Oelp overall reflection( Jun Long)

Day 1:

We all gathered in Changi airport terminal 3, wearing our blue orientation tees and pulling along our luggage. My luggage was very heavy and bulky as it was overloaded with clothes and other important things that I need to bring along. This was my second time taking the plane and I was anxious to get on the plane. We also had a few minute to spend with our parents before we take off. On the plane, we couldn't change the seats that we were given, so I was quite sad as I was sitting with a stranger. We ate our lunch on the plane and after a long trip, we finally touched down in Shanghai. . We collected our luggage and headed to a restaurant for dinner. The dinner was rushed as it was already very late and the restaurant was already closing. We went back to our hotel afterwards. After we got the keys to our hotel, Miss Loh, our teacher in charge debriefed us and that was the end of day 1. I was looking forward to the whole trip as it was my first time overseas. I wanted to go to room as quickly as possible so I dragged Gerald, who was my roommate with me. Jixuan saw us running towards the lift and he followed us too. My room was on the 10th floor, and so Gerald, jixuan and I took the lift. We did not know that we had to scan the key first before pressing which floor we want to go. The lift automatically went up to the 20th floor when Jixuan pressed the close button. We were afraid that it was haunted and so jixuan quickly pressed the close button when the lift door opened. The lift went back to the first floor. Finally, when we found that there was a sensor, we scanned the key and make it safe and sound to our respective rooms. That night was unforgettable as it was quite scary.

Day 2:

We woke up quite late as compared to the next few days as Day 2 was a relaxing day for us. After breakfast, we went to Chenghuangmiao. I thought that it would be boring to go there as it was temple. But when we reached there, I regretted saying that as it was a place selling traditional items and it turned out to be fun. Some of the best restaurants in Shanghai was located at Chenghuangmiao. The interesting and special thing that I spotted was a Starbucks Restaurant in Chenghuangmiao. Next we went to Shanghai Book City. It was a seven storey book store with a lot of different types of books. I bought a book and I felt that the price is reasonable. A person who likes to read, would come out holding a many bag of books as there are many varieties of books, so be prepared to spend a lot of money! We also went to the Bund and the French concession. I feel that we went at the wrong time as it was very hot in the afternoon.

Day 3:

We had to wake up very early as we had to visit Shanghai Nanyang High School. I was our first trip there and we were late by half an hour. I felt very guilty that we were late as the teacher in charge of our visit was waiting in the busy road for our bus to arrive. I felt that we had given the school a bad impression by being late since this was the fifth year that RV has visited this school but our batch was late. In the school, we were introduced to our buddies and more about the school's history. A physics teacher came to the room that we were in and presented us with a question. We had to build the tallest possible paper tower using a single piece of paper. My team’s paper tower was very badly built and we failed as we did not think before we act. We left the school and we went to Haidilao for lunch. Their service was good and the waiters greeted us with a smile. We went to Wenmiaojie after that and were given plenty of time to shop and buy gifts for our relatives. It was a place with more branded shops thus, we could not find many goods that we wanted. However, while shopping, there were many people walking around to sell the same things to us, with one price being lower that the other. After that we went to Shanghai urban planning hall for a while because they were closing. We saw a huge model of the entire Shaghai City with every house shown on. So if the people of china wanted to build a house they would go there to find out where to position it.

 

Day 4: 

We went to Shanghai Nanyang High School for the second day and this time, we came on time and maybe even earlier.  The students gave a tour around the school. After saying goodbye to our buddies, we went to Oriental Dreamworks. We were given a tour around their office and saw some sneak peaks of upcoming cartoon movies. We saw how much effort was needed to draw these objects, even if the object was just a small background display, they took very long an out a lot of detail in it. We then went to Fudan university and a ex senior from RV took us around the school and told us about how studying in Shanghai is like. I realized that Fudan university had quite old facilities which was not like how I expected it.

 

Day 5:

We travelled from Shanghai to Hangzhou by bus and the bus ride took around 3 hours. After we reached, we went to Zhejiang University. Zhejiang university is very big, and we needed to travel through the school by bus. The whole compound that we been to had a library for each course and the library is very big.  This was just one of five compounds that Zhejiang university has.

 

Day 6:

That day we went to West Lake, YueFei Mausoleum, Leifeng Pagoda and QingHeFang street. We first went to YueFei mausoleum and the tomb of YueFei was in it. The temple showed many information about YueFei and about the traitors that caused his death. The people that caused his death were made into statues and placed kneeling in front of YueFei for life. YueFei's two assistants were also honored by a smaller temple beside YueFei's. Next, we took a boat ride around west lake. West lake was very beautiful and the lake surface was glistening in the sun and it showed very pretty parts of Hangzhou while we were on a boat around the lake. The trees by the side of the lake were very beautiful and the whole place was very peaceful feeling, thus it is one of Hangzhou's most famous tourist attraction. We then climbed to the top of the Leifeng Pagoda. The top of the Leifeng Pagoda showed a very clear image of the entire west lake and the forests surrounding it. We could also see the famous buildings within the West Lake. QingHeFang street was an ancient street with a lot  of traditional items and food that are specialties in Hangzhou.

 

Day 7:

We travelled back to Shanghai from Hangzhou and on the way back, we went to Qibao ancient street. There were a lot of people in there and the streets were quite narrow so we had to push around to catch up with the rest of the class. Next we went to tianzifang. Tianzifang was considered more of an artsy street as when we walked down we saw lot of art galleries and art related things. The items sold there are also quite modern and trendy. There were also quite a few shopping malls around that area. We then left the place and headed  to the airport where we boarded the plane and went back to Singapore. Even though the trip was over, all of us enjoyed ourselves and really bonded through the trip.

