seok reporting live from china.

Day Fourty-One, Home Sweet Home.

2009-04-13T20:29:00.000+08:00

Thank you so much for hosting us and giving us help for the past 6 weeks. Really appreciate it and i had a good time with all of you.You all have been great friends. Hope to see you in Singapore soon!!!

6 weeks has past, its time for us to return home, to Singapore. Had a mix feeling, cant bear to leave the place yet i miss Singapore as well. As one always say, we can't have the best of both worlds. So here we go back to Singapore. Had our suitcases send to level one for weighing before we set off to the airport. the local students were here really early to help us. They send us off to the airport as well. We all get really emotional when we are at the airport especially when we have to check in to the immigration. Well, all good things has to come to an end. We will continue when they come to Singapore for a year for their study next time.

At first our flight to GuangZhou was delayed thus when we reach there, we are rushing to our flight back to Singapore. It was a mess as we are quite late and we had many people and things to check in. However, we still managed to reach Singapore on time. I will miss my time in Wuhan, the place, the people, the experience, the local students and all the things we go through together as a group from our daily routine to our tours. Hope everyone remember it. I will keep this in my heart.

Before leaving our room 220.

Soooooo many suitcases.

Cheers for Wuhan.

Before we leave the hostel.

Shopaholic?

At GuangZhou Airport taking a shuttle to the flight.

Rushing for our plane to SG.

Day Fourty, Shopping and Photos.

2009-04-12T00:52:00.000+08:00

Its the last day before we leave for Singapore tomorrow. Meiyun, XY and I went to the nearby shopping centre to do some last minute shopping. After which we went to Starbucks to relax for a few hours and just enjoy the difference here in Wuhan as compare to Singapore. Had coffee tasting as well with my new found friend, ellen. She was really a good host to us in Starbucks. Thank you very much for having us. When its about time for dinner, we went to our favourite dinner place, Ni Nan. It is going to be the last time ever we are going to have our dinner here. So we ordered all our favourite dish and took photos with the people there. Without this place, we wouldn't have dinner that make us feel like home. After which we went on to the backstreet for a walk and take some photos, with the cake shop boss and the "prata" shop boss as well. The common shops that we all visit throughout of 6 weeks here in Wuhan. It feels rather depressing that we all know that we would not have the chance to come here again. After all 6 weeks are not a very short period. We all start to develop a sense of belonging here, and when just started, we all need to go back home to Singapore, where naturally is the place where our heart is.

The cake shop owners.

The "Prata"Shop lady, Meiyun loves the "Prata".

The people at NiNan that make us feel like we are in Singapore with their food.

The friendly, helpful local students.

My new found friend.

Starbucks for us at Wuhan for the last time.

The classic of Coffee and Cheese cake.

We found people dating on the street. Interesting things to do.

The police car.

The busy shopping centre.

Cheers to Wuhan.

They have car boot sale too.

Day Thirty-Nine, KTV & Farewell Party.

2009-04-10T23:26:00.000+08:00

Free and easy today. Went out to a nearby shopping centre. Some of us went to sing KTV. The KTV here is like 24 hours. It opens in the morning too. This few days the temperature are getting warmer, around 25 to 26 degrees. So its time for us to wear what we usually do in Singapore. And on our way out, i start to notice that all the trees had fresh green leaves on them as being compared to what we saw when we first arrive, all are branches and "Botak". After which we went on to prepare the stuff needed for the farewell party. Everyone had having our last formal meeting when the local students who host us well during our 6 weeks stay in Wuhan. It was real fun and excitement at first but towards the end, we all got quite emotional as we know that we will be leaving the day after tomorrow. And most probably we will never be back in the same place again. Some of the local students teared as well. Even though its just a short 6 weeks interaction, from strangers to good friends, we all appreciate each other and help each other along the way. Its the bond that makes the difference not the time or duration that matters.

The fresh green leaves on the tree.

It's KTV time.

The three layer cake that we order for the farewell party, and it happen to be Rocco's [one of the local student ] birthday too. So we had two extra cake. Many many cakes for today.

Everybody in action during the party.

Photo time.

With the local guys.

And the ladies.

MZ and Journey singing "Journey" together.

Day Thirty-Eight, Presentation, Photo-taking, and Shopping.

