Day 9 continued

Today we visited the Great Wall. Despite the wind and rain it was an amazing experience. It is listed as one of the wonders of the world, built over 2000 years ago and stretching a distance of 5500 miles. Sadly I didn't make it all the way across! We climbed the wall over a mountain and there were a lot of steps, some of which were higher than my waist. It really was a great defence system. We stopped at one of the stations to take photos and ended up with a queue of Chinese wanting to take photos of us!!

After lunch we travelled to one of the greatest sights in China, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. The square itself is known for its historic riots and now its peace. It is heavily guarded by uniformed and plain clothes officers. It is the size of 60 football pitches but there were very few people there because it was so cold!

The Forbidden City though, was worth the freezing fingers. It was a truly unforgettable sight with a long and intriguing history. It was the Imperial Palace for the Emperors of China and consists of building upon building and named as it was forbidden to enter without the Emperor's permission. There were many rules about moving around the city during the time of the Emperor's, including one where if you walked on an Emperor's path you would receive the death sentence! Even today there are many rooms that visitors are not allowed into.

And that is the end of our colourful Chinese adventure. Tomorrow it is time to fly home. Bye for now.

Day 9

We are all absolutely shattered today but looking forward to the day ahead.

Day 8

Another day, another flight. Back to Beijing this morning. After a rather turbulent flight we check back into the hotel just in time for our final meeting about the project. Following tonight's banquet we collapse into bed exhausted!

Day 7

Today we visited the Panda Breeding Base at Chengdu. There are only 1600 pandas left in the world. 80% of these are in the wild of Chengdu and the other 20% are just southwest of this. The Base we visited is helping to ensure that this endangered species continues to exist. There are 180 pandas currently at the base.

                                                                 Three months old

This evening we had the chance to see the famous Chinese facebook opera for ourselves. It was an incredible sight with dancing, music, magic and the famous mask changing experience.

Day 6

Back in school today to visit the classes I didn't see yesterday. To cut down on time 90 children were brought to the lecture theatre where I held a question and answer session so that they could practice their English. The children were interested in the British and Welsh lifestyle and were big fans of Michael Jackson. Following this I had to make a speech to the entire school!

After lunch it was time to say goodbye to the school for now. Finally a summing up meeting took place before we left as a group to travel on to Chengdu by bus for the next leg of our journey.

Chengdu is the third largest city in China and another very busy one. It is never quiet here and life goes on by night as busily as by day. We visited a beautiful part of the city which was a restored ancient street, lined with shops and beautiful buildings. It was here that we found the famous street sellers with their cooked creatures on sticks. The chinese seem to really enjoy a deep fried bat!

                                                                        Starbucks!

                                                                        Jinli Street
The shops here were full of chopsticks, tea and calligraphy pens.

Day 5

Today was the first day to visit our schools. It was an amazing day that I will never forget. The school is a brand new school which was rebuilt in a different area of Sichuan after the original school was very badly damaged in the 2008 Earthquake. It was built with money donated from all over the world and cost £40m to build. It covers many acres and has an impressive sports area but otherwise is quite basic. Classrooms are very small and there is nothing on walls. Children sit in rows at all times. The school day starts at 8 o'clock for children and ends between 6 and 8 o'clock for most children with a two and a half hour lunch and nap break in between. During this time children go home unless they are boarders. Boarders nap in their rooms.

                                                             Being greeted at the school.

During 'recess' all the children (3000 of them!) gather on the sports field for morning exercise. The older children take part in a form of martial arts and the younger have aerobics activities. This takes place for half an hour come rain or shine and then it is back to classes. Children move around for lessons in each subject whatever their age.

I joined in an art class during which the children learned about the famous art of facebook which is a

form of drama telling a story through music. It is most famous for the magical way in which the faces change.

Next I joined a music and dance class in which the children were learning to perform a traditional Tibetan dance.

I taught a number of classes and visited many more. I also visted an exhibition about the earthquake and the re-building program, ate lunch in the canteen (beef in black bean sauce) and visited the dormitries! Phew! Thank goodness for my translator U Ay who was fantastic.

But it wasn't over yet. I was taken to a nearby temple nestled into the mountain side. Although there are lots of religions practised in the region Buddhism is the main one. Can you spot the sleeping Buddha?

To finish the day off I was invited to Miss Yin's house for dinner where I joined in by making dumplings. I sat in the place of honour during the meal - this means sitting directly opposite the door. Lots of the school's English teachers came too. It was lots of fun.

Day 4

Last night we attended a banquet at which children from a local school performed as a choir and an orchestra. A banquet here is a meal served as lots of different dishes that you can choose from all served on a revolving table.

This morning we were up at 4.30am to get a plane to a place called Mianyang, southwest of Beijing in the province of Sichuan. This is where our partner school is. We attended a meeting then a greeting ceremony and dinner. The Principal of Mianyang Experimental School is Zhao Youzhang (pronounced Chow Uchang).