Overall reflection Wang shuning

Oelp Post-Trip Reflection

After a week of enriching and eventful activities, I think it would be safe to say that most, or even all of us have definitely learnt something useful and interesting and now know more about the history and culture of China. We visited 2 cities in China – Shanghai and Hangzhou, both which have a long history and rich culture. We visited many memorable and meaningful places like Chenghuang Miao,Qinghefang old street and Hai Di Lao.

Chenghuang Miao is a temple located in Shanghai, China, within the old walled city, and is also known as the City God Temple of Shanghai. Today, it not only refers to the large temple complex, but also the traditional district of commerce in the city, surrounding the temple. When you first enter the temple, you are greeted with the sight of many people burning hell notes in the main hall. As you walk further down, you will see many altars in the temple. When you get to the paifang adjacent to the temple, you are greeted by over a hundred stores and shops in the area, and most of these store buildings are nearly a century old. This temple has a really long history and it all started in 1403, when it originated as the Jinshan God Temple, dedicated to the spirit of Jinshan, an island off the coast of Shanghai. It was converted to a City God Temple in 1403, during the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, the temple grew popular and many residents of the old city and nearby areas visited the temple to pray for good fortune and peace. It was so popular that many businesses were set up in the area, turning the surrounding streets into a busy marketplace, which is what we can still see today. During the Cultural Revolution, it was closed and used for other purposes and the main hall was a jewellery shop but was restored to its formal use in 1994.

Other than learning from the places we visited, we also learnt many things from our friendly and knowledgeable tour guides who kindly brought us around and took care of us for one whole week. Some of the things I’ve heard the tour guide mention are the examinations in China and their way of transport. Not long ago, the first train line opened in Ningbo and Ningbo is developing very quickly and now, Hangzhou also wants to open 8 train lines. In Hangzhou, there are so many reckless drivers that it has become a habit, unlike Singapore where the traffic is very orderly and much safer and drivers and less reckless. Also, in Hangzhou, you hardly see any motorcycles around as they cause a lot more pollution to the air compared to any other vehicle, but motorcycles are often spotted on the roads in Singapore. Instead of motorcycles, people in China tend to use scooters as they are relatively cheaper. Many also rent bicycles or electric bikes to move around easily and at a really cheap rate. They also have this card called the yi tong ka which is every similar to our own “Ez-link” card so that taking public transport is a lot easier and fuss-free.

In China, we also went to visit Fudan university, which is one of the top universities in China. We met up with our seniors there and they were kind enough to give up some of their very precious time to bring us around the school. The school is huge and there are many blocks to it. Unlike our school which is somodernalised, theirs is not as modernalised and each student even has their own bicycle or scooter to get to the classes. Just imagine how big the school is! Many of their blocks are not as clean as ours, but the students hardly have any complaints as they are all about studying for their upcoming examinations and they are also very competitive in class. If only students in Singapore were like that! Some of the things we can learn from the students in China are to be more attentive in class and not be easily distracted and to have a sense of urgency and not take our own sweet time to get from destination to destination.

Overall, I feel that this has been a very meaningful trip and I have benefitted a lot from it, like learning more useful knowledge and also getting a chance to bond more with my fellow classmates. I already miss this trip so much and if there is another chance to re-experience this, I would definitely go again!

OELP Trip Reflection [Lim Jia Yi]

Day 1:

Today is the start of our exciting OELP trip. All of us gathered at Changi Airport in the afternoon with excitement. I was so looking forward to this trip. It is our first time to go overseas together as a class. Soon we boarded the plane and took off for China. We were all chatting away, watching movies and those who were so excited the previous night that could not sleep took the chance to have a good rest. Upon arrival, we met our friendly tour guide, 黄导游. During the bus ride from the Shanghai Pudong Airport to the restaurant that we are having dinner, our tour guide gave us an brief introduction about China which taught us a lot. Such as, China has a population 25,000,000. During the bus ride, we also took the chance to take pictures of the places he introduced and some other places which was interesting and caught our attention. After that we went to a restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was very quiet as we were the only customers. Finally, we went to our hotel for a good rest as we have to wake up a little early the next day. 

Day 2:

Today, we went to Chenghuangmiao, Shanghai Book City, Nanjing road and Bund and French Concession. We first went to Chenghuangmiao. We got to walk around the temple and explore ourselves. Then we had our first class photo together. After that we were given free time to do some shopping and try out some food like 小笼包. I bought some souvenirs for my family and friends. I realised that they allow customers to bargain a lot. For example i bought a snapback. The orignal price was 158 RMB but we managed to bargain until it was 50 RMB. After that we went to the Bund and French Concession. The scenery was so fabulous that everybody was already digging out their cameras and phones, getting ready to take pictures even before the tour guide gave us free time. From the bund, we could see a lot of renown buildings of Shanghai such as 上海东方明珠塔. Next, we went to Shanghai Book City. It was extremely big with seven storeys. There was a wide variety of books sold like recipes books and story books. Last but not least we went to Nanjing road. We were also given free time to do some shopping. There were a lot of fast food restaurants and shopping malls along the road. However the things sold there were more expensive and less affordable as compared to those in Chenghuangmiao. 

