25/5/14
Today was the first day of our tour. It was also my first time riding the high speed rail. Compared to the MRT we have in Singapore, it is very different as the trains in china are bigger, they travel longer distances and the passengers are also allowed to eat and drink in train cabins. Our train ride took 4 hours and it travelled at about 250km/h. When we arrived at our destination, I realised that the roads in china did not have clear lanes where vehicles could travel and it was quite dangerous. We could hear incessant car horning non-stop. After that, we went to三河古镇. It looked like an old Chinese village which was very different from Singapore. It was rich with Chinese culture and history and I learnt about many legendary people like 孙立人who lived in 三河古镇 before. We also visited some museums there with exhibits and realistic wax figures. I learnt about how people in china lived in the past and it is very different from how their life is now, this also shows how much technology has improved over the years.
26/5/14
Today we went to Hefei no. 45 Middle School. After I met my buddy, we went to have lessons together. What surprised me the most was how noisy the class was before their lesson started as everyone was talking very loudly. This was probably because the class had about 60 pupils,which was almost twice the number of pupils in our class. As a result of the large number of pupils in each class, the classroom was pretty cramp. The lessons were all taught in Chinese and it was quite hard to follow what the teacher was talking about at times because the lessons in Singapore were mostly taught in English. As I was attending the lessons with my buddy, I realised that the students in china were very proactive and responsive. When a teacher asked questions, most of the students would raise their hands and were very eager to answer the questions. However, in class in Singapore, when the teacher poses a question, only a few students will take the initiative to answer the questions. This is one thing that we can learn from the Chinese students, to be more proactive. Also, the students in china were allowed to wear their own clothes to school. In the afternoon, the students would go home for lunch and return back to school a few hours later to continue having lessons. I like the time system in Singapore better, because our school hours seem to be shorter and we can easily buy food in school instead of going home for lunch.During the lunch break, i went to a local supermarket with my buddy and I also visited her house. We tried some Chinese food with her parents and chatted. I was glad to have met my buddy and hope to keep in touch with her for a long time. When the day ended, a hot topic among our Singapore teachers and classmates were the toilets in Hefei no. 45 middle school. I did not get the chance to try using the toilets there but from what I heard, they were really dirty and unhygienic. From the classroom, I could already smell the urine scent which was not very pleasant. But if we look at this from another perspective, this could be to their advantage as the students would not try to skip class by using going to the toilet as an excuse. In conclusion, I feel that the schools in China and Singapore are very different and both have their good points. It was a good experience for me, attending the classes in China.
5 things I like about Rv:
-Clean toilets. Compared to the toilets in china, our school toilets are cleaner and I learnt not to take them for granted from now on.
-Smaller class sizes. When the class is smaller, we will not make so much noise when teachers are not around and teachers can pay more attention to students during lessons.
-CCA. This is something that is not found in china schools and I think it is useful for us as we get to learn a new skill and gain experience through the many activities that are offered.
-Facilities. We are very fortunate to enjoy so many facilities in Rv that help in our learning and make school life easier, like science labs, lecture theaters, auditorium and the field.
-Lessons taught in English. English is a universal language and it is beneficial for us to be able to understand it well. Also, lessons are easier to understand when they are taught in English.
27/5/14
Today we went to Anhui museum. It was a very big and beautiful building. There, a museum guide brought us around the museum and introduced the many different exhibits to us. We saw many different exhibits and learnt about how people in china lived in the past and what they used. I realised that the daily tools that they used were very different from what we have now, for example the houses or plates that the Emperor of China used. I feel very amazed looking at the artifacts, as I have never seen or used them before. The museum had many different kinds of interesting exhibits and I now have a deeper understanding of China's history. Next, we went to 中国非物质遗产园. This was definitely one of the attractions that left a deeper impression on me. When we arrived at our destination, it was surprisingly quiet and we barely saw any tourists or visitors there. Most of the things there were also very old. First, we watched a chicken fight. It was my first time watching something like that and it was really and eye-opener for me. However, I realised that the chickens there were probably mistreated because they seemed exceptionally violent and we were told to stay away from them. The chickens were very skinny and the workers let them fight until their feathers were dropping. We also witnessed a dog and horse race. These "performances" made me feel a little uncomfortable because the animals all looked very unhealthy and the workers were only focused on letting them race each other, not caring about the animals' well-being. After that, we went to watch a circus performance. We were almost the only spectators there. I I could tell that the performances were not very well-planned. For example, the first performance involved tigers. But when the tigers did not follow instructions to perform as planned, they would receive beatings by the other performers. This is a form of animal abuse and should be stopped. It also dawned on me that perhaps these workers did not want to abuse these animals, but they have no choice but to do so as they have to earn a living. We should look at things from different perspectives and not put all the blame on the workers of the attraction. I am very relieved that this situation is not found in Singapore as it is wrong.
