Isabelle's reflections

Day 1

We left singapore early in the morning and reached Shanghai Pudong Airport at about 4pm. We  were excited and at the same time nervous as well, as most of us was our first time being far away from our parents and relatives. While waiting at a corner of the airport, the tour guide told us to list our goals for this trip. Next, we took a short bus ride to the Bund where the tour guide told us about some of China's history and about World War II.  We saw many beautiful skyscrapers and learnt how technology advanced China is as they were able to built so many skyscrapers within a short period. We had dinner after that. After dinner, we had a long boat ride along Huang Pu Jiang river where we got to see how beautiful the skyscrapers were at night. The modern skyscrapers were light up and on the other side, the olden European buildings were equally as beautiful. I learnt that these iconic buildings represent the culture of the country. After a long and tiring day, we headed back to the hotel to rest.

Day 2

After breakfast at the hotel, we boarded the bus to the French Concession. It was really peaceful and quiet there and there were many shop houses that were built like western style. There was even a Starbucks in one of the shop houses. This shows that Shanghai tries to keep in trend with the latest things to attract tourists. After that, we visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition  hall where we learnt Shanghais growing infrastructure and their efforts to preserve China's cultural aspects. I thought that it was really interesting to see how China developed. Soon after, we walked to Tian Zi Fang, which shows the olden part of Shanghai.

Right after that, we had lunch at Hai Di Lao,a famous hotpot restaurant known for its extremely good service and food. I really enjoyed the food there but what amaze me the most was their incredible service. The servants and waiters waited for us outside the restaurant to welcome us in. They offered apron, rubber band, ziplock bags for us before eating. It was a great experience. After that, we had a 4 hour long bus ride to YangZhou and had dinner there. 

Day3

The next day, we had breakfast at 冶春茶社, where we get to experience the traditional way of the people at YangZhou having breakfast. I was alarmed when I saw the various types of dumplings they had, not to mention the quantity was at least 3 times our usual breakfast meal. I learnt that they eat so much for breakfast so that they will not be hungry during lunch. After the heavy breakfast, we went to the block printing museum where we saw live demonstrations of professionals carving words out of wooden blocks,neat painting of chinese characters and many more. I was really surprised by the amount of concentration you needed to do these. After that, we went to Dong Guang street for some shopping followed by a performance by 扬州四大美女. They sang and dance really well and even played some of the musical instruments like the Pipa. I really enjoyed the performance.

Day 4

We went to the 扬大附中东部分校初中学部 to interact with the students there. When we met our buddies, we were given a few minutes to interact with them and got to know so much about my buddy, Hans, who loves to sing and his idol is Justin Bieber. After that we got to attend a few lessons with some of the students, and I learnt how the students study. Their attitude was much different compared to students in singapore who would slouch,sleep,fiddle with stationeries during lessons, totally not paying attention to lessons. Whereas, in YangZhou they sat really straight and paid close attention to the lessons and asked questions oftenly. I think that this is something singapore students should learn from them. After first day of school in YangZhou,we had dinner at Lushi old mansion. It was really special as they kept the old look of the mansion but turned it into a restaurant where tourists could appreciate the mansion and the food. Finally, we had a boat ride in Yangzhou river, the view was different from Huang Pu Jiang, there was no skyscrapers but however there were many 添子 which was lighted up. In my opinion, it was not as pretty as the view in Huang Pu Jiang.

Day 5

We went to school again but instead of attending lessons, we were taught how to do paper cutting, making our own egg necklace, and making rice dumplings. It was really fun and especially with the help of the Yangzhou students, it makes this activities so much easier. We also performed a skit which we started preparing about a month before. I was so happy when I saw the Yangzhou students enjoying our skit and also clapping along. They also performed a few of their musical instruments and I was excited when I saw my buddy,Hans, performing a solo, he sang a very meaningful song that touched many of our hearts. I realised how different singapores education system was from China's one,which was so much more hectic and tiring. It was an unforgettable day.

Day 6

We visited the Volkswagen where we saw how cars were being built and learnt how important customers were to them. We also visited the Ge yuan garden which was beautiful, especially the bamboos which made the garden look green. We also visited Da Ming temple and learn about the cultural aspects of the temple.

