Letter No. 221
Dear All
School holidays – Matt’s trip to China On 19th September 2014 Matthew
set off on a two-week BBC trip to China with his Chinese class. There were 15
boys and four teachers going. Here is his write-up.
I went on a twelve-day cultural trip to explore China and visit the cities of
Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The purpose of the trip was to improve my
Chinese language skills and learn more about Chinese culture by visiting
historical sights, meeting Chinese students and experiencing Chinese cultural
activities. We first flew to Singapore, arriving at 5:55am. It was a long
overnight flight, however it went pretty quickly as I managed to get a few
hours of sleep. Our connecting flight to Beijing
left at 8:30am, taking six hours to arrive in the Chinese capital at 2:40pm.
Once we arrived, we went through customs and collected our bags to find the bus
that would take us to Beijing High School Number 80. The traffic was bad so it
took over an hour to get to the school. We were staying in small dormitories at
the school. For dinner, we walked to a local restaurant and had a traditional
Chinese meal with dishes such as honey chicken, sweet and sour pork, chow mein
and tofu. After dinner, we had a briefing about the following day and then went
to bed.
I
woke up at 7:00am and got ready for our first full day of exploring China. We
left the school shortly after breakfast and travelled by bus to the Badaling
section of the famous Great Wall of
China. We walked along the wall for a few kilometres, passing through
several watchtowers along the way. The wall itself was very steep in places and
was quite tiring. It was an amazing experience to be there and learn about the
history and reasoning behind the building of the wall which is over 23,000 km
long. Next we headed to the Ming Tombs,
a short drive away, which were built as a burial ground for the Emperors of
each of the twelve dynasties of China. We descended seven flights of stairs to
the bottom of the Dingling tomb which once contained the remains of Emperor
Wanli. The tomb was filled with riches in big red boxes to give him success and
prosperity in the afterlife. Afterwards, we visited a Jade Factory where we took a short tour demonstrating how China’s
national stone Jade was made and carved. I bought a jade bracelet for Jessica.
At 4:30pm, we went on to the Summer
Palace and walked around the beautiful imperial inner city gardens created
by the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The gardens are over three kilometres long
filled with lakes, hills, pagodas, temples and bridges. It was very beautiful!
For dinner we ate at a Chinese Peking
Duck restaurant, where we sampled interesting delicacies such as duck’s
heart and sheep testicles!
After
breakfast at the school, we travelled by bus downtown to the Olympic Village, which held the
majority of Olympic events in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. First, we
visited the visually impressive Bird’s Nest Stadium that hosted the opening and
closing ceremonies as well as the track and field events. The building was just
as breathtaking inside with seating for over 80,000 people. We walked around
the Olympic Village, passing the Water Cube and National Indoor Stadium, before
having lunch at a local pizza restaurant. In the afternoon, we went to the Temple of Heaven, which was built in 15th
century for prayer ceremonies to the Heavens and the Earth. Inside, the temple
was filled with gold riches, ornaments and offerings for the gods. We also
walked around the parklands surrounding the temple, where locals were dancing,
singing and playing Chinese Chess. Afterwards, we had some time for shopping in
the markets where I bargained for silk scarves for mum and a small statue for
myself. At 5:00pm we went to watch an Acrobatic
Show called ‘The Legend of Kung Fu’. The show was very spectacular with the
Chinese acrobats performing clever moves and exciting choreography. It was
about a young boy learning to become a master of Kung Fu. We then had dinner
nearby.
Next
day we were spending some time at Number
80 High School to go to normal classes with the local students. This was a
great opportunity for us to be truly immersed in the life of a Chinese student
in Beijing today. First we had a Chinese lesson, followed by an English
Literature class. I had to make a small speech to the students about myself in
Chinese and then tell them about my school, Brisbane Boys’ College. They were
very keen to ask questions about the differences between going to school in
China and Australia. After lunch, we played their premier team in soccer in the
rain. It was great fun but the result was not so good, a 5-1 loss. At 2:00pm we
left the school and visited the ancient streets of Hu Tong. Everyone got into a rickshaw in pairs and enjoyed a Rickshaw Ride in a traditional red
rickshaw around the old streets and lakes in this famous old district of
Beijing. In the early evening, we spent some time shopping in the ultra-modern
Wangfujing Street, filled with designer Western stores and expensive clothes
shops, before dinner at local dumpling restaurant. We then went to watch a Beijing Opera performance. A Beijing
Opera is a traditional singing and dancing show by people dressed in very
ornate and authentic gold costumes with actors wearing masks and elaborate hair
styles. After the performance we went back to the school to bed.