2009-04-10T00:11:00.000+08:00

Woke up in the morning and had breakfast at MacDonald as the rest of the group continue with their presentation on Assignment 3. Join them at the class when we finish our breakfast. By then most of them had finish their presentation. We took many photos in class as this was our last lesson in Wuhan. And finally when its time to leave, we went for lunch and shopping at HanZheng Jie. We spend the rest of our days there shopping and bargaining for the best price. We just found out that bargaining can really be tiring.

After presentation in class.

HanZhengJie is shopping time.

Day Thirty-Seven, Last Assignment Presentation.

2009-04-09T02:52:00.002+08:00

Had our last assignment presentation today. Finally it's all over. Had photo taking session today as it was our last presentation we have in China. After which in the evening we attend a English corner at 701. Had performance before we start to have interaction with the students. Got to know about their view on the country politics. After the interaction i think that they are still in a more enclose exposure as compared to the other countries.
Well that was about today. Enjoy all.

Room 220 hardwork, flexsim model.

During our presentation.

Room 220 with Mr Wong.

HipHop dancing.

Guitar Performance. Remind me of my guitar at home.

Shuang Jie Kun Performance.

Day Thirty-Six, Adventure Trip.

2009-04-07T23:33:00.004+08:00

After our trip to LuLin Shan, after a night rest back in hostel, we proceed to the WUST at ZhongNan Branch for obstacle course. Had a games and adventure activities, had lunch opposite the training camp. Fish Ball restaurant. It is soft and tasty. They serve it with a fish below the pot. After which we proceed back to the training camp and continue. At about 530, the training end and we went to walk around the area as the bus only arrive at 630. Took many pictures while we walk around. As it was during the sunset, we took many sunset shots that we can't find in Singapore.

ZhongNan Branch of WUST.

Fish ball soup. Its different here. It's just so soft and tasty.

The weather was really hot today.

The importance of teamwork and trust.

While the others are doing trust fall.

Group shot.

MY and Me.

Beautiful sunset.

Day Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five. Visit to Lu Lin Shan.

2009-04-06T22:09:00.014+08:00

Day 34,

Had another tour today to LuLin Shan. We met up as usual at the main gate in the morning and started our 4 hours journey there. It wasn't the same tour guide we had for the past few times, thus i think the new tour guide does not know what we really need and want.

On the bus journey, the bus driver are really skilled, they drive at an amazing speed, and honk like professionals and most importantly they can really over take the car in order to reach the place on time. I like it. It's a good experience. Now i think all the other transport are quite slow.

Reach LuLin Resort at LuLin Shan. Had our lunch. Fortunately, the road up LuLin Mountain are not filled with too many acute turn. Thus I'm in a good mood for lunch as the motion sickness did not come visiting me like the WuDang Trip. After which, we check in to our hotel and take a nap for about 45 mins before proceeding to our first destination, Mei Ren Gu.

We took about 3 hours to finish the path of Mei Ren Gu. As we took many photos along the way, we slowed down the sightseeing process. The water fall and the rock formation at that area. And there are purple colour rocks along the stream. It is formed naturally. After a long journey, finally we return back to our resort for a short tour around the nearby village. After which we have our dinner and rushed for the campfire and performances put up by the resort.

Day 35,

Woke up real early to check out of the hotel and proceed to LuLin Shan Zai. We climb many many steps to reach the top and took a local tour bus within the designated area. We visit the different part of the tourist spot when last time in history how they get their food resources, weapons, defence line, and training ground. Throughout this morning trip, i like the archery range the best. It gives us a few of using the bow and arrow with the olden kind of feel with the wooden bow. We tried shooting to the target board but failed with many tries. Only Mr Loh manage to hit one arrow on the board after several tries. And after which we started to pose for our own version of story with the bow and arrow.

After which we proceed back to our resort for lunch and lastly went to our last spot, visiting the cave. Its dark in there and i knock onto my head a couple of time, so throughout the day i just keep getting knock on my head. I discover that the Chinese here has lots of imagination. They can imagine the most simple rocks into a shape or objects. Amazing aren't they. =)

And after which to took the same 4 hour journey and return back to our hostel.

Countryside houses on the way to LuLin Shan.

Lunch time finally! after half a day of journey on the bus.

Their room number is really long.

My room for the night.

Mei Ren Gu.

Pretty Walkway.

Materials for growing mushroom

Many yellow flowers.

