OELP To Shanghai-Yangzhou Ming How’s Daily
Reflection
The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. After gathering and taking our attendance at the Changi Airport, it was time to say our goodbyes to our parents. Some of us even cried since we could not bear to leave our parents. I was really excited since it would be my first time going to another country for so long without my parents. I had tried to imagine what it would be like in China once we reached there. After listening to Ms Zeng about her expectations of us during the OELP trip, we boarded the Singapore Airlines plane for our 6 hours long of flight. To be honest, the food served to us was not very nice…
After we arrived in Shanghai airport, we loaded our luggage onto the bus and the tour guide gave us a brief introduction about himself. The way China looked like was very much different from what I had expected and my first impression of Shanghai was pretty good. The first site we visited was the bund. At the bund, I was very surprised to see many European style buildings along the bund. The tour guide then explained to us that due to foreign aggression in the past, many of the buildings were forced to set up and be designed in the European style. At the bund, I could see many people taking their wedding photos and this is probably an evidence to show that the bund is a really beautiful place. One thing that I remembered most vividly about that place was the monument which was set up to remember the three wars that the Chinese people had fought- Opium war, World War 2 and Chinese Civil war. From this monument, we can tell that Chinese had to go through a lot to develop Shanghai and allow it to become the city it is now. Also not to forget, we had to complete several missions during the OELP trip and one of the requirements was a group selfie by the sunset so we completed that mission at the bund.
After visiting the bund, we went to a restaurant to have our dinner. It was our first meal in China and to be honest, it wasn’t a really enjoyable one. We did not know what most of the dishes were and my table which was filled with boys only eyed for the meat so everyone ended up snatching for the meat and leaving out the food that we could not recognize. We also finished our soft drink very quickly and wanted to order another bottle but that’s when I realized there was still a language barrier between us and the Chinese there even though we spoke in Chinese which was quite surprising to me. My impression of the food in China was not very good and I knew that I would have to eat cup noodles every night as supper to keep me full… To make things worse, one of our classmates was even not feeling well after the meal…
After our not-so-nice meal, we went to Huang Pu Jiang for a boat ride. The wind was really quite strong when we stood at the top level of the boat but it was really quite enjoyable as the wind was very chilling. I could see that the buildings had a lot of lightings on them and there was even laser light on some of the buildings and Ms Huang questioned asked if we knew why the government was willing to spend so much money on decorating the buildings of Shanghai. Most of us did not know the reason why and so she explained to us that turning Huang Pu Jiang into a tourist attraction would attract more tourist to come to Shanghai,China thus making more people to spend money in their country. By collecting taxes from what the tourists had spent, the economy of China would be improved since the government would earn more money and so it is therefore worth to invest so much money on turning Huang Pu Jiang into a tourist attraction.
Day 2
Today, the first site we went to was the French concession. On the way to the site, we actually saw many branded car which was guarded by many security guards. It was quite rare to see in Singapore so I found it quite interesting. My deepest impression about the French concession was the European-style buildings there since it even had Chinese carvings on it too. The whole French concession place gave us the feeling of being in Europe even though we saw a 福禄寿 statue there. This shows how the China government has actually managed to strike a balance between the Western and the Eastern culture in a tourist attraction site. After looking around the French concession, we saw a Starbucks outlet. Even though many of my classmates disagree with my point of view, I think that it is actually appropriate to have something from the modern generation in this cultural heritage site. Preserving the exterior look of the buildings allow the people to appreciate the past and history of this place while changing the interior of this place so that it earns money for the country is logical and reasonable. In the point of view of the government, it is already a loss of money and time for them since the land occupied by this cultural site could have been used for other development purposes. These cultural sites have already been in a way detrimental to the country and so I feel that it is perfectly reasonable for the government to at least make sure that these culture sites earn that bit of money so as to decrease their loss from these cultural sites. Even though it would seem to destroy the true meaning of this place, I feel that maintaining a portion of this place is enough to ensure that the country not only develop economically but also remember its roots at the same time.
Afterwards, we went to Hai Di Lao. From what I heard, the teachers had spent a lot of effort in convincing the teacher-in-charge for this OELP trip to allow us to go to this restaurant and thus I was quite excited to go to this restaurant and was very curious to find out what is so good about this restaurant. When I reached there and had our lunch there, we definitely had a pleasant surprise since after enjoying the splendid service of the staffs of Hai Di Lao. Firstly, before we had even alighted, two staffs were already outside of the restaurant waiting upon our arrival. They were all very polite and caring and some actions that gave me a deep impression was the fact that some staffs even remind us to mind the steps, something which most restaurant staffs would not do. After the staffs guided us to our seat, we were given spectacle wipes in case our glass got misty and aprons lest our clothes got dirty. Throughout our whole meal, there would always be one staff member looking after us by explaining the food they served or apologizing for not quickly refilling our drinks or being too loud when placing our plates. Ms Huang had explained to us that each of the staffs were given a part of the company shares and so this will make them respect their job a lot and thus giving their best when doing their jobs. Their restaurant’s motto, 以人为本的, is also probably the reason why they are so successful today and the reason for the impeccable service. Singapore should definitely learn from them and adopt a good service attitude too so as to attract more customers to their restaurant.
