It was officially the start of the whole OELP trip.We went to Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) which was a project done together by Singapore and China.From its name,I had initially thought that the SIP was literally a park.However,after the tour,I realized that it was actually a huge part of Suzhou--the more developed part of Suzhou.It was created under the guidance of Singapore so that China learns more from Singapore to develop its country.Hence,The SIP looks like a duplication of Singapore as the way it was built was according to Singapore's style.The exhibitions we went through showed distinct and great changes that Suzhou had gone through from the past till now.From an old town with many traditional ways and infrastructure, this part of Suzhou has transformed into a modern,developed and advanced place,showing that this project was indeed a great success as part of Suzhou has successfully been modernized.I felt very proud of Singapore to have helped Suzhou in this successful development and also felt happy and impressed of Suzhou to have achieved its goal so successfully.At the same time,I realized that China is really developing fast,just as what I so frequently heard from everyone nowadays.I believe that if Singapore does not continue to improve itself, China will be catching up with us soon.Though Singapore had been really really good,it still has to keep improving itself for the better for the whole world is developing and improving and catching up with one another.Perhaps very soon,what has been achieved by the developed countries like Singapore will be just something normal and no longer anything great or special.Hence,Singapore,though already a developed country must continue to strive for the "even better" category.
Later on,we also went to 苏州交通大学附属中学 where we received gifts and warmed welcomes from the teachers and students.I realized that the students' artwork were very splendid and well done,something most of us could not have done,making me feel that China's students really take a lot of pride and passion in art as they are able to produce very beautiful works for that subject.Whereas for Singapore students,most of us do not take aesthetics like art seriously and in fact do not really have a passion for it.An example is me :p.
Anyway,half of our class went to attend art lessons while the other half went to learn 太极拳,which was what I learned.It was quite interesting to be able to learn a new "sport" and I realized that there were many similarities in 太极拳 compared to 武术,which is what we learn back in RV.
After that,the whole class went to attend a Chinese lesson where the teacher talked so complicated Chinese stuff that most of us were confused.The students over there learned about Chinese poems, understanding the meaning behind them,something much harder than what we do here in Singapore.Overall,from the Chinese lesson,I could clearly tell that their Chinese standards are far better than ours and I realized that we have got to strive harder even if we do well for Chinese here in Singapore because the real Chinese competitors are out there in China.As for people who already don't do well for Chinese in Singapore (like me)... I believe we really got to work harder and constantly remind ourselves the Chinese standards those China students are at.
DAY 2
Today,we went for a school immersion trip at 星海实验中学.We were all really nervous when we were about to be separated and be assigned to different classes. Shu Ting and I were assigned to a class and we headed for the 2 empty seats at the back.It felt really awkward for I felt that I were an outsider who did not belong here and neither the students nor the teachers bother to welcome us warmly for our trip here.I really had hoped that someone would approach and talk to me and make me feel more comfortable and welcomed,but no one did.I,for once,finally understood how those foreign pupils who came to our school for immersion trips had felt.
The class uses a chalkboard for lessons,which surprised me for chalkboards,as far as I know,is a teaching tool in the past.There were also no visualizers but only a projector that nevertheless was still seldom used.I realized that China was really behind us in terms of education ways and facilities for they seldom make use of modern technologies like the projector and are still using past teaching tools like the blackboard.It made me feel really impressed and proud of Singapore as I noticed that we have progressed really far as compared to other countries and we even have things like iPads to assist our learning.The toilets in the school,or rather almost everywhere I had gone including the school,really stinks.This made me feel that China is neglecting the minor aspects of its country too much.While its economy is boosting and catching up with top countries like the US,it's educational facilities are lagging far behind us and their toilets are remaining unhygienic and much to us,foreigners', dissatisfaction.I believed China should really start to shift their focus from the major aspects of the country to those minor ones like education and hygiene because every single aspect matters.A minor aspect like hygiene could affect our impression on China.Before coming to China,I had really admire the country for developing so fast and catching up with the developed countries.But after seeing what educational facilities they have and the hygiene in their toilets,I changed my opinion about China--that it does not seem as perfect as it seemed,that somewhere behind those brilliant economy and other successful major developments,there are ugly sights of poor hygiene and outdated educational facilities that are hidden behind,concealed unknowingly by the outside world.
The students there were absolutely attentive during lessons.None of them talked to others during their lessons and neither do they sleep or daydream or do anything unrelated during the lessons.It made me feel really ashamed of myself for occasionally,I would find myself nodding off to sleep or talking to friends when I'm bored during my lessons.I was really impressed by their excellent behaviour,which I believe is something I should learn from them.