Innocent side of the children.

The stone is purple in colour.

It looks like we are photo shop into the picture.

After knocking her head many times.

Make a wish and it will come true?

Waterfall!!

Their famous mushroom.

Typical "Kampong" House.

Ancient basin stand.

The chickens.

At the stream. Its the end of the day, yet again.

Dinner.

Campfire time.

Standing on chopper.

Standing on glass, actually all is by the same guy.

LuLin Camp.

The long and steep way up the mountain.

Wishing well.

Ancient house in the mountain.

The Eternal Love tree.

Entrance of the "Son of the heaven"

The near 90 degree stairway.

One of the tour guide.

My army.

Look, I'm standing on the "General" chess piece.

Ancient defend design.

hello, smile.

smile more.

Ring the bell and it will bring you good luck.

Treasure hunt??

In the olden days war zone.

There we go, cave trekking.

In the cave.

Day Thirty-Three, Rainy Day, Assignment Time.

2009-04-06T22:04:00.004+08:00

It was raining the whole day, decided to stay in hostel and start on our Assignment 3 as we are going to visiting tourist spot for the next 3 days. And when we return, we got to hand up our Assignment 3 the next morning. So we are on a tight schedule. For today, we only did our two flexsim simulation, still has report and PowerPoint to go. Hope we can finish on time so as to not stay up overnight to finish it up. =)

Day Thirty-Two, Grocery Shopping and Starbucks.

2009-04-03T22:21:00.008+08:00

Went with XY,Steph,MY and Fran for grocery shopping at the Walmart shopping centre at 12pm for tonight dinner. Walk around and played arcade, play a silly drum game, which i think its quite fun, a good way to relieve stress when we hit hard on the big drum. Its like ancient war drum kind. After which we went to Walmart at 2pm and started to get meat and veg. Finally, after about an hour we got all the ingredients we need and i wanted to have a cup of starbucks drink at the shopping mall. So we all agree that we should go there and rest for awhile. This was the second time we went to this particular starbucks. The first time we went to buy lots of gift cups and thermo bottle from there, thus the staff know us already.

We ordered our drinks and went up to the second floor to slack. After we finished half the cup of drink, the staff, ellen, took a new cups of drink up for us again. It was because the previous one they made, they forgot to add the chocolate syrup on top of the whipped cream. So under starbucks policy, they are suppose to change and present the perfect one to the customer. However im still very impressed by their service here. If this were to happen in Sg, i doubt they would take the initiative to make the perfect drink and look for us to change a cup. And since we met the ellen for so many times, decided to take a photo with her. They are really delicated to their work, since it was still her working hours she hesitated, but we still manage to do a fast one as we need to leave soon for Mr Loh house to prepare for the dinner, hope everyone like it. =)

Banana Pie from Mac. Taste just like Sg Goreng Pisang.

Lets take a photo with the unique Banana Pie.

The silly drum game.

Here's the watermelon, i think i can eat it up in 5 mins.

Look! i think my hands are bigger than the honeydew.

Many tiny mango.

Every fruits here is tiny. Especially this mango.

The previous not so perfectly made drink. But i think its fine.

Our new replaced drink.

She's busy with her work but we managed to get a picture with her.

Thank you ellen.

The friendly staff we meet everytime we visit starbucks.

Chocolate Frapp.

Our new drink.

Day Thirty-One, Assignment 2 Presentation.

2009-04-03T00:36:00.004+08:00

Hello!!
Woke up at 10am to prepare our slides for today's presentation at 3pm. It went rather well, just that i thought of the solution with a simple mind so its not complicated and that's the minus point by doing the same to all the different method. Well I'm still quite glad, at least its over and i don't need to think about this anymore. The last presentation would be on Wednesday. So last lap to run!! For those doing BPE now, hang on there, it will be over soon.

My room mate / group mate: Stephanie.

My room mate/ group mate : MengZhen

Me.

Winson group presenting on the process of axle.

Day Thirty, Presentation at WUST new campus.

2009-04-01T23:55:00.006+08:00

Met up at 8am to take a bus to WUST new campus.It is in the same district in Wuhan, Wuchang. But guess what, it took us around an hour to reach there. This shows that China is really big. its like from BoonLay to Pasir Ris and back to CityHall with bus in the SAME district.

