Day 6 Mon Oct 10 Afternoon

After we left the school we went back for lunch at the hotel so the students who played sport could shower.  After lunch and a refreshing stop we were taken to the South Gate of the wall that surrounds the inner city of Xian.  The wall with a moat kept the marauding invaders out during the ancient times.  The wall was 14km long and each side had a gate for entry.  We started at the South Gate.  As we walked up to the top of the Gate it was still very smoggy.  We could not see the end of the wall in either direction.  We had free time and spent two hours looking around.  Some of us decided to walk the wall.  In the time we might just make it.  Unfortunately we didn’t and had to turn around.  Many of the others hired bicycles and rode the wall.  They had a great experience making it around in no time.  Some of the bikes broke down and a few had greasy hands fixing them.  A lot of fun was had by all and just what we needed to unwind after all the travelling.  We were also getting prepared for the train trip to Beijing.

We had a great time climbing over the wall of Xian and were treated to a show at the South gate before we left.  We headed for dinner then went to the train station.

At this time the weather had packed in and it was drizzling-enough to get wet.  Unfortunately we had a 150m walk from where the train dropped us off to the train station.  We never anticipated the busy time at the train station and the wet weather.  We trawled our way to the station.  This spread the 66 over a bit of a distance and this was amongst the locals and others trying to get to the train station.  It was bedlam!  We all made it then had to go through security.  All the bags were wet and went through the machines.  We congregated around the entry to the train lounge and we managed to get through into an already packed lounge.  Sardines in a can – smelt the same.  We didn’t have to wait long before we were allowed to go to the platform and board the train.  We were split into two groups.  One went to carriage 1.  This was filled with our group.  The rest went to carriage 5 & 6.  We boarded our sleepers.  Each soft sleeper contained 4 beds.  It was cramp but comfortable.  Everyone settled in and enjoyed the ride to Beijing.  The carriages between 1 and 5 were triple sleepers where six beds were in each cabin.  The locals used these.  The toilet facilities were OK but by the end of the trip were not very clean. 

The various cabins socialised through the trip and many slept most of the way.  It was a different mode of transport and an enjoyable experience.  Some were pretty tired when we reached Beijing but the soldiered on. 

Day 6 Mon Oct 10 Northwest Middle School

Up bright and early to miss the traffic so we can get to Northwest Middle school on time.  Have to be there by 8.30am on the dot.  The traffic very busy because it was the first day back for the workers of Xian after their one week national holiday – hence the early start.  This was to be a highlight of the trip and it was! 

We arrived with a banner across the entrance saying welcome to our school.  We were met by the vice principal, Zang Wei.  He was in charge of our visit.  We went to their auditorium.  A very nice plush centre.  Here were given an introduction to the school.  A nice school and one of the top ten in Xian.  This is quite a prestigious for the school.  Everything came down to results and nothing more.  They could select which students went there.  All families paid about Y30000 a year to send their students there.  They paid the students had to perform.  The curriculum was the basics English, Chinese, Arts, Math etc.  All students did  them all.  School went from 7.30am to 7.00pm at night including Saturday for study.  The competition is fierce and ruthless.  You do not make the grade you are gone to a lesser technical school where you learn to become a waiter etc  Class size – how about this.  Average class size is 60-amazing.  They are all crammed into a small classroom. 

In the auditorium their students arrived and this is when the day got better.  Very proud of our students.  They interacted and had conversations with the Chinese students.  After this Mr Betty made a small speech and we presented gifts to the students and our taonga to the school.  We then went outside and we did the haka and sang waiata to them.   They were impressed and so was I.  The Tuakau students did themselves extremely proud.  They sang with volume and meaning.  The haka was extremely scary for the Chinese who were impressed.  One of our group exclaimed that it sent tingles down his spine –just like it is suppose to.  It was great! And all of us stood tall as the performance showed us who we were.    The Chinese reciprocated and sang some songs to us.  The students handed out their gifts.  The T-shirts and their trinkets.  Well received. 

We then went out to the front steps and had a group photo.  We met the Principal and she shock Mr Betty’s hand and we had a photo.  She then left so we had a 2 minute presentation with her – a very busy lady.