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28/5/14
Finally it was the day to go to Huangshan. After a four-hour-plus bus ride, we took a cable car up to huangshan. Then we walked to our hotel on huangshan, “北海宾馆”。After leaving our bags at the hotel, we continued to climb the mountain. Even though the path was stable and nicely paved, it was very tiring as there were many steps. Luckily, we did not give up and persevered on until we reached the top. Along the way, I saw something that I had never seen before: Male workers carrying shoulder poles climbing up the mountain. The items that they were carrying up includes tourists' luggage, rice and other daily necessities needed up on Huangshan. Whenever we saw these workers, we would keep to one side of the path as quickly as possible as it is obviously very tiring for them to be climbing up with such heavy weights on their shoulders. I feel that there is space for improvement on how things are carried up to Huangshan. Perhaps the Chinese government can come up with facilities that can help these workers and lessen their burden. From this, I learnt not to take things that we have for granted and treasure them. For example, when we were eating at the hotel up on huangshan, I would try not to waste the food because they were so painstakingly brought up by the workers. This experience at Huangshan was an eye-opener and it has taught me the meaning of perseverance and treasuring what we have.
29/5/14
This is the second day of our stay at Huangshan. We even woke up at 4 am just to catch the sunrise at Huangshan. But it was all worth it after looking at the beautiful view up on the mountain. After breakfast, we continued to climb Huangshan and went to the cable car station. I liked the cable car ride as it was not too slow and we could enjoy the view of Huangshan that was very precious and beautiful. This experience at Huangshan is very memorable and I will remember it for a long time. After leaving Huangshan, we headed to 西递宏村. It is located at 黟县. The tour guide told us that 宏村was previously called 弘村 and has 900 years of history. From the top, 宏村 has the shape of a cow, with the many parts of the village making up for the different parts of the cow. This village design makes the lives of the villagers easier as they can obtain water very conveniently. 宏村 has many old buildings and houses, like 乐叙堂. There are also a few beautiful lakes there. As I walk along the village, i see many people sitting along the lakes, painting the scenery on a canvas or drawing it on paper. This is a culture that is rarely seen in Singapore and it just shows how beautiful 宏村 is.
30/5/14
Today was a very busy day as we went to 西递、歙县, Tangyue、徽商大宅院 and attended a seminar at our hotel. Most of these places we went were old Chinese villages and old houses that the merchants of Anhui lived. I felt that most of the places that we went looked the same and we learnt how the people in china lived in the past. In Tangyue, there were many archways built to commemorate what many individuals did for China. Luckily, there were signboards beside each archway and it really helped us understand more about each archway. The seminar we attended was very helpful to us as we learnt many things about anhui. It was quite easy to understand the contents of the seminar and I learnt quite a lot. However, I felt that the seminar should have been arranged for us to attend it at the start of the trip instead of at the end, so that we would have a deeper background knowledge of China and understand what we are taught during the trip.
31/5/14
Sadly, today is the last day of our OELP trip. We went to Tunxi ancient street and took west lake cruise and 岳王庙. Tunxi ancient village is a good place for tourists to buy local goods. I tried the red tea and green tea there ,as well as some biscuits. There were many different flavors for the biscuits, like sesame and peanut. It was very delicious. Many of us bought food and tea. There are a few streets of different styles in Tunxi and some of them sold food while others sold souvenirs. After that, we took a bus to Hangzhou and took the West Lake Cruise. It was a nice boat ride as we could see the beautiful lake and feel the cool sea breeze. One of the attractions of West Lake was was the Long Bridge. The tour guide told us that the history of the bridge had to do with a love story that happened during 南宋时期. The main characters of the story were 梁山伯 and 祝英台. They were very much in love with each other and could not separate on the Long Bridge. Thus, they walked along the bridge for very long, giving it the name "long" bridge. Lastly, we went to 岳王庙. It is located at Hangzhou West Lake and it was build to commemorate 岳飞's contributions during 南宋时期. There were many things related to 岳飞 in the temple and I learnt more about him through the tour around the temple. Just like that, it was the end of our OELP trip. We went to many places and learnt more about the Chinese culture. It was a rare opportunity and it was an eye-opener that broadened our horizons.
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