After the school immersion,we went to Humble Administrator's Garden,a world heritage centre in Suzhou.The view before me when I stepped into the garden was really brilliant.All around me was simply nature that I have always taken for granted and it was only then did I realized how beautiful nature is.There were many green trees and plants(green since it was summer) and lakes full of lily pads.Many ancient pagodas and bridges were also present,making me feel as if I were back in ancient China.I learnt that Chinese in China were very superstitious as curved pathways built in the Garden were believed to drive ghosts away from us at night for the Chinese believed that ghosts can not travel in crooked or curved pathways.It was a really meaningful trip where I not only get to admire and explore the beauty of nature and ancient Chinese infrastructures but also get to learn more about the Chinese culture.
After that,we went for dinner at Haidilao!And trust me that place was totally awesome.The food there tasted like heaven,absolutely much to my satisfactory.The staff there were really very friendly to us,helping us cover our bags with cloth to prevent the smell of the steamboat to get into them.Even the service at the toilets were great for there were even people there to on the tap for us to wash our hands and provide us with paper towels as well as skin moisturizers!Their excellent service really impressed me for I couldn't believe tha service was even provided at the toilets! It was a really amazing experience there--to enjoy good food and great services!
DAY 3
Today,we went to 星海实验中学 once more,and for the last time.This time,I got to attend more lessons--Chinese,Mathematics,English and Music.All lessons except for English were taught in the Chinese language which made understanding these lessons a hundred times harder.It really came as a relief to me when English lesson came for their English was really simple and I had no problem understanding the lesson at all.It made me relieved about the fact that our Chinese was weaker than them for their English were also much weaker than ours.My partner had showed me his test paper where,I realized, that they were being tested on really simple things we have done in primary school while we,at the same age,are doing far more advanced components.It seemed that both the students there and us do have subjects that we have to improve on to catch up with one another.
We also got to communicate with buddies appointed to us later on.Though our buddies were people Shu Ting and I had never talked to,we still managed to converse with each other,though quite nervously.The gift I received from my buddy was something I really appreciated and liked--a silk cloth,and it is something I would never forget as a reminder of the trip to this school.
After our buddies left,we stayed in a room and a teacher taught us "吹画",a Chinese art where you put drops of ink onto your paper and blow the ink.The ink will then spread around the paper,and we were to try to make it to form a figure of a tree.It really was a very interesting form of art,and I was really impressed that the Chinese in China were able to think of such a creative way to form art.Soon,we left the school for the No.1 Silk Factory in Suzhou.I felt a sense of unwillingness and sadness in me.I was sure to miss the school.
In the silk factory,the tour guide taught us more about the life cycle of a silkworm,the different stages etc.Then we moved on to witness numerous real silkworms in a bamboo basket,some crawling slowly,some eating the leaves around them.Having no fear for insects,I went forward to touch one,expecting to feel a hard shell. However,I was surprised to feel a really soft and flexible texture that appears to be very delicate.It was a really cool experience for me to be able to touch a silkworm which I hadn't even seen before till today.
We also witness how the silk is retrieved from the silkworms.Their silk was really really thin and it was a wonder to me how could this thin,delicate-looking silk be made into products?However,when I touched the silk,I was surprised once again for the silk was not as soft as it seemed,it was,in fact,quite hard and even seem to be quite strong.We moved on to look at the products which was made from the silk produced here.I was really surprised that things like bed sheets,pillows,blankets etc was actually made from these thin pieces of silk!I was really impressed of these silkworms--how useful its thin silk could be to make so many different products (eg purses).
Overall,today has been really memorable--so many new experiences and so many new things learnt!;D
DAY 4
Today we went to Suzhou Museum.Its architecture design was very unique and many historical artifacts were displayed and shown to us--fans,paintings,jades,past embroidery and many many more!We were able to learn more about the culture and history of China's past,all the way back to the dynasties period. Surprisingly,there were a lot of people in the museum, which astonished me as I didn't expect so many people to visit a museum, which to me is just a place full of boring information about the past which, guilty here, I feel is something not very important to me presently. It made me wonder a lot, is it because this museum s new? Or is it because the people of China are really very interested to see and understand more of their past culture? It is a question that up till today I still do not have an answer.
We went to Shantang street after that. Shantang street was a traditional, ancient-looking old street. It consisted of two street path connected by a traditional-looking bridge and even a river in between the two roads.It was a really really crowded street and my group was careful to keep close to prevent getting lost.The street sold many different kinds of things, from foods to key chains, toys, decorative products and many more! I would admit that it was not a place I enjoyed shopping at for it was too crowded and not many things were "relevant" for me to buy. Furthermore,there was a weird smell around the atmosphere which I believed came from some "weird" foods sold at the stalls. Nevertheless, it was a really cool experience for me to be able to shop and walk along a traditional street something really different from the shopping malls I usually go to in Singapore.