Day 3
On our third day in China, we were already in Yangzhou. Our first site in the morning was 冶春荼社 where we would be having our breakfast. On the way to the restaurant, we could see many elderly enjoying themselves by just looking at some animals like bird or talking to one another. This shows the slow-paced lifestyle of the people in Yangzhou since they could spend a lot of time on their own personal enjoyment. Many Singaporeans just are rushing us to work or study most of the time thus I think it will definitely be great if we actually learn to take breaks and not be so rushed all the time. At the restaurant, we were served with a large variety of food such as buns, cakes, soup and even meat. This breakfast is considered a very heavy one in the Singapore context since most of us just have slices of bread or a cup of milk or may even not have breakfast at all in Singapore. This further emphasize my point about Yangzhou people leading a slow-paced life since they have the time and luxury to leisurely enjoy their breakfast while most of us are just so rushed to go to work that we even skip our meals. One of the food that I enjoyed the most there was the big bun which had piping hot soup in it. We had to use a straw to suck all the soup out before enjoying the filling. It was quite appealing to my taste so I generally enjoyed that meal.
The next site we visited was the Slender West Lake. Personally, I found the scenery of the lake really very beautiful and one thing I realized about this place was that the boat rowers were mainly woman. The tour guide then explained to us that the woman who rowed the boats would seem more elegant and pleasant to the eye. Through this visit to the Slender West Lake, I have got to know more about the history about how the emperor fished in the past and about the famous five-pavilion bridge. One interesting thing that happened was that Ms Huang actually saw her friend at this place when we alighted from the boat.
After the visit to the Slender West Lake, we went to a Block Printing Museum where we got to see the different stages that block printing had to go through and how has carving of words on bones have developed to our current form of using a printer to just copy and print on another paper. I had realized that our ancestors really had to go through a lot and experiment a lot just for the development of block printing and block printing really isn’t an easy task since a lot of stages had to be gone through and each stage requires meticulous and extreme care when handling. If any error was made, they would have to start from scratch again. At the museum, there was even a live demonstration of each of the different stages from the first stage of writing on paper to the last stage using the carved block to print. My group members have question about why the people demonstrating block printing are willing to stay in the museum and most of them said it was because of their passion and determination to allow their future generation to understand about this culture better. I sincerely respect these people from the bottom of my heart since they are willing to sacrifice their own time to spread and pass on this culture even though they could be taking up other jobs with higher pay. We should definitely appreciate their presence since for without them, the culture of block printing could possibly forever be vanished since there won’t be anyone to spread this culture anymore.
Day 4
We visited a local school, 扬大附中东部初中学院, for an immersion exchange program. We were warmly welcomed by the principal of that school and there were many students staring at us upon our arrival, as if we were celebrities. Much to my surprise, the school was a lot bigger than what I had expected and the school accommodated so many students. Generally, I found the facilities of the school and the learning environment of the school quite conducive. When we entered a classroom to meet our buddies, I felt that it was really very awkward since the China students were the only ones who kept the conversation going while we were not used to talking a lot so we either nodded our head or kept our sentences short most of the time. We had no common topic to talk about at all which further added on to the awkwardness. We attended several lessons with the students there and we realized the way lessons were conducted in their school was worlds apart as compared to that in our school in many ways like the way the teacher teachers and the way the students behaved during lessons. To be honest, I was really impressed by how the students gave their full attention to the teacher and kept their backs straight throughout the lesson. Meals provided to the students were also very different as compared to our school since the food provided would be standardized throughout the whole level in China while in Singapore the students are provided with a variety of choices of food. The way food is given to the students in both countries are very different but each have their own pros and cons. Students are able to get their food faster in China while students in Singapore have a larger range of food to choose from to their liking. Another big difference I realized is also the time the students spend in school. The students in China end their school in the evening but they get an 2 hr of sleeping time in the afternoon while the students in Singapore ends their school in the afternoon without any sleeping time given. To be honest, I would actually prefer the school system in China since given a chance to sleep before some lessons actually provides with more energy to pay more attention to the lessons.
