HCI Beijing Satellite Campus

On 5 May 2009, we visited Tianjin via the Beijing-Tianjin Train Link. We woke up at 6am to make our way to Beijing South Railway Station, which was the only station offering the train service. We changed 2 subways, 2 buses, and took a shuttle bus to finally arrive at the destination. The South Station left us pretty awed. It looked like an airport reception area, with posh designs and a huge resting area in the centre of the main hall. The tickets were selling like hot soup; after much squeezing, we got hold of tickets to a train that is scheduled to leave Beijing 2 hours later. At 1030am, we caught our first glimpse of the fastest conventional train in Asia. It was a wonderful feeling that instantly justified the 120 yuan we spent on the tickets. The seats were as wide as a SIA First Class seat, and the compartments were surprisingly spacious for China. The top speed of the train was 331km/h. We were enjoying the train so much that when we reached
Tianjin, we complained that the train was too fast – we simply wanted to spend more time on the train. For the rest of the day, we travelled across the city by foot and by bus. Places that we visited include 鼓楼,the Tianjin Olympic Grounds, the 天塔, 天津大学 and 金街.

The trip to Tianjin was a really good one, tiring but enriching. After 5 weeks of Beijing, we really need a change in scenery and Tianjin seems to be an ideal place because of its geography proximity. We toyed with the idea of going to Shanghai maybe even somewhere further like Guilin, but settled on Tianjin in the end. In comparison with Beijing, Tianjin was not as developed as Beijing and its transport system is still in an infantile stage. Even though Tianjin was not as developed, Tianjin has its own unique culture and experience to offer. The鼓楼 we went to showcase the history of Tianjin development. From the exhibition, we managed to catch a glimpse of the rich history of Tianjin and can now fully appreciate the efforts poured in by the Tianjin local authority into the building of Tianjin city.

Other than that, the Italian street in Tianjin also offers an eye-opening experience. The forces of globalization have come to create an Italian street in the midst of China. The Italian street was not only filled with Italian foods, architecture, it also offers many western music and culture along the street. The day we went, there is even a music show there featuring western classical music. From the street, the contrast between the Western architecture, Chinese architecture and modern buildings, brings lots of thoughts and brings our mind through a myriad of different culture and their history. The Tianjin
University was truly an amazing place. It was not part of our plan to visit the Tianjin University and it was purely luck that we chanced upon it while walking and decided to take a detour. In comparison with Beijing University which is very small, and Qing Hua University, the Tianjin University offers better facilities. However, of course, both Beijing University and Qing HuaUniversity can offer better education and has higher standard of student quality. The visit to TianjinUniversity brings back thoughts about Beijing University, Qing Hua University and Melbourne University (we visited it a short time before coming to Beijing). We felt that Melbourne University has a very different atmosphere – people partied around the field in the break, a strong contrast with Qing Hua University where students filled up the classroom studying on a Sunday afternoon. Asian education systems seemed to be very distinct from the Western one; characterized by lots of efforts from students. Efficiency and effectiveness remains a doubt. To end off, it is really a good experience travelling with friends to a place far from Beijing, planning and executing your own travel plan.

Done by: Lit Xian and Dee Zhen.