The new campus is really big and it has a lake inside. Now start to imagine how big it is when there is a lake. From block to block is around 200m apart. So we went to visit the library, consisting of the milestone of WUST then to the medical block. Had our presentation there to the local medical student once again.

The new campus library. Its HUGE.

WUST new campus.

Please scan before entry.

Library entrance.

To the WUST heritage showroom.

WUST badge.

The founder of WUST.

As time passes, the badge changes.

Mini size campus?

Group shot.

This is very nice of them.

Hello everyone, settle down.

Happy people.

Welcome!!!

Their student leader.

Listening attentively.

An introduction for our presentation.

WUST students and NP students.

Day Twenty-Nine, Class & Huimiang Birthday Celebration.

2009-03-31T22:48:00.006+08:00

Hi all, celebrated Huimiang Birthday today with the ultra big basketball birthday cake in class. Her second birthday cake of the day! Before that was a chocolate smaller version one. It was fun though, when the clock struck 12. =) Hope she enjoy her day. Happy birthday familiar de ren!!! you will always be familiar to me. HAHAHA =p.

We had consultation time today with Mr Wong regarding our assignment and he went through the mistake of our previous test paper as well. So after the morning class, we had the time to ourselves for doing Assignments.

Happy Birthday Huimiang!

Lets all sing song.

The HUGE basketball cake.

Lunch time, the noodle stall was good. [ No wonder its so crowded. ]

He's doing is at a non-stop hits.

The HUGE housefly.

My lunch!! noodles and mutton stick.

See the mutton stick stall. [ crowded too, so conclusion -> crowded = to nice. ]

Their Duo Sa Bing here.

Day Twenty-Eight, Class & Assignment.

2009-03-31T00:51:00.002+08:00

As usual went for class today in the morning. Mr Wong explain to us how to go about doing our assignment 2. He talk to us about the different industrial visit we had. After which we split up and start on our assignment and soon its dinner time again. We settle it at shop located at the back alley. So far ever since i came to China, i love their noodles the best. It is soft but it do not break into pieces easily. I think I'm going to eat more of it while i can. Still have 2 weeks left to eat noodles.

NE message: We have confidence in our future. [ United, determined and well-prepared, we have what it takes to build a bright future for ourselves, and to progress together as one nation. ]

As Mr Wong has mention this morning about the difference in the two industrial we have visit, I think Singapore are going towards the high-technology industries [Example: Fibre Optic Company. ] rather than manufacturing industries [ Example: Steel Manufacturing Company. ].
This is because, in Singapore, we have limited land and natural resources. All Singapore could provide are talents and highly educated workforce. Thus, the more practical way to focus on high-technology industries and tourism industries would be a better choice for Singapore. As those company require high-technology and ease of communication location with skilled labour force. Singapore fits into this category perfectly rather than trying hard to enter manufacturing industries with large amount of labour land and natural resources which are difficult to find in Singapore. Thus, by selecting the correct industries, it would together boast up Singapore economy and increase the standard of living in Singapore if the sector do well in a long run.

Mr Wong explaining Assignment 2.

Isn't this amazing. I wonder how they tie those boxes up.

Day Twenty-Seven, Free & Easy - HanZheng Jie & Computer City.

2009-03-29T23:57:00.005+08:00

Slept in late for today as we had no exact plans. Thus, after a night of good rest, we decided that we should go shopping at HanZheng Jie then follow by the Computer City. We took a bus from our school area to HanZheng Jie and meet XY. He was there in the morning as he went for church service. We took quite some time to meet up as we dint really know exactly where we are. We just kept walking and exploring then out of a sudden, we met him on the street. We walk through this not so developed part of HanZheng Jie, they sell lots of fabric, Mahjong sets and table. There are many vendors pulling carts to transport goods as well. Its like fast forward to history when there are coolies working in Singapore. Its the same condition but with higher technology of music, sound system and lights. Walk around and stop by for lunch and we proceed to Computer City at WuChang. It was a 30 mins ride from HanZheng Jie. By the time we reached, it was already 530pm. We went pass Starbucks on the way and we drop by to rest and get some drinks. I got the Starbucks signature hot chocolate. It taste the same as what i always drink in Singapore. It makes me feel like home. Like im very close back in Singapore. While i enjoyed my drink on the way, we reach the shopping centre building at 615pm. When we approach the main door, it was locked and we found out that it closes at 6pm in the evening. Thus we decided to return back to our school area for dinner which we eventually settle it at Ni Nan. The restaurant that we visit frequently. And now time for rest after a day of squeezing our way in and out of the streets.