For
the first time we had been in China, the sun was shining and there were no
clouds in sight. We had breakfast at school and then took the bus to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing. It
was the sight of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre during China’s political
revolution and where we observed the memorial. After some group photos in front
of Chairman Mao’s huge head we headed through the gates into the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was
the Chinese Imperial Palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, serving as the
home of many Emperors for more than 500 years. We wandered through the
expansive palace complex for a few hours, passing through large courtyards,
living quarters, gateways, temples and gardens. It was an incredible sight to
see with beautiful Chinese architecture everywhere you looked. At 1:00pm we
went to have lunch at a Hot Pot restaurant, where you have to cook your own
meat in a giant pot of boiling oil in the centre of each table. In the
afternoon, we visited an ancient Chinese
Pharmacy to learn about the tradition of Chinese herbal medicine. The
doctor assessed my health and told me I was very healthy. We also received a
relaxing full-body massage. In the evening we went to Lao Shi Tea House for a traditional variety show with singing,
dancing, comedy and puppet acts to entertain us, whilst we watched and drank
tea. It was a fun night.
The
next day we ate our final meal at the school before packing our bags, ready for
a long day of travelling. We took the bus to Beijing Train Station and took the
train to Hangzhou in the south of
China. The train moved very fast, at over 300km/h, but it took about six hours.
Once we arrived at Hangzhou Train Station (the biggest train station in Asia),
we met our tour guide and went by bus to Da Hua Hotel, on the shores of the
West Lake. In the evening, we ate dinner in our hotel and then went for a night
walk along the lake. The lake was very beautiful as there were many bridges, pagodas
and gardens, and lots of people singing and dancing. There were massive
fountains and a great atmosphere around because everywhere you looked something
exciting was going on. We then walked back to the hotel and went to bed.
After
breakfast at the hotel we went to visit the Leifang Pagoda. The Pagoda was originally constructed in AD 975,
however it was rebuilt shortly after collapsing in 1924. It is also the setting
of China’s famous mythical love story, the White Snake Lady. From the top
floor, there was an excellent view of the entire lake, so we stopped to take
some photos. We then walked around the lake a little further to where we hopped
on a boat for a short boat cruise to the other side of the lake. It was even
more beautiful from the water than on land! The boat took us to a restaurant
for lunch where we ate Beggar’s Chicken, a traditional Hangzhou dish. After
lunch we went on the bus to the Running
Tiger Springs, where we climbed up the hill alongside the running streams
through a forest to a small waterfall. It was quite a tiring climb, so we
stopped to sit down and enjoy a traditional tea ceremony performed by a master.
The master also taught us the art of Calligraphy
and gave us a personalised calligraphy painting to keep at school. Next we
had some shopping time at the markets along Hefang Street where I bought my
sister a waving cat and myself some handmade Chinese candy. We then went back
to the hotel to shower and change. We were going to watch the famous Impression West Lake Show, directed by
Zhang Yimou, the same person who directed the 2008 Olympic Games Opening
Ceremony. The show was absolutely incredible as it used the lake as the stage
of the show. Hundreds of performers literally walked on the water, with a stage
lying just below the water level, and danced in unison telling a beautiful
story. It was really amazing!
This
morning, we had breakfast and then packed our bags to take the bus to Shanghai.
On the way we stopped in Suzhou,
another important Chinese city. There we first walked around an important
Buddhist Temple, then we visited the Humble
Administrator’s Garden, a pretty, traditional rock garden with rock pools
and pagodas. We stopped for lunch at a nearby café before heading onto the Silk Factory. Suzhou is famous for its
mass production of silk, so we received a brief talk on how silk was made and
turned into clothing, blankets, pillows etc. I bought a pure silk tie for Dad
as a present. At 3:00pm we took a boat ride along the Grand Canal on a long thin barge, passing under numerous low
bridges. It was interesting to see how people lived with their houses backing
right onto the canal, doing their washing in the canal. We then got back on the
bus and drove into the centre of Shanghai to our hotel, arriving in the early evening.
For dinner we walked down the road to a small restaurant and then went to bed.
