CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF GREATER CHINA
Feature Journey: Bridget Shee 2014
Bridget Shee, H.M. Jackson High, Mill Creek, AP World History, Grade 10 - 12, 2014
  • Journey Author
  • Tour Photos
  • Lesson Plan
  • Author: Bridget Shee
  • School: H.M. Jackson High, Mill Creek,
  • Subject: AP World History
  • Grade: 10 - 12
  • Trip Year: 2014
  • Email:
  • About the Author:
My name is Bridget Shee Anderson and I’ve been an educator in Washington for the past seventeen years. Presently, I’m teaching at H.M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek as an AP World History teacher and Psychology. I’m a mother to two great kids; Liam (14) and Eryn (10) and live in Snohomish where I will be watching my own child start high school this year. I have recently developed a passion for tennis and love reading, hanging out with family and friends and travelling whenever possible. I’m tremendously excited about the opportunity to visit China and thank the Cultural Exploration of Greater China Board for choosing me to represent the organization this year.

I grew up in Montreal and Vancouver, Canada and developed a taste for travelling as a 16-year old exchange student in Bombay, India where I lived for a year and a half. I met my husband when we were both teaching English in a tiny town in Japan and moved to Seattle after we got married. Since then, we have tried to travel as much as we could – Europe, SE Asia and North America. Despite all of this travelling, I’ve never been to China! I didn’t know much about China and, in all honesty, never wanted to visit until I started teaching AP World History. This class is all about China and I have found the subject fascinating. I’ve enjoyed learning and teaching the classical and post-classical dynastic history and seeing the cyclical nature of China’s economic power come forth once again. One of my goals is to develop some AP curriculum in primary source analysis and interview people about Confucian philosophy, Buddhism and where these values and beliefs fit into their lives today. However, I’m just as curious about the environmental issues and the capitalist vs. communist ideologies and outcomes for average citizens. I am looking at this trip as an incredible opportunity to learn and then share my observations, interviews and sources with future students. I think it will make the history of the region that much more exciting as they discover continuities and changes over time within China as well as comparisons with their own country.
We selected eleven pictures from Bridget’s collection of hundreds of pictures taken in Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Taipei. They cover a wide range of experiences – all of which Bridget is applying for her High School classes while also sharing with her AP Teachers community.

  • Visiting the old palaces in Beijing
  • Listening a musician playing on a boat cruising on a busy city lake, hosted by a host family in Beijing
  • Boarding a night train from Beijing to Xi’an
  • Visiting the Big Goose Pagoda, built by the Tang Monk who brought Buddhism to China
  • Posting with the Terra Cotta soldiers in Xi’an
  • Touring the Suzhou-style garden in Shanghai
  • Meeting teachers at a school in Shanghai
  • Visualizing Shanghai’s past and future development
  • Teaching a class at a high school in Taipei
Confucianism’s Influence Over Time
Bridget has been refining her lesson plan in this document for her AP World and World History course.