Day 3:

Today, we went to Nanyang High School, lunch at Haidilao, Wenmiaojie and Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. The visit to Nanyang High School made us realised the differences between China's education and Singapore's education system. That day we left the hotel late and we were late for the visit to the school. We heard from the teacher afterwards that the Nanyang school teachers rushed through their busy schedule to plan the activities for us and we were rude for being late despite the hard work they had put in. We started the visit by knowing our buddies. All of us introduced ourselves. The buddies tried to know more about us and told us a little information about their school. However, they have to attend class soon, the teachers took over and the students went back for their classes. The teacher-in-charge then showed us videos to know more about the school and also about China. There was also an acitivity planned for us. We had to build the tallest building which can hold the wieght of a ping pong ball out of an A4 paper and scissors. After that we went for lunch at Haidilao which was known for their good services. However, the services wasn't as good as expected. While eating there was only a performance and nothing else, which disappoint me a little. But i was surprised with the wonderful services i received when i went to the toilet. The staff there was very friendly and chit-chat with us. He offered us towel after we washed our hands and gave us sweets before we left. I was also surprised after seeing some toothbrushed near the sink area. I feel that the service was not bad but it wasn't as good as what i heard from many others. We also went to Wenmiaojie where we saw a lot of small shops. The road was very dangerous as it was very narrow and the drivers there were pretty reckless. The trip to 文庙街 let us see the olden China, where the people live in very small houses. Lastly we went to the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall where we took a lot of pictures. The exhibits are detailed and thorough, and provide a lot of information on how the city’s planners see the future. After the long and tiring day, we went back to our hotel.

Day 4:

Today we went to the Nanyang High School, Oriental Dreamworks and Fudan University. We learnt from our lesson and we reached the school on time. We attended their class and we realised that a teacher teaches more than one subject unlike in Singapore, where one teacher teaches one subject. We also had a great conversation with these seniors which enabled us to understand their lives in China as compared to ours. I learnt that they can only have piercing in University. While people in Singapore can have it anytime. Like me i had it when I was just a baby. They also shared about their lives being the only child. We gave them the presents we prepared for them and sang our 立化情 song for them. Although we only practiced it on the bus ride from the hotel to the school, I felt that we did pretty well. After leaving the Nanyang High School, we went to the Oriental Dreamworks where we saw how cartoon characters in movies are made, such as in Kungfu Panda. Although I know it takes a lot of hard work and effort to make the movie, but I did not really knew how difficult and tough it was. Many steps were taken and combined together to make the movie wonderful. Even a small part in the background of one of the scene takes a long time to be drawn. From this experience, I think that I appreciate such cartoon movies more. Lastly we went to Fudan University. We had a tour around the school by our fellow River Valley senior. She told us how competitive studying in China was. The China students are very hardworking and go to school very early even before lesson starts, to study. From the tour, we can also see that the facilities of the school was not what was expected of a famous university. They were still using chalkboard which was long replaced by whiteboard in Singapore even in Primary School.

Day 5: 

The bus ride from Shanghai to Hangzhou was 3 hours with toilet breaks in between. All of us were sleeping on the bus as we were all tired. Today, we went to Zhejiang university. The compound was very big where each course had one building. We even had to travel around the school by bus. There was even a police station in the school compound. After that, we went to Qinghefang Ancient Streets where we were given free time to shop. It was the last few chances to shop for souvenirs. During dinner our tour guide bought us a 包 which was very delicious. After having dinner we have to bid goodbye to our friendly tour guide who joked with us a lot the last few days and thanked him for everything he taught us. We were all sad and felt sorry that we did not pay attention to what he say sometimes. We were also bad audiences as we do not response when he joked with us. 

Day 6:

Today we went to Yue Fei Mausoleum, West Lake, Leifeng pagoda and Qinghefang Ancient street. At Yue Fei Mausoleum we learned more about Yue Fei. We saw four statues kneeling on the floor. They were the ones who framed Yue Fei. There was a sign to warn people not to spit on them although the people hate them. From this we can see the hatred the people has on those who framed Yue Fei. After that we went to West Lake and we bought a ferry to go around and look at the beautiful scenery of West Lake. The scenery was so nice that camera clicking can be heard non-stop. After admiring the scenery, we went to the Leifeng pagoda. We climbed to the top of it and took lots of pictures. From the top, we could see the beautiful West Lake. Hence all those tiring climbing was worth it with the nice view we got to see. After that we went to Qinghefang Ancient Street where we did our shopping again. We ended the tiring day by watching 西湖之夜, a marvelous performance which is one of the best experience we had through out the trip. It was a wonderful experiences as there were a lot of scary and dangerous performances. Such as a few motorbikes riding in a sphere. It was really memorable and is deeply etched in my mind. I feel that the performers really put in a lot of effort and time into the performances. 

Day 7:

Today is our last day in China. We went to Qibao ancient town. When we went there, it was really crowded and all of us had to squeeze through people to catch up with our classmates. As there were a lot of people and our tour guide and teachers were worried we may get lost, we were not able to stop by any store to buy items although the things sold there were cheap. Next, we went to the last destination of the whole trip, Tianzifang where we got to shop and look around the cafés. The place was really big and getting lost was really easy. There were a lot of interesting and cute items sold in the shops. It also has many unique artist shops. After that, we went to the airport to board the train back to Singapore. Although the trip was a little tiring as we have to wake up early, some had homesick etc, but it was definitely an unforgettable trip with a lot of memories that will be deeply etched in our minds. 