我们在北京卫星学校已六个星期了，因此对中国已有比较彻底的了解，不仅参观到北京市最亮丽可爱的一面，也看到了她背后的潜内容。的确，现代化的建设、具有文化价值的历史遗产及优美的自然环境，融合成了北京这幅以东方文化为底蕴，以现代科技为风采，以青山绿水为依托的辉煌画卷。长城是中华民族精神的象征，是中国古代人民勤劳智慧的结晶，也是现代中外旅游者探险、思古、游览的盛景。此外，2008年北京奥运的鸟巢和水立方也明确体现了中国的科技发达。但是，当我们走出王府井、西单商场、或天安门广场，而进入一些旅客一般不去的小路时，立刻能发现周边的人大多都随地吐痰、抽烟。过天桥时，也常常看到一些小贩摆卖翻版书、海盗碟。路边的小吃虽便宜，但食物实在是太油、太咸了，而且服务员傲慢无理的态度及恶劣的服务更令人火冒三丈。由此可见，北京市最亮丽可爱的一面和她背后的潜内容简直是天渊之别。虽然中国在各个层面上还是有些落后与不足，我们必须得抛弃我们对中国人根深蒂固的偏见，因为30年来的改革开放固然已让中国加快了经济的发展，而她如今日新月异的发展已是大家无可否认的实事。此外，拥有13亿人口的市场，中国经济崛起所引发的经济效益将能惠及整个亚洲甚至全世界。身为弹丸小国，以及在全球化氛围下，国人必须认清和接受中国崛起的事实。我们因该了解中国还在发展中，而落后与不足也是无可避免的。50年后，中国必然变成经济与文化上的强国，这值得我们拭目以待。由2008年四川大地震为例，抗震救灾的快捷、有序、开放和透明，给世人留下了深刻的印象。此外，中国不顾重大的经济损失，为地震罹难者举行三天的全国哀悼不仅符合文化传统，更是文明的体现：给予生命最崇高敬意，把普通百姓的命运作为第一。由此可见，中国即将达到文明社会的水平。综上所述，北京市最亮丽可爱的一面和她背后的潜内容的确是天渊之别。但是，我们应该了解中国还在发展中，而落后与不足也是必然的。此外，中国如今日新月异的发展已是大家无可否认的实事。因此，我们必须抛弃自己对中国人的偏见，而因该与他们保持良的好合作关系。只有这样，我们才能在竞争激烈的社会里立于不败之地。

Labour Day was one of the best days of my life. No prize for guessing where we went to. 欢乐谷!!! We took taxis there, Shane and I were in the same taxi. The taxi driver scammed us as he took us to the terribly jammed roads and the fare was 73 yuan. Actually if you take a taxi from the school it should cost 50-60 yuan. Anyway the fare is 160 yuan and it is the biggest (and best) amusement park in Beijing, so it’s really worth it. However most of the time there is spent queueing, especially on a public holiday like Labour Day. 

Shane and I opted to take the Crystal Wing flying coaster first (supposedly the only one inAsia, though Genting built one a few years back so I guess that’s two). The guard said we had to queue 3 and a half hours for it, but in the end we queued for 1 hour and 45 minutes only. The anticipation really killed me, but I managed to not puke my guts out when I finally took the ride. IT WAS SUPERB! Really can’t put it in words.  

We then went to the Aegean Port area, and queued 1 hour plus for the Trojan Horse. It was exhilirating! It is like a ‘pirate ship’, but it spins 360 degrees and in one circle the body of the ship itself turns 4 turns. So I opened my eyes throughout and all I saw was ground, sky, ground, sky every second. THAT’s how fast it went. After that we queued for the Flume Ride (the ship just FLIES into the water) but I went and checked the queue for the Apollo’s Wheel and found out that it’s shorter (not to say it’s short) so I called Shane and we queued for that one instead. It really IS the best ride in the park (though someone’s shoes flew into the water). After nearly 2 hours we got in and I was screaming so loudly when it went faster and faster. And for most of it I opened my eyes and that made me scream louder. But the feeling of weightlessness was really mind-blowing. 

Then we found out that the rest didn’t help us queue for the flume ride, choosing to queue for the Apollo’s wheel instead, so we went for the Energy Storm. Not bad despite it’s small size and not-so-crazy appearance. There were instances when we were spinning upside down, which was quite exhilirating despite how boring it seems. 

Oh and I LOVE Turkish Ice cream! There was a Caucasian making it near the Apollo’s Wheel, it is like chewy ice-cream, quite nice actually. 

It really was a good way to pass the last weekend, a chance to let go of myself and have fun throughout the day. Though it does take extremely good luck for one to come at a time when there is no need to queue… (for example, winter)

Today, our host school organized an expedition to the Jin Shan Ling section of the Great Wall. It promised us more excitement and adventure than the previous section of the Great Wall we visited because it was in its original condition, with little or no repairs made to the Wall since it was built. On the day of the fieldtrip, we had to wake up very early because the journey would take around 2 hours and we wanted to have an early start. Nonetheless, we caught up on lost sleep during the journey there and by the time we reached, we were full of enthusiasm and excitement for the upcoming climb.

