Wednesday 12 October
After another sleep in we boarded the bus and headed off for a big day. First we went to the Chinese Ethnic Museum where we were able to walk around and take in some of the 56 nationalities that make up the population of China. The highlight had to be the Gaoshan Landscape where we were able to view buildings that are very similar to those found throughout the Pacific. It is said that descendants from this region settled the Pacific Ocean and eventually made their way to New Zealand as the Maori people.
After an enjoyable lunch we went to the Water Cube. The 2008 Olympic swimming venue now contains the largest water park in Asia. The rides were awesome with the Tornado, Bullet Bowl and Aqua Loop coming out as favourites. After 2 hours of fun we were exhausted and made our way slowly to the bus.
A short ride later we arrived at the Beijing Chaoyang Acrobatic Theatre. The show was amazing, from the stack of chairs that reached almost to the top of the theatre, the ladies spinning umbrellas with their feet, the tumbling acts, ballet and the ultimate highlight – 5 motorbikes spinning away inside a large metal ball it was non stop action.
We finished off the day with Peking duck for dinner.
Before bed we packed our bags and set alarms for an early start. Time has flown by and we look forward to arriving in Auckland early Friday morning and getting home to share our adventures with you all.
Tuesday 11 October
After a leisurely sleep in and breakfast we boarded the bus for the ride to Tiananmen Square. The sheer number of people in the square was staggering, with people everywhere we kept closely together. It was very hectic with excitement. We all saw a massive lantern which had the years "1949 – 2011" The year 1949 was the time when Chairman Mao founded "New China."
Next we went to the Forbidden City…
We learnt that the more animal statues on the roof of a traditional building is the most important. There was a building in the City that had 10 animals on the roof. That is the highest an important building can be. We also learnt that there were 9999 and ½ rooms in the Forbidden City. This is because the number "9" is a lucky number in China. The emperor and his family did not want 10,000 rooms in the city.
After lunch at Mc Donald's we went for a look around at a traditional Chinese food market. They sold "normal" Chinese food such as (live) scorpions, snakes, ducks and much more. It was very interesting and the smell was disgustingly extraordinary. We had a time of our lives! Just after we went to the favourite and famous Pearl Market. It was awesome!
We all had a great day and don't want to leave Beijing! But we still miss our families.
Tomorrow we are having another sleep in before we spend the morning at the Chinese Cultural and Ethnic Park. The afternoon will be spent at the Water Cube before heading to the Acrobat Theatre and a Peking Duck dinner.
Thanks to Brea and James for their help with this posting.
Monday 10 October
The highlight of the day today was a visit to WAB (Western Academy of Beijing) one of the biggest international schools in Beijing. WAB use the PYP as their Elementary School curriculum. We arrived nice and early and met our host class 5J in their room. After some brief introductions we spent some time touring around the school looking at the facilities they have. Following morning tea we presented to the Grade 5 students in their theatre. We shared a powhiri, haka and song before 5 of our students gave some information about the PYP Exhibition. We were able to share some of the video clips we created, answer their questions and also give advice to the students and staff.
Dodge ball was great fun in the school gymnasium. After some negotiation about the rules to clarify exactly how we were going to play battle commenced. We particularly enjoyed the local ‘doctor' rule where one nominated student is a doctor who can save those who are out until the doctor themselves gets hit.
After lunch we made our way back into the city for some shopping at the Pearl Market. Despite our best efforts there remained money in our pockets and stock in the shops.
Tomorrow we will be enjoying our first sleep in of the week with breakfast set for 7:15am. We will then make our way to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
On the bus today we collected things we liked about Beijing and the trip thus far. They included:
Marty – The food and the monuments
Georgia – Visiting WAB and making new friends, the hotel and local puppies
Holly – The great sights you can see
Lilly – The flowers everywhere
Tiernan – Climbing the Great Wall of China with the exercise and great views, bargaining for prices is also fun
Sam – Everything is very accessible, like the stairs over the roads that have ramps for bikes to go over as well as steps for people
James – Bargaining and the friendly local people
Nick – Traditional architecture throughout the city
Maya – The WAB visit, Temple of Heaven activities and getting to the top of the Great Wall of China
Katrina – Bargaining and the Great Wall
Larissa – The Pandas and bargaining when shopping
Connor – Bargaining when shopping and the Great Wall of China
Cameron – Walking on the Great Wall of China and buying a giant panda toy at a very cheap price
Grayson – The Great Wall of China and bargaining
Tyra – Climbing the Great Wall of China
Imogen – Shopping and bargaining at the market and walking The Sacred Way
Olivia – The Summer Palace and bargaining
Juliette – Walking the Great Wall and shopping for bargains
Brea – Dancing at the Temple of Heaven and the local toilets
Megan – The decorated roofs all around the city and bargaining
Sarah – Walking on the Great Wall of China
Mrs Yang – Having the local people praise our students as we go through Beijing and taking the teachers shopping
Mrs Barrell – Visiting the Giant Pandas and appreciating where Mrs Yang comes from
Mrs Cochran – The awesome attitude of the students when climbing the Great Wall of China
Mrs Lloyd – The Hutong village rickshaw ride and a feel for authentic living in Beijing. Getting to know the other staff members better
Mr Nichol – Mr Hutton's cricket trivia on the bus and having Mrs Lloyd take over one afternoon to help out
Mr Hutton – The awesome architecture and flowers along the sides of the motorways. The students having a go at things that are outside their comfort zone. Regular rugby text updates on the bus
Sunday 9 October
Today dawned with another early wake up with all of us eating our breakfast at 6:30am before boarding the bus at 7:00am. We made our way a short distance to The Temple of Heaven the most holy of Beijing's imperial temples. We witnessed a wide range of human activities within the park like surroundings. From a wide range of dancing and fitness activities to groups playing cards and musical instruments, everywhere we turned there was a blaze of sound and colour. We decided to join in the action adding to the fun of a massed dance and then performing the powhiri, haka and songs we have prepared for our WAB visit much to the appreciation of the gathered audience.