Day 7

It was the last day of our OELP trip and it was the day I dreaded the most. I wanted to learn more about China. We took a bullet from Zhenjiang to Shanghai and I was surprised that food and drinks were allowed in the train, and what surprise me was that the train did not even look a single bit dirty, in fact it was extremely clean. I think that Singaporeans should learn how to be as civilized as them and not to litter train. Eventually, we took a plane back to singPore and landed safely. It was indeed a memorable trip.

Daily Reflections in Shanghai-Yangzhou

 Mok Yao Hui

Daily Reflections in Shanghai-Yangzhou

Day 1

      When we arrived in Shanghai Pudong Airport, the time was about 4-5 p.m.. After waiting for quite a while for the bus, it was already about 5.30 p.m. Due to the lack of time, we did not manage to visit the French Concession on that day but we went to the Bund and Huang Pu Jiang as planned. At the Bund, I saw many modern and traditional architectures. I found it very interesting and unique that 2 different types of architecture from 2 different eras can exist at the same time. Furthermore, from what I had observed, the traditional European architecture not only had a French style, it also had a bit of English architecture elements. Only when I had returned to Singapore and did more research, I found out that the western architectures at the Bund was actually made of many different styles such as Baroque, Renaissance, Classical and many more. 

       On the bus rides, our tour guide had also kindly explained and taught us more things about Shanghai. He told us that Shanghai's economy is the strongest in the China even though it is not the capital city. The large population in Shanghai also helped to contribute to the Chinese economy and development. The day's adventures were finished with a 40-min boat ride along Huang Pu Jiang. We got to see how the skyline of Shanghai looked at night. The modern skyscrapers were lit up with lights and it looked even more beautiful than it had compared to how it looked in the afternoon. 

         At night, as I wrote down my reflection for the day in the booklet, I thought back to how these iconic buildings represented to Shanghai and about the iconic buildings in Singapore. The culture of a country/city is often shown in the iconic buildings, and these buildings are often the attractions that tourists would visit the most. In Shanghai, there is the Bund, Huang Pu Jiang, and French Concession and more. While in Singapore, there is the Merlion, Esplanade, Singapore Flyer etc.

Day 2 

       On the 2nd day of OELP we visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, Tian Zi Fang and even went to Hai Di Lao for lunch before taking the 4-hour bus ride to Yangzhou. We also managed to make a quick visit to ethe French Concession which we were not able to visit on the first day. 

        I really liked the French Concession as it was really peaceful and quiet there. Moreover, the buildings were build in a western style and it felt like I was not in Shanghai but in some small European country. I think out of all the places we visited in Shanghai, I probably liked the French Concession the best as the environment really appealed to me. Soon after the Concession, we walked to the Tian Zi Fang. It was really small and the walkways were quite narrow. If you did not know the road well enough, it would be best to not wander to far away as the layout of the place can make it very hard for you to re-trace your steps. The Tian Zi Fang represents the old Shanghai and we got a chance to see how it looked like. The alleys are small and narrow and the roads are not very smooth. After Tian Zi Fang we went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. It was very interesting as it showed how Shanghai had developed and at the same time tried to preserve its cultural heritage. One of the dilemma of cultural heritage conservation and economic development in Shanghai and China is that it takes up a lot of land and space. When Shanghai was developing, they did not think further enough and neglected the possibility that Shanghai might have a larger population in the future. Hence when we were there, we actually saw a tall building that was in construction. The tour guide then told us that it was because they are adding more levels to the housing state so there would be enough housing to support the entire Shanghai population. 

Day 3

      On the morning when we arrived in Yangzhou, we went to 冶春茶社 for breakfast. Over there, we learned that most of the locals only have 2 meals per day: Breakfast and Dinner. That's why the portions served during these 2 meals are much bigger. That probably explained the many types of buns served when we were having our breakfast there. I had the chance to tried the 灌汤包 and it was delicious! I had to sip the soup through a straw slowly and carefully in order to not get burned. But it was still really nice. However, the breakfast was too filling for me. 

      In the afternoon we went to the Block Printing Museum. There was live demonstration of the process of block printing in the olden times and watching the demonstration made me understood that block printing requires a lot of patience and passion for the art. If one word was printed wrongly on the block, you would have to start over the entire thing. One must really persevere and be passionate for the art in order to continue for a long time. 

