b"STUDENT EXPERIENCEBEIJINGThe Beijing Studio was a special one for our class because most of the students in MUDD25 are originally from China. It gave students an opportunity to re-evaluate and appreciate the capital city of their home country. The main focus of this studio was the Grand Canal and through the field trips and interviews with villagers who live along this impressive waterway, students learned a lot about the history, culture and development of this famous world heritage site and started to consider the future of the canal as well.The City Walk was an unforgettable experience. We crossed the city axis of Beijing from Qianmen to Gulou. We visited the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall and the Forbidden City Museum to gain an understanding of classical Chinese architecture and city planning. We also went to the Summer Palace and to the Great Wall. This trip made us feel a deep historical connection to China and its four ancient civilizations. After this, we spent a further day undertaking a field trip to our study site of Xiji Town which is in Tongzhou District, to the east of Beijing City.In the Beijing offices of Turenscape, an internationally recognised design firm, we also had a wonderful experience. We were divided into five groups to focus on five different villages that we studied on our field trip. We encountered many challenges and interesting issues in the design process because of the differences in design approach and planning policies that exist in China compared to Australia. Fortunately, we were guided by the Turenscape staff as well as professors from Peking University who gave us valuable lectures and provided important information to assist with our design challenges.In general, the Beijing Studio was a great experience that combined western design methods with a Chinese urban and rural construction model. Different land tenure, different street scales, different population capacities; all these differences created many fresh experiences for us. Working with Professor James Weirick and Jodi Lawton from the MUDD Program and assisted by a team of professional urban designers, academics from Peking University and government representatives was very impressive. Through our discussions with the local residents we even felt as though the projects were more real-world than a usual university project. We gained a better understanding of China's planning and design system which is a valuable asset when we as UNSW students apply to work as urban designers and planners in China in the future.- Ding Liqi (Ricky)147P6-20200302-OTHERS.indd 4 2020/3/3 0:09:50"