Oelp reflection(ji-xuan)

Day 1:

The first day, we all gathered in changi airport terminal 3. We were all excited as we would be spending the next  6 to 7 days with our friends, however we were also scared as to how we will take care of ourselves . We ate our lunch on the plane and soon ,we landed in shanghai pudong airport. We collected our luggages and headed on the bus to dinner. We ate less compared to in singapore as we were still not used to the chinese food. We then went to our hotel and on the way, saw the beautiful night lights in shanghai .In the hotel, we had a debrief for the day and went to our allocated rooms where i tried to get organised and wondered how i should take care of myself for the rest of the trips and the problems i had to overcome .

Day 2:

Today we had few places to go to  and thus we were allowed to wake up slightly later. After breakfast, we headed off to Chenhuangmiao. Chenhuangmiao was a temple  at first but turned into a big tourist area with a lot of Chinese traditional items. the restaurants and food stalls were some of the best in Shanghai. However, one interesting point was that there was Starbucks in Chenhuangmiao. A traditional area with a modern coffee chain. there was a superstition that you must enter the door of the temple with you right foot first for good luck. The temple showed a lot of different deities and those that represent the different zodiacs as well. Next we went to Shanghai Book City. It was a seven storey book store with a lot of different types of books. Inside, they even stacked their books into different sculptures, making it more fun looking. Even though I did not buy any books, there was a huge variety of books in there that will appeal to book lovers. We also went  to the Bund and the French concession. The Bund had a nice scenery of the business industry of shanghai, with all the tall buildings for commercial purposes. 

Day 3:

This is the first day that we went to Shanghai Nanyang High School, and on the first day, we were late by half an hour. We felt very ashamed  because the teacher in charge of our visit was waiting in the busy road for our bus to arrive. We felt that we gave the school a bad impression by being late since this was the fifth year that RV has visited this school but our batch was the only one late. In the school, we were introduced to our buddies and more about the school's history. A physics teacher came to the room and asked us to build the tallest possible paper tower using a single piece of paper. After building the paper tower, we had to balance a ping pong ball on it and my pair's tower could withstand a golf ball's weight well . It was an interesting lesson, nothing like anything we have ever done in rv . After that,we left the school and we went to Haidilao for lunch and their service lived up to whatever review was given of them. Their service was very good and all the waiters greeted us with a smile even though we were students, allowed us to put our bags on the chairs of other table even though the table could have been used to accomodate more customers. . we then went to Shanghai urban planning hall for a while because they were closing. We saw a very detailed model of shanghai . The purpose of this place was for the planning of where new buildings eg shopping malls, office can be built at.

Day4:

We went to Shanghai Nanyang High School for the second day and this time, we left earlier but was still slightly late. This shows me that shanghai has unpredictable traffic. We went to take a look at their morning exercises and attended their lessons . After saying goodbye to our buddies, we went to Oriental Dreamworks. We were given a tour around their office and saw some sneak peaks of upcoming cartoon movies. We saw how much effort was needed to draw these objects, even if the object was just a small background display, they took very long and put a lot of detail in it. Artists could also listen to music or watch NBA to get inspiration.We then went to Fudan university and a ex senior from RV took us around the school and told us about how studying in Shanghai is like. The chinese students were very hardworking and went to classrooms to study right when they open at around 5am till late at night. I think i will not survive a life like that as it was too tiring.

Day 5:

We travelled from Shanghai to Hangzhou by bus and the bus ride took around 3 hours. After we reached and had lunch, we went to Zhejiang University. Zhejiang university is very big, and we needed to travel through the school by bus. The whole compound that we'vebeen to, had a library for each course (e.g medicine or business) and the library is very big. The whole school compound almost looked like a mini town whereby there are traffic lights and there are small shops along the roads. Even though the whole compound was huge, it was not the whole of Zhejiang University; it has altogether 5 compounds to make up the whole Zhejiang university. And zhejiang university still had parts of it to be completed

Day 6:

That day we went to 西湖，岳王庙，雷峰塔 and QingHeFang street. We first went to  and the tomb of YueFei was in it. The temple showed many information about YueFei and about the traitors that caused his death. The people that caused his death were made into statues and placed kneeling in front of YueFei for life. People used to spit on the statues , but now they arent allowed to do so. YueFei's two assistants were also honored by a smaller temple beside YueFei's. Next, we went to walk around west lake. West lake was beautiful and the lake surface was glistening in the sun and it showed the scenery of Hangzhou while we were on a boat around the lake. The trees by the side of the lake were very beautiful and the whole place was very peaceful, thus it is one of Hangzhou's most famous tourist attraction. We then climbed to the top of the Leifeng Pagoda. The top of the Leifeng Pagoda showed a very clear image of the entire west lake and the forests surrounding it. We could also see the famous buildings within the West Lake. QingHeFang street was an ancient street with a lot  of traditional items and food that are specialties in Hangzhou. 

Day 7:

We travelled back to Shanghai from Hangzhou and on the way back, we went to Qibao ancient street. There were a lot of people in there and the streets were quite narrow so we had to push around to catch up with the rest of the class. There were many cheap things sold there, as well as 臭豆腐 which had a  smell as we walked along the street. Next we went to tianzifang. Tianzifang was considered more of an artsy street as when we walked down we saw lot of art galleries and art related things. The items sold there are also quite modern and trendy. There were also quite a few shopping malls around that area. We then left the place and headed  to the airport where we boarded the plane and went back to Singapore. 

