Several members of the UC Merced faculty, including Chancellor Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, are heading to the Far East this week to participate in an education conference and strengthen ties with Chinese partner universities and national parks.

Samuel Traina, Acting Dean of Graduate Studies and Vice Chancellor for Research, has chosen to provide journal entries for the UC Merced community to follow. He will take pictures and write about his two weeks in China, and his postings will update as often as possible.

"I'm excited about going to China and seeing this ancient culture," Traina said. "It'll be an amazing trip." See how the trip is going by reading his latest postings.