While walking through the temple complex the enormous size was awe inspiring, as was the sheer number of people enjoying the sights.
The 4 star rated toilet (by the Beijing Tourism Department) did not quite live up to expectations, however the hawkers were a welcome distraction.
After lunch we made our way up the Drum Tower. The 69 almost vertical steps were not particularly welcome after the climbing yesterday, however the spectacular drumming exhibition and view from the top made it all worthwhile.
The Beijing Hutong rickshaw ride provided welcome relief for tired legs. Looking around inside one of the house compounds was a real eye opener, especially when we were told how much the buildings were worth.
The day was rounded out with some shopping down a tourist shopping lane. We met a school group from Perth who were thrilled to hear that Australia had just beaten South Africa. As we made our way back to the hotel on the bus we followed the All Blacks scoring action via text messages sent by Mrs Nichol.
Tomorrow is another early start as we travel to WAB (Western Academy of Beijing) followed by a shopping trip.
Saturday 8 October
The big day arrived, the wall has been conquered again.
Luckily it dawned overcast this morning as we set off on one of the longest bus rides in history. We discovered the Beijing traffic today as the public holidays were over and everyone was back on the roads. When we made it to the wall the fun started. It was up all the way for 2 hours of rewarding climbing as we made our way up the wall. Stopping at each tower on the way up enabled everyone to keep their energy levels high. We received many compliments on our New Zealand flags and determination to keep going. The descent was more challenging as knees began to ache as we made our way down all 1686 steps (as counted by Megan) back to the bus. When asked about the experience words like: awesome, hot, tiring, steep, amazing and rewarding echoed around the restaurant.
We went up boys and returned as men (and women) just like Chairman Mao had predicted.
The second highlight of the day was shopping at The Sacred Way. The local shop keepers did not know what had hit them as bargaining and Kristin almost became one. Amongst the cries of anguish we walked away with most of their stock at cheap prices. We found that holding the correct change in your hand while negotiating the price could reduce it to a few dollars very quickly.
When we actually got to The Sacred Way the statues were amazing, especially the crouching elephants. These were surpassed only by the joy of seeing the best toilets of the day. They even had his and her hair dryers.
Dinner provided a roadblock on the Great Tour with girls seated next to boys and the y turn of having to select from the menu, communicate with the waiter and order your own dinner.
Tomorrow we set off for the Temple of Heaven where we will be practising our presentation and songs for our visit to Western Academy of Beijing on Monday and a rickshaw ride through the Beijing Hutong (old lanes).
Friday 7 October
Today we had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The morning was spent at the Summer Palace home of the largest imperial gardens in China. After a brief bus ride and gentle walk around the edge of Kunming Lake we began the ascent of Longevity Hill. The views from the top of the hill were stunning, as was the response from our fellow tourists when we celebrated our climb with a stirring haka.
After a careful descent and a welcome ice cream we boarded a boat for a trip across the lake and headed back to the bus.
Lunch was at a restaurant near the zoo followed by a trip to see the giant pandas. We had the opportunity to see 4 different pandas within the hall of the giant panda. 2 babies were very popular, as was the panda that spent our visit outside eating bamboo and having a drink.
The 7 star toilets at the zoo were a welcome sight after a long day of walking.
Following a swim and dinner we enjoyed some of Megan's birthday cake before turning in early.
Tomorrow we will be up early for breakfast before heading for the Great Wall. The famous quote ‘He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man' by Chairman Mao will be well and truly tested as we enjoy what is sure to be a very rewarding climb.
Thursday 6 October
We have now arrived safely at the hotel in Beijing. Following a long and slightly bumpy flight we arrived bright and early this morning at Beijing airport to be met by Katherine Yang and our bus. We moved on to the Water Cube and Birds Nest Stadium. Unfortunately due to a cycling race being held in and around these two venues we were unable to gain access to either stadium today.
Plan B went into effect and we had some lunch before 2 hours of shopping at the Pearl Market. The girls won the bargaining battle hands down with some very hard bargains being driven.
Everyone was relieved to see the hotel and we were able to check in without too many issues. A swim, dinner and then bed was the order of the day.
The highlight thus far has been the demand for photos by local tourists with Kristin students outside the Water Cube gates.
Due to the week of holidays being observed at the moment we have changed our plans for Friday and will be visiting the Summer Palace and Zoo tomorrow.
Tuesday 4 October
The Beijing 2011 Tour departs from Auckland International Airport on Wednesday 5 October on NZ287 at 22:50.