Even though the trip was over, all of us enjoyed ourselves and really bonded through the trip. We will never forget the trip down the next few years and we wikl miss this trip. this trip 让我大开眼界, saw alot of things outside singapore and certainly learnt alot about china. We were also forced to be responsible and take care of ourselves.

OELP Overall Reflections (Erlene)

1. Overall Individual Reflection (600 – 700 words)

HOW has this trip increased my knowledge of China? Name at least 3 examples.

This trip, we went to two cities named Shanghai and Hangzhou. Shanghai is the largest city in China. It is the busiest part of China and it is very modern. At night, the view is beautiful as there are lightings everywhere. We went to the Shanghai Urban Exhibition Hall. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a huge scale model of the city of Shanghai, showing all existing and approved buildings. There was also the mascot of Shanghai Expo 2010 placed at the side of the centerpiece. Shanghai Expo 2010 was the largest World Fair site.It was built to show the achievement of the city planning and construction. Shanghai had many future urban development plans, for example, they wanted to rebuild some parts of The Oriental Pearl TV Tower. When we were in Shanghai, The Oriental Pearl TV Tower was very distinctive as it is located at the tip of Lujiazui in the Pudong district. It is also located quite near to The Bund. The Bund provides a spectacular view of Pudong, Shanghai. Pudong used to be mainly farmland and countryside. Everyone used to say they would rather have a bed in Puxi than a house in Pudong. The government decided that they had to do something because they could not just let Puxi overcrowd, so they built houses, improved Pudong and made it attractive for people to live there. Puxi used to be a lot more prosperous than Pudong but not anymore because Pudong has improved and has rising importance now. The housing prices of Pudong has also been going up. Pudong has one of the most expensive houses in China, with the highest prices at about 200,000+ RMB per square feet. In Shanghai, although it may be very rich, the rich are mostly foreigners and the locals are poor. In the past, most families live in houses that are 5 square feet big. Now, most families live in houses that are as small as 10 to 16 square feet. This shows that though the city of Shanghai may be the richest city in China, the cost of living is a lot higher and many people are struggling to sustain. We went to the supermarket there and we saw that they were selling sugar, rice, bones and other daily necessities in the open where the people could take any amount they needed. This is to cater to the needs of every household because some families are smaller and some are bigger. It is also because most households are not that well-to-do so they have to buy these necessities when they have enough money so some of them buy their groceries every day and they only need a few tens of grams of sugar and a few kilograms of rice for example. In this aspect, compared to Singapore and many other countries, Shanghai can still improve. Singapore may not be as rich as Shanghai, but there are lesser people living in poverty in Singapore. I feel that I should appreciate what I have now. Although housing prices in Singapore is high as well, at least almost everyone has a roof over their heads. We often complain about how small our houses are, but come to think of it sometimes, imagine if we were the ones living in houses as small as the people of Shanghai. Think of how they envy us, and we do not even know that we are lucky. Simple things that we have but they do not, when we went for our school immersion at Shanghai Nanyang School, we brought our iPads everywhere. The students there do not have an iPad each, we might think the iPad is just a normal device and it does not mean much because everyone has one. However, we never stopped to think how many people in this world do not have one, how many people in this world have to worry even about food and housing. When we were interacting with our China buddy, she looked at one of us holding a Canon DSLR camera and said she envied us, she envied how we get to have our own personal DSLR camera. Sometimes, the small things like this that we do not notice in our life may seem much more to another person. 

Hangzhou is an old city, with more than a thousand years of history. It has also been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China. When we mention Hangzhou, we think of its beauty. As the saying goes, ‘Above there is heaven, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou’ which means that Suzhou and Hangzhou has beauty comparable to Heaven. We went to visit the West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda and Broken Bridge which are all sightseeing places. I think Hangzhou is a city which attracts tourists that like sightseeing because it has many beautiful places and views. From the Leifeng Pagoda, the view was breath-taking. The city’s West Lake is its most well-known attraction, which is a famous fresh water lake located in the center of Hangzhou. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. Regarding the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Singapore is trying to make the Singapore Botanical Gardens one. However, the difference between the West Lake and the Singapore Botanical Gardens is so huge. Not only is the Singapore Botanical Gardens a lot smaller, I think the view is not as beautiful. 

In this trip, you have visited two cities with a long history and rich culture. What did the Chinese do to preserve and promote their culture? What can Singapore learn from China to preserve and promote Chinese culture in Singapore?

Upon hearing the term Culture Heritage, images of old buildings, temples and other relics often come to mind. China has many old buildings. In Shanghai, there is the Tianzifang Ancient Street. It is one of the most well-preserved places in Shanghai. The China government tries to keep a lot of buildings preserved. Many streets have been built a long time ago but the government preserves them by keeping the original image and repairing some parts of the building. In some places, the government rebuilds the place and repaints it but make it look the same as the original. This keeps the culture and tradition, which attracts tourists. China can use these preserved buildings to show tourists how the country became what it is today. Tourists would be more interested than just looking at skyscrapers which can be found everywhere, even in their own country. The older generation can also come back to these preserved buildings to reminisce their past and they might take a longer time to adapt to the modern world. The younger generations can also have a chance to view the past and they can learn about their own country’s culture and history. The history is what makes up a country. By preserving the old buildings and historical sites, the history is kept and that is how culture is preserved. These places would also become tourist attractions which promotes the culture. Singapore should also preserve our buildings so that the younger generations can understand our history better. Singapore should keep places like Chinatown as they are and just do minimal changes to it, to attract tourists and promote Chinese culture. Proposal to preserve Singapore’s natural environment in the face of urbanization:

Singapore has many high-rise buildings and skyscrapers that are taking up a lot of space once taken up by older buildings. For example, Chinatown was built by Sir Stamford Raffles which means it is one of the oldest places in Singapore. 

