50-Day Trans-Eurasian Journey

Before I turned 14, my mom and I spent 50 days traveling overland across Eurasia. We left Guangzhou by train, traveled on the Trans-Siberian Railway through Ulaanbaatar and past Lake Baikal to Moscow, then continued by train and coach through Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, and France before reaching London.

The trip didn’t always go according to plan. Railway maintenance meant we had to change our route at one point and rethink connections along the way. I helped keep track of the timetable and our luggage, and worked with my mom to sort out small problems as they came up. The landscapes, languages, and everyday customs changed as we crossed between Asia and Europe. Places and ideas I had read about in geography and history started to feel much more concrete. That slow journey taught me that a trip is made of more than the places you reach; it’s also the unexpected things that happen on the way.

I’ve also planned visits to four major art and history museums: the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Standing in front of the exhibits made ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Chinese civilization, and Renaissance art feel less like names on a page. I was especially struck by the Liao dynasty tri-color arhats from Yixian, Hebei, whose sculptures are now divided between museums in Britain and the United States. Seeing them made me think more about how objects, histories, and cultures connect across borders. I couldn’t understand every detail at the time, but the things I saw gave me vivid memories to connect with what I’ve learned about history and art since.