During the climb, we were amazed by the decrepit condition of the Wall. On some sections, there was not even a proper road for us to walk, just piles of rubble we had to scramble past. The Wall was also non- existent in some areas, with just the pathway for us to walk on. There was also some parts which we had to be extra careful because in both sides were drops of dizzying and lethal heights. On a side note, the school had provided us a booklet which we had to get the stamps at the various checkpoints.

The whole process of climbing the great wall was a totally new experience for us. Back in Singapore, we did not have such vast and majestic infrastructures available for us to scale. As it is the first time we are attempting such a long height, with absolutely no alternatives for you to back out, the feat posed to us was indeed challenging. The whole hike was filled with ups and downs and due to the fact that it had not been patched up, there was a lot of dust and debris, compacted with steep hills which made the whole journey even more exhausting. As we climbed the great wall, although we were constantly grumbling about the conditions of the wall, we were also greatly awed by the fact that it was manmade. If climbing it was already so hard, then how much harder would it have been constructing it? These sentiments indeed put us off grumbling for a moments.

The climb was also rather dangerous and gave us an adventurous sense. In contrast to the Mu Tian Yu Great Wall, which was smoothly paved and in good condition, the Jin Shan Ling Great Wall was in a very run-down condition with most parts of the walls broken. The stairs, if they were even there, were very steep and there were lots of craters in the ground. We had to be very careful with every step we take, especially when climbing down the stairs, if not we can easily end up with a sprained ankle or even a fractured limb. No one dared to run, unlike at the Mu Tian Yu Great Wall; anybody running will not be looked up as a brave and strong hero, but as a crazy lunatic who doesn’t want his life. While these may be very dangerous, these potential dangers made our climb much more interesting, and also forced us to pay attention to our own safety which distracted us from our tiredness, allowing us to climb further and faster.

Besides, on the way, there were a lot of picturesque scenes which compelled us to start spamming photos. While it was already very tiring just climbing the Great Wall, we were never too tired to take out our cameras. Looking at the endless stretch of mountains, we truly sensed how big the world was.  Having a bird’s eye view of the greenery was an extremely rare opportunity, and we treasured every moment we had on the Great Wall. Climbing the Jing Shan Ling Great Wall has been a priceless experience for us and we would love to visit other parts of the Great Wall in the future.

Last week, we went for immersion with 三帆中学. Our buddies were very friendly and hospitable. It was easy to mingle with them as they were very outspoken. An interesting part of their school day is that they have to do eye exercise. I think it is rather useful as it does help me to relax and distress. At the end of the immersion on Friday, we had made many friends but yet it was time to leave. It’s quite sad that such precious friendships built overseas would probably not last as I don’t think we’ll have the chance to come to三帆中学again once we leave Beijing. Email addresses are our only chance of communicating with them but it’s hard to strengthen our friendship, without being able to meet face to face. Best wishes to our buddies!

For our fieldtrip on Tuesday we went to Xiang Shan. After a tiring journey up the mountain, we finally reached the top, to see beautiful scenery of endless mountains and carpets of lush green trees. It was a very rewarding experience as we stretched our limits both mentally and physically. On Saturday we visited the Capital Museum and Military Museum. We got to know a lot about the historical artifacts of China and were awed by the inspiring stories behind the artifacts. All in all last week had been very eventful, and I hope that more surprises will await us next week.

Having spent twenty days in Beijing already, I have gotten more used to the Chinese culture here. There is a common language between China and Singapore, but that is where the similarities end. There is a vast difference in the cultures between China and Singapore, whether it is the food or the habits of the people.

Firstly, Chinese food (as in foodin China) is very different from Singaporean food. Chinese food in Beijing is a lot more oily and salty in general when compared to Singaporean food, though there are some healthier choices, but they are rare. Despite that, I have since got used to it, and in fact, I am enjoying the Chinese food here. The cheapest, fastest more convenient place to eat is at a shop called “Cheng Du Mei Shi （成都美食）”. Although the food is salty and oily, most of the food that I have tried are good. The servings are huge as well, and it is possible for two people to share a serving. In addition to being tasty, the food is relatively cheap as well, costing below 10 yuan most of the time. There are a few restaurants offering foreign cuisine, such as Japanese and Western, but they are slightly more expensive than local food. In short, there is a huge selection of foods available (and in close proximity too), whether it is cheap, delicious, Western, Japanese or local.

