25/5 Day 1: High speed rail from Shanghai to Hefei + Sanhe Guzhen
Today, we took the High-speed rail from Shanghai to Hefei after having breakfast. The trip was 4 hours and everyone was sleeping. I was with 6 of my classmates in another cabin as the tickets are different. After we alighted from the train, we went for lunch, which was a 1-hour ride from the train station. Then, we went to Sanhe Guzhen, a place where there are many ancient things and we get to know more about ancient figures. After the 2 hour exploration of Sanhe Guzhen, we went for dinner. Everyone's legs were tired, and we were relieved when we got onto the bus and had time to rest. After dinner, we went to the hotel and here i am.
For today's 3 meals, i enjoyed dinner the most :) the food during breakfast was cold, and the food during lunch did not exactly suit my taste. Moreover, the toilets that were at the places we went we all very dirty. There was a classmate who went to the toilet and lost her appetite before she even started eating. During dinner, the teacher who sat with us was hyper and we had fun. The food was nice too :)
At Sanhe Guzhen, we learnt many things about China's ancient history. When we first when in, there was a introduction about Sanhe Guzhen, it's guide map, and the traffic map. We walked further in and saw dried-up lakes. The tour guide told us that the temperature is very hot and that is why the lakes dried up. We went to various places like: Tongxinglong Firm of Liu, Female Divinity Building, etc...
All in all, i enjoyed myself today and i look forward to the rest of the trip in Anhui, China.
26/5 Day 2: School (Hefei)
Today, we went to No.45 Hefei Middle School. I met my buddy and her friends, naming Anlina and Regina. We had lessons together and i did not understand what the teacher was talking about. We had geography, physics, politics, and chinese lessons. As we had not learnt what they were going through so the 5 of my group members, including me, were sitting there looking at the teachers as though they were talking greek. The teachers were going through their mock papers and exercises that were homework beforehand so we had nothing to do. After every 40 mins lesson, there is a 10 minute break for us to go to the toilet, walk around the school, or do some eye exercise. Finally, school ended. Me and my classmate rushed to the toilet and we did not dare to go to the toilet during school hours since the toilets in their school had no doors and we were very urgent by the end of school.
My buddy and her friends are very outgoing and they brought me to Regina's house at around 5pm. We watched the cartoon "大耳朵图图" and drank milk while eating fruits like grapes and lychees. The grapes were huge and there were seeds. If there were no seeds i would have liked it more. The fruits are grown by themselves and they were very sweet. The milk that they drink is sour milk, 酸奶, and it is creamy. At first when i drank it i thought it spoiled, but they explained to me that the milk is like that and that is what they usually drink. I'm happy that i learnt a new thing today and i got used to the taste of the milk after awhile.
They then brought me back to the school and we bade farewell afterwards. We promised to keep in touch even after i return to Singapore so it was a very heartwarming scene for everyone with their buddies.
Don't put into the blog post!!!!! {We then went to a street and we went to buy things from a store, something like our bookstore in Singapore. They asked me to take the things i want and they paid for the things as they said they didnt get any souvenirs for me. I told them that it was okay but they insisted.}
27/5 Day 3: Anhui Museum + Cultural Heritage Park (Hefei)
Today, we went to 2 places. The Anhui Museum where we saw many ancient objects, and the Cultural Heritage Park where we walked around and there was nobody there.
Firstly, the Anhui Museum. We saw many objects of the ancient times and i learnt about how things evolved when time passes. The ancient objects were very interesting. One thing i found out about the objects were that in every glass box, there will be a beaker in it. I asked my friends and they said that it was a substance to absorb oxygen so that the object will not oxidise and rust.
Next, we went to the Cultural Heritage Park in Hefei. When we reached there, we went to watch a chicken fight, dogs and horses racing. During the chicken fight, 1 of my classmate started crying as she could not stand the abuse of the animals. I was one of those few who went away, not wanting to see the chicken fight as it was very cruel. However, I enjoyed the dogs and horses racing. My friend was jumping up and down after the horse racing ended as she had long wanted to ride a horse. After the horse racing ended, we went to a circus tent to watch stunts being performed by animals. They abused the animals by hitting them when they did not perform the stunts well or refused to perform the stunts. I think that they are very cruel and closed my eyes throughout the whole performance that included animals. The teachers brought our whole class outside halfway throughout the performance as it was too cruel. We then went to a nearby playground to play for awhile.