Singapore is a young nation, celebrating its 50 years birthday this year. Being so young, there is a disadvantage: There is very little history of Singapore. Compared to other countries so much older than Singapore, like China, we have almost no history.

If we already have so little history, and we do not preserve our historical sites, we would have no culture and tradition left. This means that the younger generations would not know anything about the past. The younger generations would not know what their forefathers built and did. Without the forefathers, there would not be the success of our country. Our forefathers sacrificed so much for Singapore to turn out this way. Therefore, the younger generations need to know our history. 

Without any historical sites, tourists would not be attracted and they would not be interested into coming to Singapore. Singapore is always trying to attract tourists by renovating and revamping our airport, building theme parks. But what is the real reason why tourists come? Is it just because of Universal Studios Singapore? Is it just because of the plants in Changi Airport? Don’t other countries have theme parks too? America has so many more theme parks and they are much bigger, like Disneyland. Why would tourists come to Singapore then? Other countries can also beautify their airports and improve it so that it becomes on par with Changi Airport, then what can Singapore offer?

Think about it, if you were a tourist and you could go anywhere? Would you rather go to a country with rich history and culture or go to a country that has modernized and have skyscrapers everywhere, just like your own country? 

The Singapore Tourism Board has been finding all kinds of ways to attract tourists but the answer has been there all the time, since Singapore started. It is to preserve our historical sites and buildings.

OELP Trip Reflection [Wen Shien]

 Reflection for OELP daily

Day 1:

The first day, we all gathered in changi airport terminal 3, wearing our blue orientation tees and carrying our big luggages. Before the flight, the teachers gave us some time to spend with our parents before we left and handed us our passports and gave us the instructions for that departure. On the plane, we couldn't change the seats that we were given but that was alright since my seat mate was someone I was comfortable with. We ate our lunch on the plane and before we knew it, we landed in shanghai pudong airport. We collected our luggages and headed on the bus to dinner. The first night's dinner was a bit rushed because the restaurant was already closing but we were still eating and even though we were still eating the owners already turned off some lights which I felt was a bit strange but then I felt that maybe it was because they need to go home. We then went to our hotel and on the way, saw some of the tall buildings in china at night. In the hotel, we had a debrief for the day and went to our allocated rooms to have a rest for the day.

Day 2:

Today was a more relaxing day and thus we were allowed to wake up slightly later. After breakfast, we headed off to Chenhuangmiao. Chenhuangmiao was a temple but turned into a very big tourist area with a lot of Chinese traditional items. For example, they sold some sweets that was the specialty of china and also all the traditional musical instruments were sold there. Even the restaurants were some of the best in Shanghai. However, one interesting point was that there was Starbucks in Chenhuangmiao. A traditional area with a modern coffee chain. The temple was very nicely built and there was a superstition that you must enter the door with you right foot first for good luck. The temple showed a lot of different deities and those that represent the different zodiacs as well. Next we went to Shanghai Book City. It was a seven storey book store with a lot of different types of books. Inside, they even stacked their books into different sculptures, making it more fun looking. Even though I did not buy any books, there was a huge variety of books in there that will appeal to book lovers. We also went to the Bund and the French concession. The Bund had a nice scenery of the business industry of shanghai, with all the tall buildings for commercial purposes. 

Day 3:

This is the first day that we went to Shanghai Nanyang High School, and on the first day, we were late by half an hour. We felt very guilty because the teacher in charge of our visit was waiting in the busy road for our bus to arrive. We felt that we gave the school a bad impression by being late since this was the fifth year that RV has visited this school but our batch was late. In the school, we were introduced to our buddies and more about the school's history. A physics teacher came to the room that we were in and represented us with a question that he asked us to build the tallest possible paper tower using a single piece of paper. After building the paper tower, we had to balance a ping pong ball on it and my pair's tower could withstand a golf ball's weight well. After that,we left the school and we went to Haidilao for lunch and their service lived up to whatever review was given of them. Their service was very good and all the waiters greeted us with a smile even though we were students. We went to Wenmiaojie after that and were given free time to shop. Wenmiaojie reminded me of Orchard Road but with some differences. This was a place with more branded shops thus, we could not find anything that we wanted. However, while shopping, there were many people walking around to sell the same things to us, with one price being lower that the other. After that we went to Shanghai urban planning hall for a while because they were closing. We saw a huge model of the entire Shaghai City with every house shown on. So if the people of china wanted to build a house they would go there to find out where to position it.

Day 4:

We went to Shanghai Nanyang High School for the second day and this time, we came on time and maybe even earlier.  The students made 香包 for us to keep and we were given a tour around the school. The school was quite big and when we walked past, we saw that the students ate their lunch in the classroom which is not allowed in our schools. After saying goodbye to our buddies, we went to Oriental Dreamworks. We were given a tour around their office and saw some sneak peaks of upcoming cartoon movies. We saw how much effort was needed to draw these objects, even if the object was just a small background display, they took very long an out a lot of detail in it. We then went to Fudan university and a ex senior from RV took us around the school and told us about how studying in Shanghai is like. The chinese students were very hardworking and went to classrooms to study right when they open at around 5am till late at night. Walking around the school compound, I realized that Fudan university had quite old facilities which was not like how I expected a famous university to be like, even the senior said that the toilets were very dirty.