Secondly, the habits of people here in Beijing are quite different from Singaporeans. The most evident difference can be seen on the streets of Beijing. Yeah, it can probably be guessed by now - the spitting. While it is less common now, it is not difficult to catch someone in the act of spitting on the streets. Then, there are the driving habits. Chances of hearing a car honk are almost as common as running into a Chinese national on the streets. Many drivers tend to ignore traffic signals as well, making it quite chaotic at traffic junctions, as cars, bicycles, motorcycles, buses and people attempt to go in different directions at the same time. Lastly, the habits when people are boarding and getting off buses and subways. Though Singapore is not much better, the situation is worse in China. When taking buses or subways during rush-hour, they are extremely packed. Many will push to get onto the buses or subways, and others will attempt to cut queues. When getting off, even before the doors open, people will crowd the opening, and once the doors are opened, people from the outside will attempt to squeeze their way in, without first letting people inside to get out first.

All in all, the cultures of Singapore and Beijing are very different. In some ways, Singapore is better and in other ways China is actually pretty good as well. I have learnt a great deal about Chinese culture in the 3 weeks that I have been here. When we go out shopping during the weekends, I realise that shopping here is really different from that in Singapore. For example, in Singapore, one is able to browse around shops and casually ask for the price of something without having an obligation to buy it. However, in Beijing, from what we have seen and ourselves experienced in the shopping malls, it is not surprising to be manhandled and harassed into buying something once one has innocently asked for the price. This made me realise that most of us, myself not excluded, buy things because they are cheap and not because we really want them. Also, the desperation exuded by the shop owners was a reflection of the fierce internal competition over here. Hence, we are better off in some ways as a small country as we do not face such stiff competition locally.

To end off, life in Beijing can be very different from Singapore. Back in Singapore, we may be complaining about the lack of air-conditioners, but in China, the weather is rather cooling. The ride from Beijing Airport to ErFu Zhong was a pleasant one as we managed to catch sight of various sceneries such as blooming flowers and outlines of mountains. Apart from the physical conditions in Beijing, the locals are also very welcoming. They are surprisingly well-mannered and their services were top-class too. Moreover, I think that Beijing, or in fact China, has done exceedingly well in preserving artifacts and architectures. The ancient buildings, such as Gu Gong, are really magnificent and eye-opening as it’s hard to expect such primeval construction still exists. Adding to that, the world-acclaimed Beijing Olympics Stadium is yet another key note of Beijing. The building design is unique as it does not have any backing inside the stadium to prevent creating obstruction to audience watching the game. It has indeed been an eye-opener as we do not have any world wonders or ancient architectural structures back home in Singapore.

Today we went to 香山公园 and the 卧佛寺 in the Botanical Gardens. 香山公园 was pretty nice, but the scenery wasn’t as exhilirating as I expected it to be. I was imagining something along the lines of 李白’s poem 《望庐山瀑布》: “日照香炉生紫烟…”, as the poem is supposed to describe 香炉峰. Along the way to the peak of the park, we could hear the wind blowing against the fir trees, which makes a nice “hooooo” sound that most of us never heard before, and it’s quite amazing too!

Something funny happened while we were going downhill. Ding Han and I (together with 3 others) decided to make a dash while going downhill . When I ran past an old guy,  I heard him saying “年轻真好”.

After lunch we went to the Botanical Gardens and 卧佛寺. The temple was quite beautiful as there were many flowers and huge trees. I learnt something new at the temple. In a temple, if the 韦陀 statue is holding the staff upwards, it means the temple provides food and accomodation for monks. If it is held horizontally at the waist, the temple has food but not accomodation. If it is held touching the ground, it means the temple provides neither.  The kind lady ended the explanation by saying “和尚不用问张三李四,就能知道有没有得住吃了”.

The botanical garden was very beautiful, as it was 桃花节 which means that all the 桃花 are blossoming now, but it got really boring for me as I’m not really one who has the patience to enjoy the scenery. I feel that the garden is very much nicer compared to the ones in Singapore. The flowers that bloom also have very bright colours as compared to the tropical flowers we can see everyday, and the potpourri of colours is really amazing.

