My driver who, assigned to me by one of the largest turquoise business, drove me to the turquoise mines near his village. 
I visited a TikTok Center in Majiadu, where the company trains locals how to sell merchandise on their app. 
I visited Majiadu, a beautiful rural city and local capital that governs many small villages. 
A beautiful picture of houses in Luo Jia Village, close to the turquoise mines high in the mountains.
Matt Kirschner
This summer I traveled to a rural village in Hubei, China on the Council on East Asian Studies Senior Essay Research Grant to study the role of e-commerce in rural economic development. The village I visited specializes in mining, designing, and selling handmade turquoise jewelry online (Alibaba, TikTok, and WeChat). During my three weeks in China I gathered demographic and economic data by distributing surveys, interviewed local turquoise sellers about their views on e-commerce, and tried delicious Hubei spicy noodles!!
Matt Kirschner graduated Yale in the Fall of 2023. You can contact Matt at Matt.Kirschner@yale.edu.
Academic trip to Xitou Nature Education Area 溪頭自然教育園區. Screams Endor. 
Funny picture next to a beach in the Penghu Islands 澎湖. 
Pristine clear water at the Taroko Gorge Park 太魯閣公園 near Hualian 花蓮, Taiwan. 
Academic trip with ICLP to Maokong 貓空 to learn about Taiwan‘s strong tea-making culture and history. 
Zooming through the empty streets of Kending 墾丁 on electric scooters. 
Visit to the TSMC Museum 台積電創新博物館. 
Huoyanshan 火炎山 shows a completely different side of Taiwan! 
Beautiful sunrise in Miaoli 苗栗. 
On top of the world at the Taibei 101.
Jerry Feng
During the Academic Year 2022–2023, I traveled to Taiwan on the Richard U. Light Fellowship to study Chinese at the International Chinese Language Program (ICLP). Over my time there, I took courses in Classical Chinese, Modern Chinese History, Post-Cultural Revolution Chinese Literature, and Translation among other really cool topics. Needless to say, one of the best decisions of my life: I was able to get a deeper understanding of my own culture, got to travel to a lot of places around Taiwan, and explore new passions and interests. (The PC Cafés are a must go!)
Jerry Feng is a junior at Yale in Davenport College studying History and Global Affairs. You can reach Jerry at jerry.feng@yale.edu.