Today's experience made me realise that not every country and every place is like Singapore, a peaceful place where many laws are enforced, and that illegal actions in Singapore may not be illegal in other countries so we should learn to accept what is happening in other countries and not only think about what they should not do in their countries as every country's laws are different in one way or another.
28/5 Day 4: Transfer to Huangshan + Huangshan
Today, we had a 4 hours bus ride to Huangshan. Almost everyone was sleeping even though we has just woke up in the morning. I guess they are all very tired. We reached Huangshan in about 5 hours as we stopped halfway at a restaurant for lunch. Then, we continued our journey to Huangshan. When we reached Huangshan, we sat on the cable car and went up to Huangshan's midpoint. Some classmates were scared of heights and did not dare to look outside the windows.
The cable car ride ended. We went out of the cable car and into the open. The teacher told us that we still had to hike for another 1 hour or so to reach the hotel that we were staying in so that we could put down our bags. My friend cum roommate twisted her ankle and she had to walk very slowly so that the injury does not worsen. Everyone was waiting patiently for her as they could understand that she could not walk as fast as them. They waited midway so that we know which way to go. They slowed down their pace sometimes and took pictures of the scenery up in Huangshan. Finally, we reached the hotel. We checked in, and went up to our hotel rooms. The teachers let my friend stay in the hotel room and rest as she twisted her ankle. Me and my other roommate promised to take pictures and show them to her.
Then, we continued climbing Huangshan to enjoy the scenery. The climb up was very tiring and the steps seemed endless but I enjoyed it even though we did sweat as the weather was very cooling and the scenery was really very very beautiful that i could not describe it with words. The scene was breathtaking and everyone was taking pictures with cameras and phones. On the way up to the peak, we saw many workers. They were carrying stuff like bedsheets, linens, towels, luggages, groceries, and even rubbish, up and down the mountain, to and fro the hotels. The tour guide told us in the bus that they are transporting these goods to and fro the hotel via manpower as they did not want to pollute the environment in Huangshan. We made way for them as we know that it is not easy for them to do this everyday as a job.
All in all, I enjoyed myself today. We returned to the hotel with satisfied minds and nice memories. The climb was worth our time and energy. We went back to the hotel, bathed, and immediately slept as it was very tiring and we also need to save up energy for the climb the next day.
29/5 Day 5: Huangshan + Transfer to Yixian, visit Hongcun Ancient Village
Today, the class woke up at 4am in the morning to watch the sunrise, but everyone's morning call was at 4.30am as the people woke us late. We were supposed to gather at 4.40am and i was rushing as i thought that i am the only one that woke up later. My roommates still dont know what is happening and continued sleeping. That is how i ended up climbing Huangshan to watch the sunrise by myself. We went back to the hotel to prepare for the afternoon climb after breakfast.
Then, we continued exploring Huangshan. My friend insisted to climb with us even though her ankle have not healed entirely. At first, she climbed slowly, but after awhile, she started rushing for who knows why and went in front of us, chasing the rest of the class. We stared at her dumbounded and just continued our slow climb up the mountain. We went back to the hotel at around 10, and had 1.5 hours of rest in the hotel room. We then went down for lunch with our bags and climbed down Huangshan back to the cable car, to ride down to our original spot.
We then had a 1 hour short bus ride to Yixian and we visited the Hongcun Ancient Village. Hongcun Ancient Village is a very nice place, with clean waters, and old houses. Hongcun is shaped like an ox, the animal, with the lakes and drains representing each and every organ of the ox. We learnt many many things from Hongcun, and i think that Hongcun is built in a very careful manner and the person who built it paid attention to the details.