I guess that’s all for now. Till then,

Zi Kang
BSC High Flyers

As its name suggests, the Great Wall is indeed an awesome building. It was a great sight to behold, especially after the hard work put into climbing up to the wall from the entrance gate. The scenery was equally spellbinding – the earliest and smallest flowers are starting to sprout from the edges of grey trees left behind by the winter, and being there at the Mutianyu Great Wall to enjoy such scenery was a rare experience. With more than 2 hours in our hands, we roamed around the Great Wall, sometimes staring blankly at the beautiful mountains and flowers; sometimes snapping photos to preserve the beauty forever. However, it is undeniable that all of us were in awe of the magnificence of the construction. As we climbed the Great Wall, whether the steepest stairs or the gentlest slopes, the thought “how did they ever construct this?” constantly shot into our mind. Imagining the bricks put into place one by one on this hazardous terrain and terrifying altitude sends shudders to our skin. All we could do was to accept this as a product of hard work and perseverance, not to mention the selflessness of sacrificing oneself to protect the country against barbarians. All of us did something different that day at the Great Wall - some took the cable car, some took a toboggan, some climbed to the highest point of the Mutianyu section. However, what we all had in common was the appreciation of the grandeur of the Great Wall, and the sense of satisfaction at having climbed the Great Wall.

Lit Xian

We have been in Beijing for a week. When we first arrived here, the weather was so cold that all of us had to put on at least 3 layers of clothes. Despite the harsh weather, we were still very excited and wanted to start exploring the city as soon as possible. After settling down in the dormitory, we gathered at our classrooms for some administrative stuff.

On the second day, we were warmly welcomed by the students inBeijing Satellite School and went for a campus tour to know the school better. Although our school is considered as a relatively big campus, we soon realized that their school campus is much bigger than ours. We also went for a fieldtrip to the Beijing City Planning Museum, where we had a chance to understand the city’s appearance in the past and present.The next day, we officially started our lessons. The first two lessons were conducted by the local teachers. We all found their lessons very enriching and interesting. Learning more about China’s culture and history had indeed benefitted us a lot. The next few lessons were conducted by our school teachers. Having our lessons in Beijing is a totally new experience. We are given much more freedom in what we are allowed to do than we are back in Singapore.

Our first online lesson started that night from 7 to 8.30 pm. During this 1 ½ hour, we have to catch up with the work given by our teachers in Singapore during our absence. We used this time wisely and managed to do a lot. After the online lesson, we still had some time to walk around the city and patronize the convenience store nearby to purchase some daily necessities.

We also went for our host school’s Brain Olympics. It was very interesting because for most of us, it was the 1^st time we had experienced such an intense competition. The competitors were very good and the competition was very intense. In the end, a team managed to rise above the rest and win after a nail biting finish. The competition was indeed very exciting and we hope to see more of such competitions during our 6 weeks stay here.

On Saturday, we went to the world-famous Forbidden City. It indeed lived up to its reputation; upon stepping out of the subway station, we were greeted by the magnificent Tiananmen. We had seen it before on the Internet but seeing it in real life was a truly different and wonderful experience. Once we passed the Tiananmen and stepped into the Forbidden City, we were awed by the size of the Forbidden City. We felt very small. We went around exploring the big Forbidden City; given its various buildings, passages and alleys, the Forbidden City was like a big maze that however much we want to, we just can’t explore the whole of it (at least not in one afternoon). It is very tiring to walk to the northern end of the Forbidden City but it is hard to imagine what the builders of the city had gone through.

Wilson Kong, Room 4

终于来到了期待已久的北京，一座具有６００多年的历史与文化古都。　一想到我们即将在这里展开为期一个半月的浸濡与学习，大家都深感兴奋。
于午时５点左右，我们一行数十余人作者两辆大巴士风风火火的从北京首都机场来到了北京师范大学第二附属中学。　天气岁寒，但阵阵冷风抵挡不重我们如火一般的学习热枕，以及对今后的无比期盼。
迎接，欢迎，介绍，我们与校方建立了认识。下榻，整理，晚餐，我们也应该说是很习惯这里的生活。我们都一直相信，未来的日子是快乐且有意义的。我们在浸濡的过程中将会参观各处的名胜古迹，对中国，对中华人民有更好的认识。这对我们今后漫长的人生道路有着非常重要的影响。
加油与勉励，这是我们的祝福，我们将会好好利用这段时间。
为未来而喝彩！