      After the museum we went to Dongguang Street for some shopping before watching the 千秋粉黛 performance. I really liked the performance as it there were many singing and dancing. Also, I had the chance to see the traditional costumes of women in the different dynasties. I thought they were really beautiful and if I had a chance, I would definitely want to try them on. 

Day 4&5

        The 4th and 5th day was probably my favourite part of the entire trip because we were finally able to visit 扬大附中. It was really interesting and fun because we got an insight of how the education system in China was like. My buddy was extremely friendly and we constantly exchanged about the uniqueness and difference between China and Singapore with each other. We also attended a few lessons with them and found out more difference between schools in Singapore and China. The teachers in China teach in Chinese, and there is normally a 5-10 mins break for the students between classes. Also, they have a 2 hour lunch break where some of the students are allowed to go home for lunch if they live nearby. For those who stayed in school, they are required to rest and have a nap before school starts again at 2p.m. The students over there were very attentive in class and very proactive. When a teacher asks a question, there would always be a few hands in the air immediately. I think this is something that we Singaporean students could learn from them. On the 2nd and last day at the school, we even had a cultural performance. To me it was super fun because we finally had the chance to put up the dance which we practiced as a dance to our new-found friends. Sadly, it was time for goodbye after the performance. 

            

Day 6

         Day 6 was another interesting and wonderful day. We had the chance to get a industrial visit to Volkswagen! Over there, I actually got the chance to witness the process of car-making and found out how important their customers are to them. The philosophy of Volkswagen is 'quality first'. When I was in the assemble area, I saw this banner saying that "用户就是我们的衣食父母". This really showed how important the customers are to them. Also, the procedure of the car-making showed to me that the workers were very focused with their work. They hardly talk among themselves and concentrated solely on their work. Furthermore, there were also many motivational sayings on the banners to encourage the workers. 

Day 7

         Day 7! The last day! To return to Shanghai, we took the bullet train from Zhenjiang. Food and drinks were allowed on the train, which at first made me think that the train would be quite dirty. However, it proved me wrong. The trains were squeaky clean and really quiet. 1+ hour of the train ride passed by really quickly as I listened to music and got some rest after finishing my reflection. The passengers on the bullet train hardly talked and were either quietly doing their own things or getting some sleep. This behaviour amazed me and it made me want to observe more of Singaporean's actions and behaviours on public transportation so that I can compare and learn from them. The train moved at a really high speed. Due to how comfortable the ride was, I actually wanted the train ride to last longer. But I still felt glad when I reached Shanghai and took the plane back to Singapore. 

Clarissa

Wesley's Reflections

Oelp


The trip left me with (alot) souvenirs, memories, and of course, an experience which i will never forget. I learnt many things from the OELP trip.

Yes, the trip has increased my knowledge of China and how it has an impact on Singapore. I have also been more aware of the values and beliefs of people from china. For example, when I was walking through the Ge Garden, I saw that it was heavily influenced by Confuscianism and Buddhism. Following the trip, I can say I am proud to be Singaporean. Why? From my trip in China, I can see that not only me, but many other foreigners have developed a stereotype that China’s citizens are ungracious. For example, my classmates and I saw something which will never happen in Singapore- Parents allowing their child to openly excrete in public, as seen in the DamingTemple. Whenever seeing a photo of somethingungracious , people normally tend to comment ‘Obviously He/She is from China!’ On the other hand, people have an impression of Singaporeans being very civilized and gracious. For example, when conversing online about tourist destinations which are safe, Singapore is the first to come to mind. Healthcare?  Go to Singapore!  Singapore’s healthcare and safety is renowned internationally, and Singapore also has a great reptutationworldwide. How do you know this? For example, rich Indonesian businessmen always come to Singapore for medical treatment, instead of seeking treatment in a Private hospital in Indonesia. Furthermore, Singapore has not only a strong $, but it is also known for being an extremely well developed country. Lastly, I will talk about how the Chinese preserved and promoted their culture, and how Singapore can learn from them in that very aspect.