After this all the students joined into a Ti Chi session with a class.  This was great.  Then basketball and Mr Fogarty played table tennis.  This was great!  The boys team and a girls team.  Although we came out as the losers the spirit it was played in was fabulous.

We then completed a tour of the school visiting many classrooms and areas.  Once noticeable thing was the smell of the toilets.  The reeked of urine and other smells.  It was pointed out that the water is turned off and they are washed once a day.  The used toilet paper is stored in bins next to the toilets.

After the rour we all got back on the bus .  It was a great tour and all the students enjoyed the change from museums but the interactions with Chinese teenagers was invaluable.

Day 5 Sun Oct 9

Today is the day when we visit the eight wonder of the world.   The Terracotta Warrior.  An amazing feat of building an army to protect you in the afterlife and when you are reincarnated the warriors will come to life to protect you.

Xian the ancient city was where the first dynasties were form.  Emperor Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne at thirteen and then started to make his burial mound.  He started the construction of the Terracotta warriors as well.  In the latter part of his reign about 1000 artisans worked for 10 years once the idea was incepted and build approx 8000 life-like warriors.  These were housed in areas in front of the emperor Qin’s tomb.  All are life like size and each one has a distinct face.

A few years ago they had a competition to match the faces with real people around Xian.  They found some people that had their faces encrusted in the warriors faces.

The emperor was ruthless and conquered the rest of China and for the first time most of China came under one ruler.  This was the Qin dynasty.  At a young age of 59 he suddenly died.   The emperor was superstitious and believed strongly in afterlife.  He drank elixirs to keep young and in a particular elixir, which contained mercury, it killed him – mercury being extremely poisonous.  At 59 his warrior army was not completed so the artisans worked extremely hard to get the tomb and warriors completed.

The army were stored 5m under the ground and had a roof on top.  They covered the roof with materials and then soil on the top.  The warriors had a ramp which was covered in and the warriors were then left for over 2500 years only to be discovered by three farmers in 1974.  They were digging a well to provide water for the commune and came upon pottery pieces.  When they went further they discovered more.  The local governors identified this as a significant site and halted all digging.  One of the farmers that dug up the warriors was present at the site today and was signing books and everyone got photos with him.  The warrior area was 54square kilometres.  They have dug up only a small area of the warriors but have completed geological surveys to estimate the numbers that are under the ground. 

The interesting point is that all the warriors were found broken and had to be excavated.  The reason for this is that a after Qin’s death a mad general was not happy and decided to enter one of the areas and got his army to smash the warriors and to burn the roof.    Another group of Chinese also found the warriors and were very superstitious and also went in and smashed the heads of the warriors because of the lifelike capabilities of the faces and didn’t want them to come to life.  And finally many grave robbers also destroyed figures.  But over the centuries the secret of the warriors was kept a big secret until the farmers found the.  The warrior army was destroyed but all the parts remained buried hence the pain staking work of excavating the tomb.  The Xian people believe this is the biggest jigsaw in the world.

There are many decades left to complete the job – if they ever get it finished.  Other natural events destroyed the warriors as well like earthquakes.

Truly a place to visit and the group were moved by the significant place they had visited.  We also visted the place were they continue to make terracotta warriors.  We were and could buy a set of warriors ourselves.  You could even buy a full sized warrior if you could get it home.  Everyone brought a warrior of some sort.

Next we went to the Shaanxi Museum and learned about the dynasties and further information about the warriors.  One thing we know is that the trip so far is certainly educational.  We all know so much about the Chinese and their culture.  Because it is so different it is so good to learn about.  By the time we had finished this museum we were are over museums.

One thing we never got sick of was shopping.  Off to the markets we go.  We went to the Muslim markets.  Once again great place and plenty of bargaining completed.  Muslim are we found a NZ ice cream shop – awesome.  The Muslim’s face do look slightly different from the Chinese more eastern looking.

Off we go to dinner.  Here we had 16 different dumplings.  They are morsel size dumpling but after 16 we had enough.  There was also a show and the show was a group of musician playing and dancing tradition Chinese instruments and completing dance.  The catch of the night was a whistler.  He was magnificent.  He whistled with a smile and played two traditional flutes.  Apart from being clever he was also very funny.  The whole group really enjoyed his wit and comedy.

