Photo courtesy of the International Programs Office. Midshipmen 2nd Class Frank Rivera, Dan Chan, Mike Orzetti and Ken Barnes stand in front of the American Embassy in Bejing during a recent trip to China.

‘‘I don’t speak Chinese and China seemed a little too large and distant when compared to my small hometown in southern Tennessee which boasts only one stop sign, so I thought the chances of being selected were pretty slim,” said Barnes.

Within 48 hours of interviewing for the trip, he was notified that he would be one of the four midshipmen accompanying two faculty members to China.

After a medical screening with vaccinations, a multitude of paperwork and a brief by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the group was on its way to Beijing, a city of 18 million people and, as Barnes would quickly realize, a stark contrast from the population of his hometown.

‘‘When we landed in Beijing we never looked back. The week was a high-speed immersion in Chinese history, religion, culture and economic structure,” said Barnes. ‘‘We had a few hours remaining on the first day after landing and decided the time would be best spent getting in touch with the local cuisine.”

On the second morning, snowfall caused them to reschedule their planned trip to the Great Wall, opting instead for tours of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of the Dalai Lama, with its 60 foot statue of Buddha.

The group also traveled to cities outside of Beijing.

‘‘Being an economics major I was most interested in Tianjin, a large port city being speedily developed by the Chinese government,” said Barnes. ‘‘The method and speed at which the city was being planned and built was fascinating.”

As they traveled the city visiting different private and state owned companies, signs of construction were evident. During the first stop at a building used to plan urban development, they viewed models of a city more than twice as large as New York City with an estimated finish date in 10 years. This speed equates to the ability to build a skyscraper in as little as 3 months.

‘‘When we asked how such a complicated city development plan was possible at the rate they were moving, they remarked that their huge resource of labor and the government’s ability to act on decisions without being tied down by a bureaucratic system enabled such massive production,” said Barnes.

After returning to Beijing the group explored the Silk Market where, with the help of Midshipman 2nd Class Michael Orzetti, who spoke some Chinese, they were able to negotiate purchases.

Traveling to Xian, the ancient capital city of China, they had the opportunity to visit the Terracotta Warriors, a group of funerary statues dating to 210 B.C., and meet the farmer who was the first to uncover one of the stone warriors while digging a well on his farm.

They also experienced local culture by attending an acrobatics show and the eating local cuisine. Before returning to Beijing, they rented bikes to view the ancient capital city from its 12 meter inner wall, a structure that has surrounded the inner city of Xian since 1370.

They later visited the more famous Great Wall of China

‘‘It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip,” said Midshipman 2nd Class Frank Rivera, who was also part of the group. ‘‘The Wall winded its way into and out of sight for as far as you could see and stood out as a solid line along the mountains.”

‘‘This rare opportunity to travel internationally allowed all of us to experience firsthand how different the world can be by exposing us all to a wide variety of cultural opportunities,” said Barnes.