Snapshots of Beijing

Since arriving in Beijing last Sunday afternoon we have been on the go the whole time. We are now adept at using the subway and have even been on the public bus. We have walked many kilometres and seen a multitude of fascinating sights. Our chopstick skills have improved and our taste buds have been challenged at times.

Sunday

·      Our first trip on the subway and a chance to shop at the Silk Markets.

·      A chance to sample the local delight of Peking Duck for dinner. Taleisha and Marnie were even brave enough to try the duck's head!!

Monday

·      Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City meant we did a lot of walking this morning.

·      Lunch at a Dumpling restaurant

·      We walked through a hutong, and some well-presented public open space to get to Qianmen Antique Street (a re-creation of what streets looked like in the past)

·      After dinner we went to the Laoshe Teahouse to experience some of the culture of Beijing – comic acts, opera singing, and much more.

Tuesday

·      The Pandas at the zoo was our first stop

·      At the Beijing aquarium we saw the dolphin and sea-lion show and looked at many underwater creatures.

·      A boat trip along a man-made canal took us to the Summer Palace for a chanced to explore

·      Jeff was game enough to try a scorpion at the Donghuamen Night Markets. Many other interesting foods were also there to tempt us!

Wednesday

·      Many of the students decided today was the best day yet after they had a turn on the segways at the Bird’s Nest Stadium! Even Mrs McKay climbed to the top of the stadium for a look.

·      Inside the Water Cube a new water playground has recently opened. We didn’t have time to play but it looked like lots of fun.

·      We arrived at the Ethnic Park just in time to stroll quickly passed several of the displays and be in time for the Water-splashing ceremonies. Only the adults managed to stay dry.

·      Some students had a game of a type of badminton before the knife-tower show. We also watched another musical display.

·      Tonight our exciting day was topped off by a visit to the Red Theatre to see a Kung Fu Show.

Thursday

·      The Temple of Heaven was our first stop.

·      In one of the park the students watched with fascination as some elderly gentlemen exercised.

·      The Hongqiao Markets, the Toy Market and the Silk Markets saw us improving our bargaining skills. Hopefully everyone can fit their purchases into their cases.

·      Jeff, Chris and Beau tasted seahorse on a stick and some of girls were game enough to try other “tasty” morsels in a market near the hotel.

Friday

·      Walking and climbing was the name of the game today as we clambered up the Great Wall of China.

·      Climbing down was the next stage as we adventured into the Ming Tombs. 

·      A hotpot dinner was a great finish to a busy day.

(photos still to come!)

 

Xingzhi Primary School

On Wednesday and Thursday the students spent the day at school in a classroom.  The students had to be at school by 7.30 am for a 8 am start and the school day didn't finish 4.30 pm.  The students have been involved in a range of activities including art, music, computer, Chinese and English.  They have also had to participate in daily physical exercises, daily eye exercises and tai chi.  A TV cameraman and reporter recorded the students and apparently the story was broadcast on the TV news Thursday evening.  Also there has been a report and photo of all of us in the local newspaper.  Finally the students were involved in an assembly on Thursday afternoon to celebrate National Holiday Week.  Marnie, Taleisha and Daniel performed a class with their class.  Our students performed two songs 'I am Australian' and 'Give Me a Home Among the Gum Trees'.

 

Shanghai to Hangzhou

This morning after packing our luggage and storing it in one of the rooms we went down to the Bund again, this time to go for a boat ride on the Huangpu River. Although it was very hazy it was an enjoyable trip and filled in our last morning in Shanghai.

We left Shanghai after lunch and arrived at Xingzhi Primary School at 5.30 pm.  Unfortunately it was raining as we departed the bus and we all got wet as we ran for cover.  However we all got a huge shock as we rounded the corner to walk into the school when a brass band started playing to welcome us. We were then ushered into a audotorim for a welcome ceremony.  We were told that we one of the students needed to speak and Michaela did us all proud as she made a very impromptu speech with Jeff translating.

World Expo - Shanghai

We were up early for our long day at the World Expo. After a short walk we boarded a bus. Nearing the Expo we could hardly believe the number of buses parked outside. There were people everywhere and it was easy to get separated from our group although we didn't lose anyone!

Our first stop was one of the Theme Pavilions called "Urbania." 

Our next stop was the Australian Pavilion because as Aussie citizens we could jump the queue and get straight in. Here are some shots of both inside and outside the pavilion.

 There were very long queues at many of the pavilions and we didn't even try to get into the China one as there was at least a four hour wait.

After an electric cart ride to the US pavilion and watching their disappointing exhibit we headed to the UK one as Daniel was really keen to see it. Just as we had stepped out of the queue as the wait was going to be too long a Turkish gentleman working at the Expo offered to get us in by jumping the queue. I twas an interesting exhibit but we were glad we didn't have to wait for hours to see it. He then got us straight into the Turkish Pavilion which was also quite interesting - this time historically.

It was a very long day and we walked about twenty kilometres in all but it was definitely worth the visit.