Back on the bus and to the hotel. Everyone was absolutely exhausted.  A real tough day.  Hot smoggy and tired.  We all really needed a sleep to be energised to visit the school in Xian.

Day 4 Sat Oct 8

An early morning start to the day to get to the airport for an early flight to Xian.  The group all made it down, bags packed rearing to go.  All on time and excited about the next part of the journey.

Grabbing a packed lunch and onto the buses.  The smog and mist was still around as we headed to the airport.  On arrival a thank you card and gift was given to our two guides with a huge thanks for a fabulous experience in Shanghai.

We boarded the plane - Air China.  After a little delay we lifted off and were winging our way to Xian(she ann).  This city is known as the roots of China.  An ancient city.  The trunk and the branches of China is Beijing and the blossom is Shanghai.  As we flew in, once again heavily ‘smogged’ in and dull looking place.  Initial feelings are it is dirtier and a lot busier than Shanghai.  Xian has 8 million people living here.  Once again high rises and very busy roads.  Xian is  an ancient city – more than 5000 years old hence the roots of China.  13 Dynasties existed and based in Xian. 

As we moved through the country side to Xian we were pointed out the burial mounds that exist in the countryside.  The size of the mound indicated the status of who was buried there.  The emperor’s mounds were very high-highest being 30m high.  Most of them had not been excavated due to superstition but also the government have made them historical sites.  Over the years many of the tombs had been plundered.  The terracotta warrior site is one of these sites which represent the Qin Dynasty emperor.  In the early days some have been excavated before they ceased and found that many of the treasures as exposed to the air disintegrated significantly.  Also many of the tombs are booby trapped so the archaeologists will be putting themselves into danger by digging and uncovering.

The guides Ping and Wei were excellent and knew their history extremely well.  We received a comprehensive outline of Xian and the history.  Ping explained that the people of Xian have a three point plan for the next 20 years.

1.      Double the population in the next 20 years.  In this area of China they had eased the one child rule.  If you and your wife came from single parent families then you were entitled to have two children.  If you have twins then you are very lucky and this is counted as one child.  If you have more children you are fined about 3 times the average wage so in Xian you would have to pay Y90000 which is $18000.  The wealthy Chinese can afford this but the average person cannot. 

2.      The second goal for Xian is that every person has to know 900 English sentences – Do you know 900 phrases and or sentences????

3.      Lastly every person in Xian should know a minimum of 200 chinese scripts.

When we arrived we went for Lunch then went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.  This is a huge pagoda which was a three story building which housed the Sanskrit scrolls which were written in Hindi.  They were being translated into Chinese and therefore needed somewhere safe to be housed so they built the pagoda.  The monks were inside the temple chanting when we visited.  Many of the group brought incense sticks and placed them in an incense pit and had a little prayer.  We walked through the pagoda gardens and relaxed as we went into the various shops around the pagoda.  Many of us learned about the Chinese calendar and zodiacs.

Back on the bus then off to the Art Gallery Museum.  Here we saw some great art work of differing types.  We saw some three-d-characters made from donkey hyde – interesting.  After learning about the ancient art craft we were taken into a classroom and taught some basic calligraphy.  The calligraphy strokes and the brushes was fascinating.  The basic 8 strokes were shown and from these 8 there can be 1000s of characters made – Chinese scripts.  When a character is written it is not a straight translation of the name it is how the name is vocalised.  The vocal gives the sounds which translates to a character.

Back on the bus and off to Dinner.  We went back to out hotel – City Hotel and then free time.  This hotel is in the middle of the inner city of Xian.  Xian has an inner wall and moat.  In the early days a 14km wall surrounded the old city and ensured their protection from the marauding Mongols. 

The hotel was 2 star.  Old hotel and inside was well worn and tired.  A good enough place to sleep.  Free time-meant we could go out and look at the local shops, find a supermarket and get snacks but also meet the locals.  The Xian people were always busy and were busier than the other places we had visited.

At the end of another busy day we all slept well.

Day 3 Fri Oct 7

Day 3  7^th October Here we go again  new writer......

Today we discovered the wonders of Zhujiajao Water Town.   This is one of many towns where the locals live and sell their wares.  The smell was even more disgusting than the smells in the main city.  The locals wash their clothes and fruit in the muddy, murky water which is the same water that we went for a punting on later.  

