Hopkins-Nanjing Center Blog

The Hopkins-Nanjing Center is fortunate to be located in one of China's most richly historical cities, with important sites in several dynasties and in modern Chinese history. Student Blogger Eric Omorogieva takes us on a tour of his favorite historical spots around Nanjing! One of the advantages of living and studying in Nanjing is the proximity to a sea of beautiful landmarks, museums, and the unique nature that surrounds the city. The city and its thousands of years of stories, whether inspiring, happy, or tragic, serve as an important marker throughout Chinese history for its status as the capital of several dynasties and the birthplace of China’s first republic. For those eager to explore the roots of a city, like me, your time in Nanjing will be filled with exciting opportunities to discover. Here I will introduce five of Nanjing’s many prominent locations that are worth visiting. HNC students on a Purple Mountain hike Purple Mountain (紫金山) Many current HNC Students are famil...

This semester, with the Hopkins-Nanjing Center fully back in-person for the first time in three years, many interest groups are back to their pre-pandemic activities and many new ones have sprouted, like the Public Speaking Club, Ping Pong Class, the Hogwarts Games, food and milk tea groups, and even the student-run coffee shop in the HNC student lounge. Below are a few highlighted groups. Public Speaking Club (Toastmasters) If you've never heard of Toastmasters, I'd encourage anyone to try it out! It's a worldwide organization with more than 10,000 clubs, including 100 in China and 20 in Nanjing. The Toastmasters meeting format includes table topic discussions, two speeches, evaluations, and other activities that provide participants an encouraging environment to practice their public speaking on all topics. In the HNC club, the Chinese students use English while the international use Chinese. We always discuss topics relating to culture, history, and international relatio...

September 29 through October 6 was this year’s Golden Week in China. Students had off-time from class to work on theses, sightsee in Nanjing, or travel. For Golden Week 2023, Sam Trizza, his roommate Jack 周峰 , Brock Mullen, and Sam Parmer took a road trip through nearby provinces, visiting ancient towns and rural areas.   Before I arrived at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, I was recommended a book by Peter Hessler called Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory . I picked it up at the HNC library and, with my roommate Jack’s overwhelming kindness, we planned a road trip through Jiangsu 江苏 , Zhejiang 浙江 , and Anhui 安徽 ––a circle around Taihu Lake––for Golden Week. Here are notes from our journey:   Day 1: We left Nanjing for the Number #1 Road 一号公路 in Yixing, Jiangsu to have lunch with one of Jack’s students and her family. Besides being an HNC student, Jack is primarily an English teacher helping students focus on their oratory skills. Yoyo (10), Andrew (7),...