I
woke up at 7:30am and went straight down to the lobby for breakfast. I was
excited because we had a full day to explore the expansive metropolitan city of
Shanghai. In the morning we visited
a gorgeous Chinese garden, the Yuyuan
Gardens, with many bridges, temples, waterfalls, sculptures and fish ponds
home to hundreds of huge goldfish. It was definitely the most beautiful garden
we had seen on the trip. Afterwards, we visited the local markets to do some
shopping and bargaining. I bought a remote-controlled helicopter and some cheap
headphones. Next we travelled to the Shanghai
World Financial Centre (SWFC) and had a nice Italian lunch on the bottom
floor. Afterwards everyone took the very fast elevator up to the 100th
floor at 474 metres above sea level. The view was absolutely incredible as
everywhere we looked we could see the sprawling city and constant buildings. In
the afternoon, we took a boat cruise on the Huangpu River. It was great to see Shanghai’s iconic skyline from a
different angle and sail past all the tall dominating skyscrapers. After the
cruise, we walked to The Bund where
we watched the sunset and the skyline light up with thousands of neon lights. We
took some photos before heading back to the hotel for dinner and bed.
On
the final day we were due to fly back to Australia, after our awesome Chinese
cultural adventure. We took the Maglev
train to the airport, which is a magnetic levitation train which literally
floats above the ground. The 30km journey only took 8 minutes and reached a top
speed of 430km/h. When the train went around a corner, it would tilt and slant
on one side. It was a cool experience. When we got to the airport we checked in
for our flight to Singapore where we would catch a connecting overnight flight
to Brisbane. We arrived home early the next morning.
While Matt
was away we went to my Mum and Dad’s
farm one weekend to see them and all their animals. They have about 25 baby
goats at the moment (it seems) and they are very cute. It is funny watching
them bounce around and all trying to stand on the highest point in their yard
and knocking each other off.
We also had
a trip to Straddie while Matthew was
away with my sister Lisa and the cousins. We went over early on the Friday and
had four days there. North Straddie is supposed to be a great place to see
whales migrating and the apartments we stay in are in fact the Whalewatch
Apartments. I had thought this was a false rumour as we had been there plenty
of times and not seen any. This time however the whales were unbelievable. I
was astounded how many there were. We saw them every day we were there and each
time they seemed to do something different. One day they were leaping out of
the water, the next doing tail slaps and the following day they were all doing
flipper slaps. There were often
different pods of whales, widely separated, but doing the same thing. They must
have been talking! We also saw a mother and baby. The mother was teaching the
baby how to do tail slaps which was very cute. We had lots of beach time, went
to the markets and had a few nice meals out. I also took Matthew’s large
inflatable boat and everyone took it out in the surf which was really fun. It was a great mini-break. We caught the 2pm
ferry back home on the Monday and had time to unpack and clean up before work
the next day.
Matthew arrived
home on the 30th September early in the morning. We all went to meet
him at the airport. There were lots of BBC parents we knew there. It was good
to have him back. I had to go straight to a meeting at the airport, while Katie
and the kids drove home.
The next
morning I went to Goondiwindi for
work. It is about a 4½ hour drive inland. I left after lunch and arrived in
time to go for a run before the sun went down. Goondiwindi is a nice little
country town with a large river running through it. I went for a run along the
riverbank. I was surprised there were such big rivers so far inland. I worked
that night and drove back to Brisbane in the morning.
That Friday
night we went for a Mexican dinner
with a group of BBC parents and their boys. Jessie declined to come and decided
to stay at home and cook for herself. There were no girls in the group at all
and she is not keen to hang out with a group of boys. I hope she feels the same
for a long time.
On Sunday 5th
October we went to our favourite dog beach at Currumbin with Molly and had the morning on the beach, lunch at our
favourite café and a bit more beach time followed by ice creams. It was a
lovely day and not too hot yet. Monday was the last day of the school holidays so
we had an informal “pop-up” BBQ at
the last minute. We invited a group of our close friends and had 14 adults and
14 kids for an early evening barbie & chatting. Next morning everyone was back to school for
the all-important and always-busy Term 4. Sorry I seem to have got quite behind
this year. I blame the editor.
That's all for this month.Cheers
Derek,
Katie, Matthew, Jessica and Molly
Matthew's trip to China
Matthew's trip to China
At the farm.
Our trip to Straddie.
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