Or will i? In contrast to the question posed, I will talk about my own perspective, on how China can learn from Singapore about cultural preservation first instead. As shown in visits to the many Rivers and the Daming Temple, China’s economy depends much on tourism. The tourists’ interests in China’s tourist attractions contribute to millions of dollars worth of entrance fees every year, for every attractions. I have noticed for many attractions, there is a sign accompanying the price table. It normally states ‘proceeds from entrance fees and donations will contribute to the preservation and maintenance of this attractions.’  Honestly, will thathappen. The money will probably go into the coffers of a government official. And none of those entrance fees will be used to preserve that attraction. Here’s a living example. Just look how dilapidated the Great Wall of China is. How much work has been put to preserve the attraction? A quick check on Google gives me the following‘ The entrance fee is 85RMB.’ Yes 85 RMB of profit for every visitor who sets foot on this attraction. How much worth of entrance fees can be earned in a year? Yet none of this money is truly spent on the tourist attraction itself. My guess is, the money is used for China’s ever growing Military. On the other hand, for Singapore’s attractions, part of the entrance fees go to organizations like WWF, while the rest is really spent on the attraction itself. The Singapore Zoo is a prime example how Singapore’s system is anti-corrupt compared to China. There was a race organized not long ago to commemorate Ah Meng.  ‘ A portion of the proceeds from the event will go towards the care of endangered animals at the Night Safari and Singapore Zoo.’ See the difference? While people can say that Singapore has not been doing well in cultural preservation and promotion by removing part of Bukit Brown Cemetary, I think we are STILL doing a lot better than our Chinese Counterparts

Alyssa's reflection

OELP trip reflections

Over the span of merely 7 days,  I have learnt a lot about China. I have learnt about her history, culture and heritage. However, I would love to learn more about China's impact on Singapore as I did not learnt much about it during the trip. I have learnt a lot about the people in China, their beliefs and a lot of their values.  I could tell that he people in China believes in preserving their historical sites and their tradition since there were a lot more historical sites in China than in Singapore and through this, younger generations might learn to appreciate the things they have. In the past, they did not have printers, pens, pencil, correction tape or liquids, not even an eraser, so they had to use olden writing brushes and printing methods to records things. When using these methods, one mistake will cause you to repeat doing or writing everything again as u will not be able to correct the mistake using erasers or correctness tapes. This also shows that the people in China are very patient and are willing to learn. When I saw the lady in the museum writing, I was amaze at how neat and nice her writing was. She was also very careful as she did not even make a single mistake. I am sure that it takes a lot of practice so as to write like the words were printed out and I admire the amount of effort they put in and the amount of patience they had.  Also, I think that the people in China are very optimistic. When a lightning struck a tree, splitting it into two, they used a part of it to grow up another crop on it. It is also said that the crop meant that everything will be alright. Even though that part of the tree was dead, the locals gave another plant to grow with the help of its trunk. This shows that the locals do not give up easily and also as the saying goes 'every cloud has a silver lining', they took the opportunity to make the best put of it. I thinks it was rather creative for them to do so as I think no one would have thought of doing the same in Singapore, partly because we do not have enough space.

I am proud to be a Singaporean as Singapore is one of the safest countries and the government does its best to give everyone in Singapore a good life. We have financial assistance schemes to help those in financial difficulties a helping hand as much as possible and  we have advance technologies in our hospitals with doctors specializing in different aspects of health so as to provide a better treatment for those in Singapore.

The exterior of some buildings were left as they were, keeping the olden design and patterns while the inside were turned into cafes and other stores. They were also museums on China's history and culture, promoting them to the public. I think that Singapore should have more shops with both interior and exterior designs like those in the past however with modern shops occupying them. Also, involving different cultures an traditions in our everyday learning so we do not only learn about Chinese culture but also cultures of those around us nice Singapore is a multi-racial country.  

Clarissa's Reflections

OELP Reflection

       The 7-days OELP trip to Shanghai and Yangzhou had left me with many wonderful memories with my classmates. At the same time, I had also learned many things from this experience.

       When I first arrived in Shanghai on the first day, the first thing that was processed into my brain was all the tall buildings and skyscrapers. From that, I was able to see that Shanghai is a modern city. The infrastructures at the Bund left me awestruck. On one side of the HuangPu River were all the western-style architectures. I was able to see that some of the buildings actually have different style, but after doing some research on the internet, I found out that the architectures had many different styles such as Roman (10th-mid 12th century), Baroque (1600-1750) and Classical (1750-1820). I was very impressed that all those buildings that have so many different architectural styles can actually exist at the same time and at the same place and still look so beautiful.