Overall, really glad to have explore more of China's history and culture as well as to experience a trip to Shantang street! :))
DAY 5
[Lecture--power point slides]
It was already Day 5 and a sense of sadness reached me when I woke up for there were only 2 days left--2 days before this whole trip ends.Time really flies... TT
Anyway, we were in Shanghai now and our first destination was the Shanghai Jiaotong University to attend a "lecture" about Shanghai's development from past till now.
I was really surprised when we reached the university for it was really really huge-- so huge that there were even zebra crossings along the roads in the university.The plants and trees lined everywhere made me feel that this place seemed more like a neighborhood than a university for it really was huge!
During the lecture, we learnt more about Shanghai's past, the city's culture in the past as well as its current culture. I was quite surprised to learn that Shanghai has the largest population of all the cities in China as I had thought that majority will come from the well-known capital city-- Beijing. It also came as a shock to me that Shanghai has the most severe air population for I couldn't believe that I was now standing right at the very city,breathing in the air that has the largest amounts of air pollution in China! ><
After that, we proceeded to the Shanghai Urban Exhibition Hall which showed us all about Shanghai's development, its transport system, how it has transformed from a trading port to a tourist attraction etc. It was a really meaningful trip where we got to learn more about Shanghai in addition to the lecture we had earlier on.The sculptures displayed were also very beautiful just like the one right below here 👇
As it was raining cats and dogs, the trips to Xintiandi Shikumen Museum was postponed and we proceeded to the hotel after that. I was really excited because after that, we will be going for an acrobatic show soon!
The anticipated time finally arrived as at around 6 or 7 pm, we proceeded to watch the acrobatic show. I felt really anxious and elated for it was my very first time watching an acrobatic show! Having seen all those advertisements on the television for a lifetime of acrobats doing highly dangerous-looking and seemingly-impossible stunts, I was really keen to want to witness everything with my very own eyes. It was really a pity that we could not take any pictures or videos of it... TT
The show began with ultimately flexible people doing their impossible-looking stunts...An acrobat balanced on a plank placed on a cylindrical tin, throwing cutlery from his leg onto his head as he balanced on the plank...A tough-looking man threw this huge and delicate-looking pot and make it land on his head, arms, neck and I wanted to shout at him to stop, afraid that he might fail and crack his skull but everything miraculously went on fine...Two gang of people jumped through hoops with a leap, with a somersault, with a dive and I believed that even I of a smaller size than them wouldn't have jump through those hoops! And then came performers jumping on gigantic trampolines, doing their splits, somersaults and many many more in mid-air...and there was a couple flying in the air with only two long pieces of fabric keeping them from falling onto the ground...and there were motorcycles--two, three, four, five...seven of them driving at hugh speed in one huge metal circular cage without colliding with one another...Each and every performance was certainly entertaining and though I was feeling really tired after a whole day of trips, the acrobatic show never failed to keep my eyes opening, keep my mouth gaping, keep my excitement running on. It was the best thing I have ever watched in my whole life.
The day should have ended perfectly with such an awesome show but the smell of the gas from the motorcycle seemed to make me feel nauseous (-- I had not been feeling well from that very day on till OELP was over.)But I did not forget about the acrobatic show, and never will I. :))
Brilliant day!!!!!!
DAY 6
[the figure I was talking about]
Today, we went to Luxun Memorial Hall. The memorial hall was really huge,causing me to admire China greatly for being able to build an enormous memorial hall just to remind people of Luxun, the Father of modern Chinese Literature and the his history. Back in Singapore, I remember there was a memorial built for Lim Bo Sheng, our country's savior, but he was not dedicated one whole building unlike what China did for Luxun. It seemed that China really make good use of the abundant land they have to not only develop further but also to preserve much of its culture and history.
In Luxun memorial hall, we learnt more about Luxun's past, why he write his books, how did his works influenced the Chinese etc. It was a meaningful trip as other than learning China's history and culture as we had done in the past few days,we were now able to learn about one of the famous people in China's past who had contributed to the Chinese society.There was even a figure of Luxun "created" by some plants--It was a really beautiful sight and this made me feel that China really care about their past history and culture for they are willing to spend so much effort on Luxun's memorial--build a memorial hall for him and even trim plants to make a figure of him.
[the figure I was talking about]Later on, we moved on to Oriental Pearl's TV Tower. While we were waiting to get through the ticket barrier,many Chinese cut our queue as they wanted to get in first. Our tour guide seemed very annoyed with them, so did I. How could they just cut our queue like that? We came here first, didn't we? But I was soon struck by the realization that Singaporeans do that too. In certain situations, I occasionally witness 1 or 2 people trying to cut queue... Well at least back in Singapore, we do not have 20+ people cutting a queue at once... -_-
Anyway,The tower was super-duper tall!!! We went to take the elevator which reached the 600+ storey within (I think) less than 2 minutes. Cool, isn't it? It would have taken me forever to climb to that storey... .__.