Day 5
It was the second and also the last day we would spend at this Yangzhou school and I was actually quite sad to leave this school so quickly. I did not manage to see my buddy on the second day since she had something to do which was quite disappointing since the time I had with my buddy was limited and reduced even more. One activity that left me the deepest impression was the performance our class had to put up. After looking at the performance put up by the students in Yangzhou, we were actually quite ashamed of our own performance since their’s clearly expressed some of the cultures they had in Yangzhou while our class performance was just something we came up with by random and did not depict the culture we had in Singapore. However, I feel that what’s that matter now is how our class have bonded through preparing for this performance and how we had put in so much effort together to learn the dance moves together and in the process bond together as a class. Before we left the school, we all gave our buddies something and my buddy who had managed to rush back and meet me in time had managed to give me a simple note too. I was really touched by what she wrote in the note because she said that it was what she truly wanted to say to me. She has even included some Mathematics questions since I have told her before that I liked the subject Mathematics and this made me quite glad since she remember what I said to her. I am very glad to have made friends with someone from Yangzhou and I will make sure to contact her in the future too.
Afterwards, we went to a paper cutting museum. We first walked around to look at some paper cutting done by experts and one interesting thing we saw at the museum was the statue of a very famous paper cutting expert. We then got to have a hands-on activity where we got to cut out an animal which we liked. Through this hands-on activity, we had realized how hard it was to cut the thin paper carefully without tearing it. I am not really in a favour of this activity but it has definitely allowed me to understand and have more interaction with this culture.
Day 6
The first site we visited in the morning was the Geyuan Garden. In general, I found the environment there very tranquil and serene. It was a place of with lots of meaning and history like the grave of a crane or the writing by a famous person and one of the things that I learnt and remembered about that place was about its bamboos. From what I have heard and learnt from the tour guide, people in the past viewed bamboo very importantly and is even willing to not have any food just to buy bamboos in their own home. The bamboos also signified respect and filialness to the elders since the younger bamboos would grow outside of the older ones so as to protect their ‘elders’ from the strong winds and collapsing. Personally, I find this very meaningful and feel that we as humans should also be like the bamboos and be willing to sacrifice for our elders too and hold up the 尊老敬贤 spirit. In conclusion, I found the visit to the Geyuan garden quite enjoyable.
In the afternoon, we visited the Daming temple. Even though I did not like the smell of smoke from all the joss stick very much, I was very impressed by how large the temple was since it was very rare to find a temple that is so big in Singapore. One thing that left me the deepest impression was also a room with many very large statues of the gods like Buddha and GuanYin since the whole room looked very grand and I wondered how the statues were even placed in the room. The tour guide also explained to us the story of GuanYin and the origin of the dragon he rode on which I found very meaningful and interesting. I also liked the souvenirs bought there since I have bought an interesting charm which was supposedly used to boost me in my studies.
Afterwards, we visited the Shanghai Volkswagen company. I was very excited to come to this place since it would probably be my once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the way Volkswagen produces cars with my own eyes. When I first entered the place, I could see a display of Volkswagen cars at the side of the hall and a glass display in the centre. The Volkswagen staff explained to us the different parts of the whole factory before we got to sit in a car that drove us around the factory to let us see that different stages and processes of building each car. One thing that I can still remember about that place was the banners placed around the factory and each banner had a motto to encourage the staffs and workers to have a good working and service attitude. I found this quite meaningful as it serves as a form of motivation for the staffs and workers and this is probably why the staffs and workers of the Volkswagen are willing to put in their best effort to ensure the best quality of their products that in turn lead to the success of the Volkswagen office today.
Day 7
It was our last day in China. Throughout this whole trip, I have seen a lot, understand a lot and learn a lot. There wasn’t a moment when I disliked coming on this OELP trip at all and if given a chance again I would definitely choose to go on an OELP trip again. After checking out of our hotel, we went to the Bullet Train Station with heavy feelings. After going to the train platform, we waited for our train to come. Once we boarded the train, I quickly settled down. Our tour guide even demonstrated how to turn our seats around so that we can face each other throughout the train ride. In general, I was very impressed by China’s train service since I expected that it would be like our MRT in Singapore. However, I was quite shocked to find out how comfortable and well rounded the service provide by the China Bullet Train was. Firstly, the seats was very spacious and comfortable unlike that of Singapore. The seats are even able to turn around 180 degrees so that we can be facing those that were behind us. Secondly, there were a lot of facilities in the bullet train, such as toilets or even stores selling refreshments and souvenirs. One thing that I found funny was that even though Singapore’s MRT prohibits food and drinks on board the train, it is ironical how China’s Bullet Trains were so much cleaner as compared Singapore’s MRT although China’s Bullet Trains allow food on board.
It was finally time to leave China as we boarded the plane. It was probably our last chance to ever see our tour guide ever again and I sincerely appreciate him very much for sharing so much of his knowledge to us and I would also like to apologise to him for dozing off sometimes while he is talking since I was really very tired. . Throughout this whole trip, I have seen a lot, understand a lot and learn a lot. There wasn’t a moment when I disliked coming on this OELP trip at all and if given a chance again I would definitely choose to go on an OELP trip with my classmates again. Although this marks the end of our OELP trip, I believe that this is a start of our journey of gaining more knowledge of other country’s culture and adopting a global perceptive. After all, we are all now equipped the skills and knowledge we have gained through this Shanghai-Yangzhou OELP Trip.
