) and I will be speaking on the topic of "Behind the Scenes at the IQSCM," which will include a synopsis of the textile-preservation focused exhibition we produced in 2010, "Quilts Under the Microscope."

A week from today our team will be in Xi'an, and sharing information with XJTU students, faculty, and staff about American quilts and the IQSCM mission will be an important component of our visit.


Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.

The Shoe Box and the Lists

By Cindy DeLong
UNL Graduate Student

Marin might have jewelery, but I have these really cool
Mary Janes. Plus they're comfy, comfy, comfy.

What clothes should I take? How much luggage is allowed? What about books…notebooks…snacks? These kinds of thoughts have been rolling around in my head for many months, and now the time has arrived to figure it all out. 

For the past three weeks or so I have been gathering things like electricity converters, a magnifying glass, a variety of cold, stomach and other over-the-counter medications (better to be prepared!), a money belt, an umbrella, camera and charger, flashlight, iPad (for blogging!) and charger keyboard, the lovely bilingual business cards Marin made for us (that woman has talent!), and most importantly the passport with China visa. They’ve all gone into a large shoe box. It’s getting full.

Then, there are THE LISTS. The list of things that can’t go into the box because they are too big or I might need them before we go – like my raincoat for instance. Which shoes? Comfy shoes for all the walking we’ll be doing are a must. Dressy shoes for visits to museums, Jiaotong University, and some social occasions are on the list too. And what clothes? Marin said she is bringing jewelry…jewelry? Awwww really? …Marin will be stylin’. Me? I can hardly remember to bring more than one pair of earrings. Okay then, gotta rethink the wardrobe a bit (and evidently the coordinating adornments) and go over THE LISTS….there are things I haven’t thought of and clearly they aren’t complete…but they will be….soon…I keep repeating that to myself over and over.

Is all this really necessary?

Is the food in this exotic destination going to agree with me? Maybe not = a trip to Sam’s for power bars, trail mix and I will keep my fingers crossed. Do the hotels have hair dryers? Thankfully yes. An extra set of clothes in my carry-on bag? YES! Credit card companies called? Check. USD to Yuan money conversion app downloaded? Yep. It’s about six yuan to every US dollar. What will it cost to exchange money? I dunno but I’m gonna find out when we get there. I think it depends. Oh yeah, very important, a translator app is on my phone too. Very cool, you type in the phrase you want to say and the app writes and says it in Chinese. Thankfully Marin is a Chinese speaker. Note to self: when the app fails (or I type too slowly) ask Marin. She may tire of me…rather quickly.

Not to forget that life will continue in the U.S. I am paying bills, addressing graduation and mother’s day cards, clipping the shrubs, stopping the mail, and hoping to remember to turn off the air conditioning, unplug the computer, and probably other things I can’t think of right now… hence THE LIST. 

Very soon THE LISTS will be complete – ha ha, not a chance! Even so, the packing is about to commence (well, gotta do laundry first). Then the grand adventure in this wondrous foreign land begins! Can’t wait!! Look out China! Here we come!


Cindy DeLong is working on a master's degree in textile history with an emphasis in quilt studies at UNL. She has a bachelor of sciences in home economics (clothing and textiles) and journalism from the University of Missouri. She has worked at the New England Quilt Museum as a curatorial intern and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum as a collections intern.

Getting Ready

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions 

Yesterday, while all of us are in town for the IQSCM biennial symposium, the research team met to discuss our upcoming trip. We reviewed our research agenda, talking about the sites we would be visiting and the types of patchwork objects we expect to find. We also discussed practical issues, such as what to pack, what gifts to bring, and how to exchange business cards (a big deal in Asia!).

Although our free time will be limited, cultural tourism opportunities abound in Xi'an. In addition to the famous Terra Cotta Warriors, Xi'an is home to the Ban Po neolithic settlement and the most complete city wall that survives in China. If you haven't been to Xi'an before, here's the "Official Xi'an City Trailer," a slick YouTube video about this ancient city. Any suggestions for what we should go see?

We also discussed a few excellent resources on Chinese folk art and symbolism. Nancy Berliner's "Chinese Folk Art" and Patricia Bjaaland Welch's "Chinese Art" are books we'll be referring to regularly both during and after our trip.


Marin Hanson is the Curator of Exhibitions at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She holds undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Northern Illinois University and earned her MA in museum studies and textile history with a quilt studies emphasis from UNL. She is currently pursuing doctoral research on cross-cultural quiltmaking practices, with particular emphasis on China and the United States.