By Jordan Delp

Jordan Delp is a men’s basketball player at Augustana. He is blogging about the team’s trip to China. For more posts about the Vikings’ journey, click here.

We spent today in Guangzhou, China sight-seeing, going through the markets, and trying to get some Chinese money.

Today was kind of a down day, with no game or practice to talk about. We got to lie around, hang out and just took it easy. It was a nice change of pace from the last few days that were a little bit more upbeat.

The day started with a buffet-style breakfast on the top floor of our hotel; the view was phenomenal and we were able to see a lot of Guangzhou. After breakfast we took a tour of the city, stopping at three places. Our first stop was at a monument/museum made for the “father of China.” It was a cool stop, and the building was one of the first that reminded me of Chinese architecture in its construction. Our second stop was at a Confusion temple that was right in the middle of the city. The temple was converted to a memorial for Mao Zedong, the leader of the Communist Revolution that began in 1911. This was another place that reminded me of Chinese architecture, so that was an interesting break from the more modern architecture we have been seeing a lot of at our stops. It was also interesting to learn that part of Mao Zedong’s mission in the revolution was to elevate the status of the peasant farmer in China, hoping to bring these people to his cause.

Our last stop today was at a traditional Chinese market. Walking down these streets we saw many different things for sale. One stretch of the market was mostly devoted to selling animals — everything from dogs and cats, to turtles, chickens, and even scorpions were available at these shops. Shortly thereafter we went through a stretch of hand-made crafts that were extremely impressive. After crossing a bridge into another part of town we saw a variety of more Western-style shops mixed in with traditional shops. One shop would be selling designer clothing and golf clubs, and next door you would find Chinese scrolls, jewelry and even swords and daggers. It was eye-opening to see the shift from shop to shop, and really showed the dynamic between the modernization of China and traditional Chinese culture.

Tomorrow we will be taking our third flight of the trip, as we head to Wuhan, China. We will be there for at least three days, practicing twice with a game towards the end of the week, and helping out at a clinic as well. The clinic will be a cool experience, giving us the opportunity to show a group of coaches how we operate and how hard we work. That’s all from here, talk to you soon.