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China

April 2019
China school trip 2019 Read more
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  • TravelerChina
    1
    222
    Day 2

    Arrival in Beijing

    April 9, 2019 in China ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    After a 10 hour flight the first thing we all needed was a good meal. We had a selection of different Chinese dishes to try from and all were delicious, but some found them too spicy. Afterwards a first look at the hotel and trying on our face masks.Read more

  • TravelerChina
    1
    1
    Day 3

    Beijing

    April 10, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    After getting a wake up call at 7 am (and willing myself not to go back to sleep) our first stop of the day was the Summer Palace. Here we saw where the emperor would go to stay during the summer and it featured the longest painted corridor in the world. Next we went to Tiananmen Square on our way to the Forbidden City, where our tour guide told us many facts about Chinese culture and history. Then we went to a tea ceremony and tried a selection of teas (fruit tea was my favourite). After the tea ceremony we went to a Kung Fu performance in a theatre down the road which was very impressive. Now for a well deserved rest.Read more

  • TravelerChina
    2
    2
    Day 4

    Great Wall, Beijing & Soft Sleeper

    April 11, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Alarm went off an hour early at 6am (a great start to the day for the whole group) then after breakfast we travelled straight to the Great Wall Of China which took a couple of hours due to traffic. I didn’t realise how steep it would be! 99 flights of stairs, two bottles of Coca Cola and 50 minutes later and we’d walked as far as the guide would let us and got a spectacular view. After we were worn out our tour guide decided to take us to a Jade Factory. It was all beautiful but far too expensive for any of us. Our lunch was different to what we had had before as it was apparently more of a typical countryside meal so consisted of light, cold vegetables like pickled radish. We then drove back into Beijing to visit the Temple of Heaven and play some Chinese games in the park with the locals. As we had some time to spare before our dinner we went to a market. My haggling skills surprised me as I managed to get something from 850 to 100 so bought a few gifts. Then after dinner we went straight to the Sleeper Train towards Xi’an. The compartments are small and cramped and the toilet is temperamental but I was glad to be laying down after a busy day. 7 of us squeezed into a carriage to play card games and I introduced them all to 52 card pick up.Read more

  • TravelerChina
    Day 5

    Xi'an Arrival

    April 12, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Slept surprisingly well in the sleeper train last night but was sadly awoken for our 8am arrival in Xi’an. We met our new tour guide at the station who then took us straight to the hotel for some breakfast. They had a much wider selection of food so a big breakfast for me. Then it was off to the Tangbo Art Museum to look through the gallery then try our hand at calligraphy (difficult). Sadly because it was raining we didn’t go to Goose Pagoda as planned but instead drove around it while I won many games of rummy on the coach. Then it was back to the hotel to practice for our performance at Nanya School next week. We settled on We Will Rock You as everyone knows the words and we can get some audience participation. After dinner we all just went to chat in one of the hotel rooms for a couple hours as many people were still tired from the train journey. Not so busy today but ready for a packed schedule tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerChina
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    3134
    Day 6

    Terracotta Army & Xi'an

    April 13, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌫 10 °C

    Another early start this morning as there was a long day ahead. First we went to a workshop to watch them make Terracotta Army figures and other crafts, such as the shown furniture. Before we visited the army itself, we stopped to meet the “Lucky Farmer” who first discovered them while digging for a well. I bought a signed book from him so he let me have a photograph. The Terracotta Army was spectacular. It’s incredible how so many huge figures could go unnoticed for so long. We then went to a hot springs, but it was raining so there was nobody in the water. Nevertheless the surrounding gardens were very pretty. We saw a tree where people could tie love notes/wishes to. Then we went to the Xi’an city wall for a bit as we’d missed the opportunity yesterday. The weather was not great today but at least it didn’t stop our sightseeing.Read more

  • TravelerChina
    221
    Day 7

    High Speed Train

    April 14, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Mostly traveling today, so had to get up at 6am again for the 6 hour train journey from Xi’an to Changsha. We stopped for a McDonald’s breakfast before the train and I had a double chicken McMuffin, which was different to usual. Bit spicy for breakfast food but tasty. Spent most of the train journey writing my speech, so the journey itself felt rather short. For lunch I had authentic Chinese version of pot noodles, but they were too spicy to enjoy and tasted slightly like soap. Our new hotel is nice and the room even came equipped with a Windows XP computer complete with minesweeper which I spent a while playing. School tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerChina
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    1112
    Day 8

    Nanya School & Host Family Dinner

    April 15, 2019 in China ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Early start this morning so we could eat breakfast at Nanya Middle School. We were then paired with our buddies at the welcoming ceremony. My buddy’s name is Desweet, she’s 14 and likes Chinese rap music (not a subject I know much about). We sat and watched a basketball match and their school won! We spent much of the day giving presentations about Darrick Wood, performing We Will Rock You and Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’, as well as watching performances from the Chinese students. We also had a calligraphy session with our buddies. Then for dinner I went with my buddy to her grandparents’ house to eat dinner, which was the nicest I’ve had all trip. Her mother is an English teacher so communication was pretty easy. We spent a lot of time sharing differences between our school lives as they seem much more motivated to study than us. They then took me to a shopping centre to get milk tea before heading back to the hotel.Read more

  • TravelerChina
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    Day 9

    Nanya School

    April 16, 2019 in China ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    After another early breakfast at the school we went to sit in lessons with our buddy. I had English and Maths. The English teacher made me stand at the front and talk to the (50) students about my school life so they could hear my pronunciation. He taught the class some grammar rules which I didn’t even know existed and have probably been doing wrong my whole life. The maths lesson was interesting too, although it was all in Chinese. I managed to work out their questions though and knew exactly what they were doing. After these lessons we went to a talk about different Chinese minorities and how they dress and we even tried on some of their outfits. We then had an early lunch at 11:30, before then going to decorate Chinese Opera masks and trying some Kung Fu. Nobody told me we’d be doing exercise. We then went to watch performances from different basketball teams from middle schools across China. We even did our own performance of Hey Jude, which everyone enjoyed.Read more

  • TravelerChina
    1
    Day 10

    Yajing School

    April 17, 2019 in China ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Today we went to visit a sister school of Nanya about an hour away. Our new buddies gave us some welcoming gifts and we watched some performances from their school. Then we went to an art museum to see lots of ceramics which were all very beautiful. They then took us to a pottery making place which was a lot harder than it looks. We then travelled back to Nanya for a closing ceremony where we all exchanged gifts and I did my speech. Then it was back to the hotel so we have enough time to finish packing.Read more

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