Anyway, we then proceeded to the 500 something storey (can't remember which storey in exact) where we could actually step onto a glass floor to look out to the scenery of Shanghai! It was really cool yet scary for I feared that the glass was delicate. But in the end, I still ended up walking on the glass as if it was a normal ground. It was really awesome to stand up so high with only a piece of TRANSPARENT GLASS separating me from the ground and also to be able to look at the cars and buildings way below at such a great distance that they seemed to be in a mini world far far away. It was certainly a very exciting and thrilling experience for me! XD
We went to the last place after that-- Nanjing Road. It looked a lot like the China's version of Orchard Road--two lines of shopping malls, super-duper crowded, modern-looking. It was definitely a great place for tourist to shop (since the place itself already looked like an ideal place for tourists to shop) for there were many international products, China products, as well as products from Shanghai itself being sold.To be honest, my friends and I did not buy a lot of things from there as not many things were suitable for us to buy. We bought some food though, much to my relief, for I had not wanted to come to Nanjing Road and return with empty hands... it just doesn't seem right. :/
Overall, today has been awesome! Really great to be able to learn about some history, visit a 600 storey tall tower and shop-- all in one day! :D
DAY 7 [ LAST DAY TT ]
Today was the last day of the whole OELP trip.I felt a sense of dread for I didn't want this trip to end...
We proceeded to the Commemoration Exhibition of Expo in 2010 Shanghai.I didn't learn a lot from there because I was not feeling well and spent the whole time there sitting at the side with Si Qi to rest. I got to glimpse part of the exhibition where there are walls of information as well as many images and sculptures displayed in glass cases. It was sad to have gotten sick at this time for I believed I would have learnt a lot of things from there... :(
We went to Xintiandi Shikumen Museum after that--the postponed trip. At first,I had totally no idea what this whole museum would be about. Another boring one full of information regarding Shanghai's history? It came as a great surprise and relief to me that the Shikumen museum is not a place full of information about hsitory or culture but a place that displays a Shikumen housing...Yes.Shikumen is a type of housing in the past.I learnt that it was built for the rich to evade World War II and that its design was a mixture of ancient Chinese and European style.The rooms were all very traditional-looking and ancient and it felt as if I had gone back to the past.The cupboards, the mirrors, the beds, the windows...everything surprised and impressed me for I had seriously gotten bored of the common HDB flats back in Singapore and found this totally different type of housing really interesting! I really am impressed of how China preserved its culture and history as the Shikumen Museum was built in a very realistic way where people can even feel themselves in the past and are hence able to understand its culture very effectively.Really glad to have visited this place!
We proceeded to the Bund after this. It was a magnificent sight to see the majestic skyscrapers before us,tall and seemingly superior.I believed many of my friends enjoyed the trip there for it was certainly an ideal place to take pictures of.However,I soon found the place quite boring as there wasn't anything much to look at after a while. Furthermore,I am the type that don't really like looking at all these highly developed structures for I have already gotten used to seeing similar things now that the whole world is upgrading itself--this kind of highly developed structures is hence quite common now.I would, to be honest, gladly prefer to look at nature or ancient things of the past like the Shikumen museum for it is not something common in the present and is hence something rare and interesting for me to look about.
After that, we proceeded to Chenghuangmiao where we got to shop for the last time before we fly back to Singapore.It wasn't like Nanjing Road where everything was modern-looking.Neither was it like Shantang Street where everything looked like a street of the past.It was,as a matter of fact,in between both.The place had large temples where inside were actually shopping malls,shops and stalls.It was very very crowded and as the pathways were quite narrow,it was quite difficult to walk fast when numerous people are all around us.However,it was the place where we bought the most number of things for the items sold there were totally suitable for us--bags, purses,key chains,food,hats,necklaces,toys and many many more! I felt that it was the best among the three shopping places we had gone to for I was very satisfied with the things I have brought-- food,Food and FOOD. XD
After that,it was time to leave for the airport...T.T I felt really sad and dreadful.I can't believe I won't be visiting any more museums, sleep in any more hotels, eat in any more restaurants... I was really reluctant to go.
This whole OELP trip had been really awesome. The numerous activities planned for us,ranging from learning at museums to entertainments like acrobatic shows,were really interesting and pleasant and brilliant.This trip would be the highlight of my life, I would say,for it had allowed me to visit so many places which I had never been and learn so much from China.It had enabled me to experience so many new and amazing things as well as strengthen bonds with my classmates during the fun and laughter we shared.It is an absolutely meaningful trip which I would never forget about! ^^
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