Locals tried to sell us goldfish that we were to set free (in the disgusting water) – we then discovered that this was a scam as the fish were trained to return to the owner, the owner then on sold the fish to the next willing sucker.  Walking around the markets tested our patience and bartering skills.   One of our tour guides showed us her purchase of cooked frogs that she was going to enjoy sharing with her family for dinner - yum yum!

We head off to a Silk factory where we had another nice lunch – we are all still trying to become accustomed to the food – its all very nice and also very different to the Chinese that we eat at home.  We head downstairs to the Silk factory.  We get to hold the silk worms and learn how silk is made.  We all went crazy in the shop and purchased mammoth proportions of different items.  All aboard the bus for our journey back to the hotel.

This was our only chance to rehearse the waiata and haka for our performance at the school that we were visiting later.  We sounded so good that we ended up with a captive audience.

Tonight was a night of rest and early to bed as we had an early wake-up call at 4.45am

Day 2 Thu Oct 6

Hi back again – We are in Xian but just need to bring everyone up to date with what we have been up too.

We have been out and about and seen a heck of a lot.  This particular trip has been jam packed with lots to see and lots of shopping.  Everyone has loved the interaction between the tourist and the cultural heritage that we have enjoyed.

Day 2  we first headed off to visit the famous Shanghai Television tower.  This tower was located on the river where the skyline of Shanghai sits.  The town was still very busy with the National holidays occurring.  It was fascinating seeing all the locals visiting this icon.  Once again we were an attraction.  Many of the group had photos with  the local Police.  It was a ‘dagg’ also because all the local vendors were pedalling their wears and many of the group brought Rolex watches, lighters, etc.  Many got great deals-5 Rolex for $20 – cheap imitations of course!  We entered the tower to a huge mall and museum entrance.  We all then packed into the elevator to the viewing deck.  It was on level 298 which was higher than the sky tower.  As we emptied out of the elevator we were lucky we could see something.  The haze and smog was horrific.  The locals call it a haze as it is formed from the high humidity and dust.  The haze stayed for a long time and whilst in Shanghai we did not see the blue sky.

The skyline from this perspective was still magnificent.  The buildings are certainly a big thing in China.  Mind you to house 23 million people is no feat and the tall buildings do this.  Average height of a building was 40 stories. The use of underground malls and roads is an engineering feat. They can fit so much into such a small space.

Everyone was a buzz with the view and then went down to the glass floor.  Like the Sky Tower was another treat with photos galore.  Many little glass models of the Television tower were purchased and will be coming back to NZ.

A handful of people did not go up the tower and went to the Old Museum where they looked at old Shanghai.  Once the viewing up the tower was completed the group came down and went through the museum too.  Once again seeing the colonial influence on Shanghai was very distinct.

Once again everyone shopped.  Chop sticks etc.  Many of the boys found sword they brought as souvenirs.  A couple had plastic dough characters made of themselves – very life like even down to the red uniform – brilliant.

Onto lunch – once again a great mixture of Chinese cuisine.  Each meal had something different.  We are a little concerned that not many students have been eating much or drinking a lot of water.  This may mean dehydration because it is still quite warm and everyone is still recovering from jet lag.  So adults encouraging the students to eat and drink.

On the bus and off to the Pearl factor.  Here we were shown how the pearls were made and how to distinguish between a real pearl and a fake one.  The real pearls are still gritty and when you rub them together they  grind whereas fake ones are all the same size and smooth and do not grind.  We were shown the difference between the river oyster pearls and the ocean oyster.  Ocean oyster pearl only has one pearl inside whereas the river oyster can have up to 20 and they are a lot smaller.  The colours are due to various environment factors.  Colours seen were pink, black and the pearl colour.  Sizes varied and the more perfect the pearl the more expensive.  Once again we were let lose on the shop and the Yuan flowed freely from our pockets to the shop keepers.  If you loved pearls then you would have been in heaven.