Day 5: 

We travelled from Shanghai to Hangzhou by bus and the bus ride took around 3 hours. After we reached, we went to Zhejiang University. Zhejiang university is very big, and we needed to travel through the school by bus. The whole compound that we been to, had a library for each course (e.g medicine or business) and the library is very big. The whole school compound almost looked like a mini town whereby there are traffic lights and there are small shops along the roads. Even though the whole compound was huge, it was not the whole of Zhejiang University; it has altogether 5 compounds to make up the whole Zhejiang university.

Day 6: 

That day we went to West Lake, YueFei Mausoleum, Leifeng Pagoda and QingHeFang street. We first went to YueFei mausoleum and the tomb of YueFei was in it. The temple showed many information about YueFei and about the traitors that caused his death. The people that caused his death were made into statues and placed kneeling in front of YueFei for life. YueFei's two assistants were also honored by a smaller temple beside YueFei's. Next, we went to walk around west lake. West lake was very beautiful and the lake surface was glistening in the sun and it showed very pretty parts of Hangzhou while we were on a boat around the lake. The trees by the side of the lake were very beautiful and the whole place was very peaceful feeling, thus it is one of Hangzhou's most famous tourist attraction. We then climbed to the top of the Leifeng Pagoda. The top of the Leifeng Pagoda showed a very clear image of the entire west lake and the forests surrounding it. We could also see the famous buildings within the West Lake. QingHeFang street was an ancient street with a lot  of traditional items and food that are specialties in Hangzhou. The streets were clean and it looked quite new but it isn't, it was just refurbished to make it a more appealing tourist attraction.

Day 7: 

We travelled back to Shanghai from Hangzhou and on the way back, we went to Qibao ancient street. There were a lot of people in there and the streets were quite narrow so we had to push around to catch up with the rest of the class. There were many cheap things sold there, as well as 臭豆腐 which had a putrid smell as we walked along the street. Next we went to tianzifang. Tianzifang was considered more of an artsy street as when we walked down we saw lot of art galleries and art related things. The items sold there are also quite modern and trendy. There were also quite a few shopping malls around that area. We then left the place and headed  to the airport where we boarded the plane and went back to Singapore. Even though the trip was over, all of us enjoyed ourselves and really bonded through the trip. We learnt many things throughout the course of this trip, learning the norms and culture of the Chinese, the trip also instilled in us a sense of responsibility and discipline in taking care of our own wellbeing. 

RV trip advisory

Yue Fei mausoleum 4/5

It is a mausoleum that is built for commemoration of Yue Fei, a general in the Song Dynasty. He is best known for leading Southern Song forces in the wars in the 12th century between Southern Song and the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China before being put to death by the Southern Song government in 1142. The mausoleum was built to show that the people like Yue Fei a lot as he is very loyal to his country. The temple is very big and contains a lot of ancient stuff. There are four statues kneeling on the floor in a part of the mausoleum. They are the ones that made the plan to kill Yue Fei. In the past, many people spit at them due to the detest towards them, but due to hygienic reasons, spitting is prohibited.

  I recommend that you visit the mausoleum if you visit as it is one of the trademarks near Westlake. 

Leifeng Pagoda 4/5

The Leifeng Pagoda is a five storey tall tower located on Sunset Hill south of West Lake in Hangzhou. Originally constructed in the year AD 975, it collapsed in 1924 but was rebuilt in 2002, since then it has been a popular tourist attraction because of the Legend of the White Snake, and it is said that the White Snake was trapped in. I rate this place a 4/5 as once you enter the pagoda, all seems very modern, and hardly anything like if the White Snake was trapped here. 

It was full of shops and information on the wall, telling tourists about the history of this place. We had to climb 5 flights of stairs to get to the top of the tower as the lift only went to the 4th storey, and it was buzzing with tourists. However, the five flights of stairs were certainly worthy to climb! Once we got to the 5th storey, the view there was magnificent. It showed the entire West Lake and it was a beautiful sight and place for sightseeing. The West Lake looked calming and clean, and there were trees and buildings all around it. 

It is definitely a place I would recommend for sightseeing!

Hai Di Lao 2/5

After visiting Shanghai Nanyang High School, we excitedly moved on to Hai Di Lao for our lunch. This is the meal that we were most looking forward to and excited about, as we have heard many good reviews about Hai Di Lao's fantastic services.

 When we entered, we noticed that the place not crowded and there were only a fair few people dining. As our tables were taken, we even had to stand at one side to wait until the others had finished eating, and also for the waiters to clean the table. When we were finally seated, the waiter handed us some hot towels and explained to us how the name "Hai Di Lao" came about and what it meant.

 However, they did not give us any plates or utensils, so we sat there dumbfounded. In the end, we still had to ask for it ourselves. The meal had finally started and we realised that the first dish was mutton, and one of our friends at the table could not eat it, so we asked the waiter if we could change it for something else. The waiter did not respond so we decided to put it in at the very last. 

We kept running out of food and the waiters did nothing about it, so we had to keep going outside for the extra food. Later on, someone came to perform with the noodles but apparently, he failed and we were not paying much attention to them. We noticed that they paid more attention to the other 2 tables our classmates were seated in, and those tables also sat the teachers. We felt this was unfair as they were not showing us the same amount of respect as the others. The food was fairly alright but there was hardly enough for a table of 11. We then left Hai Di Lao feeling very disappointed as the service really did not live up to our expectations after hearing so many good reviews online and from our very own seniors.

Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone 3/5

Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone is one of the major financial center of Shanghai in China, located in the Pudong New Area, Huangpu River, facing the Bund. The total area of ​​the entire financial trade zone a total of 28 square kilometers, including planning and development area of 6.8 square kilometers, about 100 buildings have been completed.  The interior of the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone is beautifully furnished. Although it is one of the most important places of Shanghai, the things there are more catered towards the working population and a bite officials for us teens to understand it. It is not a place for us to have fun, it is a place for us to learn.

Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall: 4/5

The Exhibition Center is a six-story building, with two basement levels, which displays Shanghai's urban planning and development. It covers an area of over 0.4 hectare and rises 142 feet high. The main focus of the exhibition hall is a large  model of the whole urban Shanghai, showing existing buildings and approved future buildings. Other exhibits relate to Shanghai's history and other planned buildings, including smaller scaled models of places of interest such as the Bund. 

I rate it 4 stars because the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall shows a great overall history and shows how Shanghai has improved from the past. It shows the great difference between how Shanghai looks like in the past and the present. It showed all the details that make up Shanghai and all the future plans of the city.

书城 Shanghai Book City 4/5

The 4-story building cannot be missed if you walk along Fuzhou Road with big words painted on the side of the building '上海书城‘ which means Shanghai Book City. The book store was really massive, it was seven stories high, that really surprised me. 

Inside the book store , there were large varieties of books that ranged from physical health, food, studies etc and also a small corner where all the English books were. If you were to go in, you definitely would come out with books in your hand. 

The bookstore was unlike "Popular" in singapore whereby you can finish walking in 5 minutes. The bookstore there needed at least one hour to walk through all the corners. I liked it as it is very big and there are many different types of books that can cater to the different needs of the people. You can find every mandarin book you ever want.

  Also, there are cafés inside the bookshop whereby if the shopper was tired, they could rest there and have a tea break. Overall I feel that the book city is a good place to visit if one was in Shanghai as it changes ones perspective about bookshops. 

Cheng Huang Miao, Nanjing Road, Wen Miao Road, Tian Zi Fang,Qinghefang Ancient Street,Qibao Ancient Town 4/5

The streets of Shanghai and Hangzhou are very crowded and noisy. However, looking past those two factors, they sell a lot of cheap items for example a SnapBack for only 5SGD, which if bought in Singapore is around 15 SGD, the cheapest that we have seen in Singapore so far.

 The streets are not very clean and lacks dustbins but it is bearable just that while walking one has to be cautious to not step on other's phlegm. The streets that we have been to are mostly preserved to preserve the heritage sites for example Chen Huang Miao, the government decided to turn the temple into a tourist attraction so that they will be able to attract tourists to china and at the same time preserve the temple. 

Walking around the streets, there are a lot of cafés and restaurants around and also small carts that are pushed around that sells some different types of street food like onion pancakes and noodles etc. We realized that in the different streets, there were people walking around selling the same item and every time after one has shouted a price to us, the other would lower the price so as to make us tempted to buy it. They were a bit irritating but we could understand that they only pestered us because they need to make a living. 

Overall, I would say that the streets are easy to walk in with many cheap items to shop for and since they are quite big, there is a large range of items sold. The streets are not only there for shopping but also to preserve the heritage sites, carrying on the tradition of China. 

For example in QingHeFang , there were shops at 2 sides of a wide road and down the middle, there were pushcarts and they sold many small items and handmade things such as paper cuttings, paintings that are sewn, and also custom stamps. The streets may look the same from the outside but while slowly exploring through the shops, the different types of specialities can be seen and thus making each street unique in its own way. 

(Cheng Huang Miao)

(Wen Miao Road)

Shanghai SSAW Boyang Hotel 4/5

This hotel was pretty good. Their bed and blankets were very comfortable. Their television was big and new. There was also broadband Wi-fi network which was convenient for guests as we can us social medias and contact our  family in our own hotel room, without disturbing other guests in the hotel. They also provide us  with shower gel, shampoo and conditioner so it was much more convenient. 

There was also a iPhone player. I think that SSAW Boyang Hotel has a pretty marvelous atmosphere. There is also a gym in the hotel for those who wants to exercise. It is  good as there may people who are worried that they have gained weight etc. i feel that their Breakfast was great too. The food was pretty delicious and it matches our diet since it wasn't as salty and oily as the food we ate in the other restaurants. 

However, I would not rate it 5 stars as the toilet doors could not be locked and it seems like it may open really easily. 

Hangzhou Vina Hotel 2/5

The hotel is not as good as expected. The hotel had someone handing out cards with explicit and inappropriate content on them. I feel that the hotel does not have good security. I think that it is disturbing and inappropriate for us. 

They only provided a soap. So I think it could be improved by providing at least shower gel and shampoo.

 There was no wi-if network in the rooms. So if we wanted to use Wi-Fi, we had to use the Wi-Fi in the lobby which had a weak connection moreover since the next day was the flight back to Singapore, we could not contact our parents. I think they should at least have wifi with a stronger connection at the lobby. There was also no gym in the hotel which was a little troublesome for those who wants to exercise. The breakfast was also awful. The food were a little cold and it was not as delicious as I thought it would be. 

However, I will give it 2 stars as the room was quite big.