Thaddeus' daily reflection

Thaddeus' daily reflection 

DAY1

We arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport. We took a bus to the city centre and we visited the bund and it's surroundings. We saw a lot of modern high rise buildings all around that area and it was breathtaking. These buildings are representative of China's booming economy in the recent years and they depict how china has flourished in the recent years. After dinner, we went back to the bund area and we took a night cruise around the bund to see how all the buildings light up at night. The advertisements and neon lights were bright and they could attract the tourists. What amazes me the most is how the government managed to develop Shanghai in such a short period of time. I felt that this sight was similar to the landscape we have in the Singapore skyline, as we do too have a few iconic buildings such as the Marina Bay Sands.

DAY2

We went to visit the French concession and it was quite an interesting trip as we did not expect such a European infrastructure incorporated into Shanghai's architecture. The buildings resembled those in European cities like France and there were many modern trendy shops all around it, we felt like we were visiting a city within a city. I feel that this is quite a good idea as it helps to promote the whole area to new visitors because it was very suitable for young people especially for those who like to go to cafés. Thinking deeper, I realized that Singapore has this sort of area too. In Singapore, there is a old Tiong Bahru estate with all the preserved conservatory houses in one area. These are old buildings, but modern shops and cafés and built into these areas, and when young people come to visit these cafés , while enjoying their coffee, they also get to learn some history of one of the oldest neighborhoods in Singapore.

We also visited the shanghai urban planning exhibition hall, where we got to see the rough 3d image of the whole of Shanghai. I was pleasantly shocked to see how big and magnificent the whole city was. We could learn from this trip that Shanghai has a growing infrastructure and is currently building a lot of modern buildings but at the same time, it makes an effort to preserve the cultural heritage.

Our tour guide also happened to bring us to a post office for those who wanted to write to our parents. When we stepped into the office, something unpleasant happened. Apparently, the staff disliked the fact that so many students were crowding around the office and they rudely asked our guide to lead us out. Our guide, however, was determined to let us stay on and a small scuffle broke out between the two parties. We felt that we were put in a difficult situation and we decided to leave. From this experience, I thought that most chinese were arrogant and rude.

Before heading to Yangzhou by bus, we also went to eat at the famous Hai Di Lao hotpot, where it is famous not only for its good steamboat, but also it's unique service. I could tell from the standard of service that these staff put in their greatest efforts from heart to serve the customers and it was not a "forced" service. They gave us cloths to wipe our spectacles in case they condensed while we were near the steam. Also, they gave us small plastic ziploc bags to put in our phones as we might dirty them during the course of our meal. When I went to the toilet , they even helped me to on the tap when my hands were dirty, with a smile. Before this trip, I had always had this stereotype that Chinese people were not as polite and slightly arrogant, but after this dining experienced, I realized that I was wrong and there were actually nice people in China. It was memorable.

After that we took a 4 hour bus ride to Yangzhou

DAY3

We went to the 冶春茶社 to have our Yangzhou-style breakfast. Something special was that, we had to use small straws to eat the 水晶包 so that we could suck up the juice at the same time. It was a hearty breakfast and I learned that most people in Yangzhou ate a full breakfast as they do not eat lunch.

We visited the 瘦西湖and the 24 bridges and it was really calm and peaceful although there were many visitors. The boat ride was relaxing as we got to enjoy the quiet scenery of the lake and the bridges around.

We went to the chinese paper cutting museum to experience hands on paper cutting. It was not as easy as I thought it would be and halfway through, I got quite frustrated with it and wanted to give up. What made me go on was when I thought how much more effort those people who cut more complex cuttings needed to put in, as compared to me, as I was just cutting a simple animal. 

At around evening, we went to the 东关street were it had traditional buildings with many shops and cafés, it was a time for us to slowly see all the different peddlers such as the sugar art peddler and the clay portrait peddler. From this, we learnt that traditional handicrafts was a diminishing trade because it is a tedious job. This shows how much resilience these old people have to carry on with their jobs as they don't give up easily , whereas most young people like us won't have the passion to continue.

DAY4

We went for the school exchange programme at a Yangzhou local school and we got to see what the students there were being taught daily. I found it so difficult to concentrate in class as the lessons were quite boring. From the way I have observed the students at the Yangzhou school, I can tell that the Chinese students are very well behaved, and they have a lot of self-discipline, unlike most of us. During their lesson time, they sit up very straight and listen attentively, without fidgeting or doing other things. This is probably because of their very strict teachers, who want to instil values like self-discipline in the students. When they want to ask a question, they will raise up their hands and not just shout out the answer whenever they want. This shows that they are very orderly and they know the appriopriate time to talk. What I can also infer from this is that the students take a lot of initiative to answer questions. Almost immediately after the teacher asks a question, someone would raise up their hands to answer the question. We RVians should learn from the Chinese students to be more initiative.

In the evening, we went to the Lushi old mansion to take our dinner and we experienced exquisite dining from the Yangzhou Locals. We finally got to see what the real Yangzhou cuisine was like and I liked it very much.

After dinner , we went to take another boat ride around the Yangzhou river. Comparing the night scenes between Shanghai's Huang Pu Jiang and Yangzhou's Grand canal, I could conclude that Shanghai's scenery is more modernised and westernized whereas Yangzhou's was more laid back as it was less urbanized and had less neon lights. It was also much narrower than the one in Shanghai. I learnt that Shanghai moved forward in time in recent years as it's economy boomed, as more buildings are built. However, yangzhou still remained old and traditional as not much progress is made and it chooses to preserve the old sites.

DAY5

On the second day of the exchange programme, I had a bad stomachache and had to use the loo. I was super appalled at the stench when I entered the toilet. The were no cubicles, no toilet papers, no toilet bowls, only one drain. It was black, dirty, and musty. Luckily, I lent some toilet paper from my buddy, who apparently brings it to school daily. I was thankful yet relieved that I did not have to use the toilet again. It was a nasty experience.

Before leaving, we had a cultural dance for each other and we danced to the tune of some kpop songs, to show our youthful joy and enthusiasm. I felt a little ashamed of ourselves as we chose to use kpop. It was originally intended to be a cultural dance where we showcased Singapore's culture but we use the Korean culture instead. I did not feel quite happy about this.

DAY6 

We visited the Volkswagen company in China and we had a special experience of seeing some parts of the factory where the cars were manufactured. From this, I learnt that the staff in this company put in a lot of effort in their work regardless of their positions as they strive for the best. This is so that they can convince customers to trust their brand.

DAY7 

We took the high speed train back to Shanghai before leaving China. It was an efficient and fast journey and the train was very punctual. In recent years, Singapore has experience many technical difficulties in the MRT and especially last year, I constantly breaks down. We can learn from the efficiency of Chinas high speed trains and try to have a more efficient system when the MRT breaks down.