On the road again.  We travelled across town to the Yu gardens in PuXi.  This was a garden build early 17^th Century.  One of the aristocrats wanted to build a garden for his aging parents.  Unfortunately it took 83 years to complete so in this time his parents had died.  Where a pagoda stood was once the tallest place in Shanghai for a few centuries.  The garden was nice peaceful place.  Once we arrived inside you could not hear the ‘hustle’ and ‘bustle’ of the shopping streets outside.  It was very peaceful and tranquil.  After the garden where the students were fascinated by carp fish we were let loose on the shopping streets around the garden called the Yu markets.  Bargains Bargains! Bargains!  It was shoulder to shoulder shopping.  Quite scary really. 

Our resident musician brought a couple of instruments – everyone loved the bartering.  Comparing notes around the bargains everyone got including the ‘rip-offs’ as well as the things everyone got.  Once again the smells were sickening.  The smell of the putrid oils and tofu being cooked send your stomach wild. 

On entry to the Yu gardens the group was confronted by a armless china man who was begging for money.  He had a friend who had twisted legs etc.  He had no shirt on and the girls were ‘grossed out’ with what they saw.  He was smiling and happy and was saying something to the students.  The students went by him very quickly.

Once again went to a traditional Chinese dinner and then went to an Acrobat show.  What a show!!  We were treated with girls spinning eight plates on eight sticks then climbing and moving around each other; a magician, two muscle men completing acrobat strong men lifts, roller skating girls on a platform only big enough to roll around; bicycle acts, 5 motorcycles in a cage; girls stretching into unbendable positions.  It was outstanding!  We also ran into a Japanese school which were in China on a school exchange.  Everyone was once again a buzz about what they saw.  Back to the hotel and ready for the next day.

Day 1 - We are here!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone!!!  Ni Hao Finally got on.  Blogs are banned in China which makes it very frustrating to keep this updated.  So this will not be updated as much as we like but we will try our best. 

Everyone is a buzz here in China so far the trip has been awesome.  Amazing the hospitality and the sights we are seeing.

Day 1 Wednesday 5th October we left Auckland and headed for KL.  Was a good flight.  Then in KL had a 5 hour stopover before heading to Shanghai.  By the time we boarded this flight everyone was very weary with the waiting and sitting around at Starbucks.  The students managed to visit an artificial rain forest and get some sleep on the hard seats.

On arrival in Shanghai at this huge airport, it was empty.  We had it to ourselves.  Baggage arrived with two bags that had been broken into but nothing missing.  One other suitcase no handle.  Got through the formalities and were met by our guides.  Lorraine and Shelly.  Lorraine is Chen Ken and Shai Li.  Back to the hotel which is 32 stories high in the old part of Shanghai, west bank called PuXi (poo shay).  The new side is called Pudong east side.  Pudong was only recently developed since 1990 as Shanghai is known as the Chinas Manhattan. 

Everyone is spread over 10 floors of the hotel and the accommodation, although 3 star is excellent.  Although very tired we all worked through this for activites in the afternoon. The itinerary was:

• Visited the Shanghai museum - saw the arts and culture of China but also saw an exhibition on Te Maori.  Pottery, clothing, coins etc of the various dynasties
• Visited the 'Bund' which is the river bank to view the skyline. As much as we are tourists the locals think we are a side show.  The blondes are a photographic marvel to the locals wanting to get their photo with them.
• Then to No1 (Nanjin Rd)shopping street in Shangahai - our first experience of the bussle and hussle of the millions of people.  Shoulder to shoulder shopping.  Also the first set of beggars and shop side sellers hassling us and the kids with 'you buy' and our answer 'Bu Yaoh' no I don't want it.
• One impression-very clean - NO rubbish or graffitti-  little grey suited people sweeping all the time to keep it clean.  Othe things the smells-Yuk! going past various places and the smell of rancid oils.  Had to shop around for a bargain too.  Also one shop frontage had a big aquarium with sharks and turtles swimming in them.
• Lunch and dinner typical chinese meals.  Very nice - light and tasty - many of the students not very adventurous with the food.  Unusual tastes.  One thing is the after tastes are not left in your mouth.  All adults encouraging the students to eat and drink.  Weather warm and muggy but we are on the go all the time.
• After dinner we went on a river cruise and saw the lights of Shanghai.  The Chinese love their lights.  Whole skyscrapers with light shows - it was amazing.

Post this one and try and get a photgraphic gallery up for you to see.  Will post Day 2 Thursday 6th October asap