      On the other side of the HuangPu River are the skyscrapers which are more modern. The Oriental TV Tower as well as several international banks or company buildings were located there. This gives a strong contrast between modern life and the past and I also realised that this was a way that China had used to preserve and promote their history and culture. I think Singapore can also try to learn from China by preserving some of the old architectures in Singapore. But again, Singapore is a small country; there might not be enough land for people to live on if several sites were really preserved.

        After spending 1-2 days in Shanghai, we headed to Yangzhou. Compared to Shanghai, Yangzhou was more of a cultural city and the pace of life there is more relaxed. Locals were not in much of a rush and there were fewer vehicles on the road compared to Shanghai.

         The most memorable experience I had in Yangzhou was probably the school visit to 扬大附中东部分校初中学部. I had a great time interacting with the students there and I definitely learned more about the culture and education system in China. At the school, we were also given opportunities to go through lessons that are not commonly found in the Singapore education curriculum. We went through several Arts and Crafts sessions, a Chinese Classical Music Appreciation class and the Dumpling-Making Competition! All these lessons were unique and very enjoyable. I felt like I was able to understand a lot more about China’s culture and traditions during the school visit as my buddy would explain very thoroughly about the tourist sites and also the several traditions for the Dragon Boat Festival. Hopefully, I would still get a chance to see them in the future.

Lunch at the school!

         Besides the school exchange, I also really liked the industrial visit to Volkswagen and the visit to Geyuan Garden.

         At first, I didn’t really know that we would be going to Volkswagen. I thought it was really cool because I was able to witness the procedure of car-making. Moreover, there were many motivational sayings on the banners which hanged from the ceilings, and I remembered one even said “用户就是我们的衣食父母” I was really impressed as this shows how important the customers are to them and how they really put in their best effort to satisfy the customers’ needs.

Pictures time while touring Volkswagen!

         I thought that the Geyuan Garden was absolutely beautiful. There were many different types of bamboo there and what I liked the most about the garden was the Four Seasons Rocks. Even though I did not examine the rocks very carefully, I feel that there’s something different among the four different sets of rocks. That really amazed me because I never knew that rocks could be very different from one another.

         Another thing that I really enjoyed from this OELP was the bullet train from Zhenjiang back to Shanghai. It moved at an insanely fast speed; when I looked out the windows, I see the buildings just whizzing by. It was only then did I understand that the bullet train was moving at a super fast speed. That reminded me of the time when I took the Eurostar with my family from Paris to London. The train ride only took 2 hours and it also moved at a flying speed. On the bullet train, it was not very noisy and I was able to get some rest and take some time to think about the trip in general. As I was on the bullet train, I could not believe that in just a matter of hours, I would be back in Singapore. It felt like it had just been yesterday that I arrived in Shanghai. Time flew by really fast and this trip made me appreciate Singapore and everything I have back home. Even though it felt great to have some independence on the trip, I had definitely missed my parents. I was sad to leave so soon, but I was also glad because I would finally be heading back to Singapore, my home. I left for OELP thinking that I would be learning about China’s traditions, culture and history, but what I was surprised about, was the fact that I was also given a lesson on Appreciation. After the trip, I started to appreciate my family, my classmates and friends, and lastly Singapore. Although I had a fun time in China, there were several facilities and things that were better in Singapore.  

      In conclusion, this OELP trip to Shanghai and Yangzhou with class 2G’14 definitely taught me a lot of things.

Clarissa Neo (8)

Trip Advisor Part 3

French Concession (Shanghai)

The French Concession 法租界 was very peaceful and quiet when we visited. It was very different from what I had been expecting. Since it was a tourist attraction, I thought there would be more people there. However, there were only a handful of tourists. The buildings looked really old and there were several western shops and cafes. The architecture of the buildings, the stony pathway and the peacefulness made me feel like I wasn't in China but rather in an old European city. I enjoyed that place thoroughly and hoped that if I happen to be in Shanghai again, I would be able to spend a quiet afternoon by myself over there; taking pictures or just having a cup of coffee.

Rating: 5/5