In conclusion, i enjoyed myself today. My favourite part of the trip so far is still Huangshan and i hope to see more and learn more new things in the next few days before we return to Singapore.
30/5 Day 6: visit Xidi Ancient Village + Transfer to Tunxi, visit Huishang big house, Huizhou Ancient City - Shexian, and Tangyue + Chinese Culture Seminars
Today, we visited many many places compared to the previous days. The first place that we went, Xidi Ancient Village, is very similar the Hongcun Ancient Village we visited yesterday. The buildings are also very old. We went to Huishang big house, Shexian, and Tangyue too.
I learnt the most from the Seminar held at the hotel at night. After the seminar, we had a class bonding time with the 3 teachers that accompanied us on this trip. We learnt many things from our classmates and our teachers. Most importantly, we bonded more as a class after the bonding time. We learnt to look out for each other more and help each other in need. Most importantly, we should take the initiative to be the change that we want to see in the class. Everyone took away something from both the seminar and the class bonding time that we had. We had an enjoyable time and also learnt to appreciate what we have now so we would not regret in the future.
31/5 Day 7: visit Tunxi Ancient Street + Transfer to Hangzhou, visit West Lake cruise and Yue Fei Mausoleum + Transfer to Shanghai Airport & Fly back to Singapore
Today, we visited Tunxi Ancient Street to shop for China goods to bring back to Singapore. I bought some tea as my parents love to drink chinese tea and they drink chinese tea every night before sleeping. I did not buy any snacks as i am scared that they will have spoilt by the time we return to singapore. Everyone bought many many things and went on the bus. The bus ride to Hangzhou that was 2.5 hours, was very squeezy as the things that we bought took up lots of space. Everyone was talking very happily and chatting about what they bought just now.
We reached Hangzhou, and sat on the West Lake Cruise. That was the second thing that i liked about our China trip and we just sat on the boat and relaxed, with the sea wind blowing in our faces. Even though my hair went haywire, i still enjoyed the ride. However, it was sad that the ride only lasted for 20 minutes. After getting off the boat, we went to visit the Yue Fei Mausoleum and we learnt many things from it.
After that, we had another 5 hours of bus ride to Shanghai Airport. We then had dinner at Shanghai Airport and boarded our flight back to Singapore. Our flight was delayed by more than 1 hour so we were given vouchers to buy anything we want by Singapore Airlines. Moreover, the plane's entertainment system was down so we could not do anything but sleep on the plane.
I learnt alot from this trip and i hope to go on more trips with the class so that we can bond more and learn things together, as a class, as one, united.
5 things i love about RV and why:
1)Toilets
-- the toilets in No.45 Hefei Middle School does not have doors and is very public. Since going to the toilet and your body parts are privacy, doors should be there so that we can protect ourselves from any outsiders' onlooking. Moreover, the toilets in their school have a main flush so you cannot flush after you pee, the toilets will flush it automatically, so if it is not flushed, it will accumulate and it will smell.
2)Shorter school hours
-- we have shorter school hours than them and end school earlier than them. However, we have CCA after school and their school ends at the timing where our CCA ends. They then have very less time at home to do homework and have to reach school early in the morning the next day.
3)Lesser students in a class
-- they have about 60 students on average in their classes. However, we have only 30 students in average in our classes. I think that the teacher cannot really focus and see who is not that good in his or her studies and is then unable to help them. The teachers' attention is dispersed to 60 over students and have less possibility than our teachers that they will help the students when they need help as they already do not have time after school to stay back. The students then have to seek for help outside school.
4)Facilities
-- we have more facilities in our school, thus, we can have more experience in doing more things, unlike them, which have a limited view of things in a subject. We have more facilities to aid us in our learning and help us complete our work on time.
5)Chances to go overseas for learning
-- my buddy told me that their school does not have overseas experiential trips like ours. I think that we are very blessed and we should feel grateful to what the school can provide for us to learn more things, not only in school, in Singapore, but also overseas, learning about their culture, etc...
~Seow Jia Xuan (15)
✋ 5bonacci
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