So, you are going to China or Taiwan. But where exactly are you going? Can you find it on a map? Can you find the writings of others who have already journeyed there? Before you start planning your departure, stop and think about all the ways that your location has been called or spelled over time. In some cases the actual name used by the country has changed. In other cases the romanization has changed. 北京 is Beijing, Peiching, and Peking. But it used to have many other names, including 北平 Beiping, Pei-ping, Peiping.

Stop and take a minute to look up your place name (personally I start with Wikipedia). Write down or take note of the major names/spellings because you will find all these variations or more when you start reading travel accounts. This will make it much easier to search for writings on your specific location or to find its location on older maps. 

What a wonderful opportuntity Prof. Wu has given you! In this assignment you will use your imagination and research skills to develop a travel project and write about it. Many people are arm-chair travelers, enjoying the adventures and insights of others. Others read travel literature to help prepare themselves for their own travels. The more you know about a country the better you will be able to use your time there effectively. 

Just to remind you about your assignment. You need to gather information that will help you to write:

1. Introduction – Begin by specifying your target audience and describing your overarching goals for this group of travlers China/Taiwan.
2. Body text—include historical overview, historical and modern maps and images, previous travel accounts (including both classic and modern periods), a comparison of narratives and/or perspectives represented in contemporary Tour Books (such as Michelin the Green Guide, and the Lonely Planet guide).
3. An annotated itinerary (and an explanation of your motivation behind it). You may want to use Google map to identify the place.
4. Conclusion—include your anticipation of how your group will walk away with meaninful in-depth knowledge of some facet(s) of Chinese/Taiwanese life.

Sharon Domier

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Thursdays at Smith (located in Neilson Library Collection Services)
sdomier@smith.edu
(413) 585-2924

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