A mention of China evokes a vast library of images in the mind of the listener: mega-cities, architecture, good food, the Great Wall.

But no matter the number of images, there’s much more to the country and its rich history and culture. A wise way to understand its depth is to meet the people who populate it – and there are more than a billion such opportunities.

Mark Bender, a Shawnee Hills resident and a professor at The Ohio State University, took students on a month-long program to the southwestern province of Sichuan this summer. In the classroom, the OSU students had the chance to meet their Chinese counterparts – local college students led by the famous Chinese poet, Professor Luo Qingchun, a.k.a. Aku Wuwu. Friendships were forged as the students found common ground learning about each other’s cultures, from poetry to family life.

Bender and his students experienced local ethnic foods, including yogurt and yak meat at a Tibetan restaurant. Having visited China frequently since 1980, Bender fondly describes the yogurt as “fresh” and “unadulterated,” and the yak meat as “gamey, but with a nice flavor.”

“The students thought of it like, ‘Wow! Now I can say I ate yak meat!’” says Bender.

The program centered on the city of Chengdu, a mid-range (for China) city of 14 million people. The group visited attractions including Jiuzhaigou National Park, known for multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes and native pandas; the Leshan Giant Buddha statue, constructed in the eighth and ninth centuries, and other temples; the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, a massive facility dedicated to education, conservation and captive breeding; the earthquake interpretive center in Beichuan; and the Three Stars Cache, a 1,800-year-old archaeological site.

“Chengdu is a very interesting place because it is a real mix of old and new,” says Bender. “You’ve got a lot of historical sites in the city or around the city.”

The trip to Mount Emei was especially memorable, Bender says. The peak is the highest of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China, and visitors can ride to the top in a cable car and trek to the temples. However, the day the OSU group visited, problems with the cable car forced them to hike down the mountain. In such a situation, the humidity is only one concern, Bender says – another is the Tibetan macaques that may try to steal your food. The monkeys were harmless, he says, but did jump on the students’ heads and shoulders.

Bender and his students noticed a palpable dynamic of change in China. The country is booming, particularly in city development.

“Every time that I go back to China, even if I’m gone for six months, I have to reorient myself. The whole street is different, or the whole street is not there,” says Bender. “But you also have to understand that they’ve still got a lot of big problems with a very large population and the differences between the wealthy and not wealthy.”

Brenda Weber of Jackson, Ohio, caught a glimpse of this dynamic as well when she visited in October 2010, organizing her trip through Creative Vacations in Dublin. The vacation gave her a chance to take in the grandeur for which China is known.

“I think Shanghai is probably the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. The buildings they had built, it’s like everyone would try to architecturally outdo the last building,” Weber says. “It’s even grander totally lit up at night … Then you’d see a man trying to take a shower with a hose outside of his house because he had no indoor plumbing.”

The Great Wall is one of the majestic sights in China for any visitor. “It was quite magnificent. When you see it, you’re only seeing parts of it – you don’t realize how long it is,” Weber says.

Combining all of its branches, the wall spans 5,500 miles and is even visible from space. But what touched Weber the most, she says, was “the human aspect. Seeing how many people spent their whole lives building it, and then they would be buried right in the wall.”

Of the many Chinese emperors who contributed to the building of the Great Wall, one of the most renowned is Qin Shi Huang. He was also responsible for another of China’s list of impressive visuals: the Terra Cotta Warriors, funerary statues of 8,000 soldiers, nearly 700 horses and 130 chariots. Long time Columbus residents may have seen a sampling of the warriors when they visited Columbus in 1989 as part of the Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of China exhibit.

“They’re larger than human size, and all they were there for was to protect him when he died,” she says.

Like Bender and his students, Weber was touched most by the people.

“The people were super friendly. A lot of college students stop you to talk and have coffee, just to practice English,” she says. “Even the smallest children learn English. … It’s amazing what an impression we make upon them.

Weber hopes to return someday and explore more of the massive, beautiful country.

“The Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, the buildings in Shanghai – they are beautiful things,” she says. “And they take such care in what they do and make. I bought a beautiful silk portrait. It’s amazing the detail and the quality that they put in the work that they do.”

Carla D’Errico is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at .