HanZheng Jie

Taoism Sign. Most believe it here.

A CLEAN DUST FREE Toyota Car. Arent you surprise?

This is for fetching humans around.

Their way of transporting goods around.

Does it look like HongKong housing estate?

Tax Revenue Authority

Outside the Tax Revenue Building.

They are selling at 150 to 200 Yuan, and the poor puppies are shivering in the cold.

Vendors along the street, the plates are attractive.

Starbucks drink, it feels like im back in Sg.

Day Twenty-Six, City Area Tour.

2009-03-28T22:39:00.006+08:00

As usual we meet at the main gate of the University entrance for our bus. Went to HanKou today. First we alight at the Jiang Tan, however due to the rain and strong wind, it was REALLY cold. Thus we proceed to Walking Street directly for shopping and food. We had free and easy time till 2pm where we meet up at Jiang Tan to tour around that area. We walk for around 10 mins and we decided that it was too cold. Thus we return to the main building of Jiang Tan, and we saw QinGe and HanXuan there too. Stayed and chat with them for awhile before we decided to head for a nearby cafe for coffee and wait for our bus to arrive. And QinGe give us a farewell speech as this time might really be the last time we are going to see them. They are really the the best tour guides i ever met.

Tomorrow will be another free & easy day.

Our city tour guide for the day.

OH NO, its really cold...

Jiang Tan

Its so cold and they their legs are soak in the water FISHING.

Hello, SMILE. =)

The wind was WOW strong.

Nice place, it would be better in the night though.

The jetty. [ We can take a boat to Wu Chang from here. ]

Its too cold that we decided to go for a cup of coffee/tea. [ this is french coffee. ]

The Milk Tea.

A french cafe. [ It was too cold for any other drinks. ]

Nice place huh.

The lady boss was nice.

And we met Qin Ge and HanXuan there too.

I guess this is really the last time we are going to see them. They have really been a good tour guides or should i say they did more than what they are suppose to do. They really take care of us and make sure each of us are safe and enjoyed each of our trips.

Day Twenty-Five, Visit to Fibre Optic Company & Home Cook Dinner.

2009-03-27T22:20:00.007+08:00

Meet at 9am in the morning and took an hour of bus journey to Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Company LTD, a fibre optic company. There was a tour guide that bring us around to the different processes that produces fibre optics. This company is the second largest in the world for fibre optics technology and first in China. And i learnt that they apply the integrated management system into their company as well, which consist of ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001. Most of the processes are kept a secret thus we only view through glass panel and videos. No photography are allowed as well. This technology uses light refractors to function. It travel many times faster than the electrons.

After visiting, we went to Xu Dong Jie for lunch and did some shopping there. Had Pizza Hut and it was delicious. It makes me feel like im back in Singapore sitting in Pizza Hut. After which we went down to Walmart and buy ingredients for tonight dinner. The shopping centre staff would tape our belonging before we enter Walmart, i wonder why do they do that. Until now i still think that it doesnt make sense cause i can peel it out as and when i like.

We took a bus back to hostel to meet Mr Wong and Mr Loh then we proceed to Mr Loh's place to cook for dinner. XY was our chef for today. He cook hor fun and many other dishes. Had a home feel dinner for today. It has been a long time since i taste home cook food.

That's all for today. Tomorrow we are going on a city tour.

Fibre Optic Company.

The guide that bring us around the different process rooms.

They had ISO 9001:2000, ISO 140001 and OHSAS 18001. Does this remind you of Integrated Management System?

Fiber optic at different part of the process.

Finally it become thiner than our hair.

In its preform.

Fibre Optic Cable.

Pizza Hut for Lunch.

Looking forward to our Hawaiian Pizza.

Good service, Good food.

Here comes our stuffed crust pizza. Huge isn't it?

Playing arcade after lunch. That's XY shooting.

Preparing for dinner at Mr Loh's house. [ X-ray for bones in the fish. ]

Our Chef.

This really feel like home cook food.

Day Twenty-Four, Interactions with local students & Presentation.

2009-03-27T00:03:00.004+08:00

Today we had interaction time with the local from 4pm to 6pm. We introduced them the unique part of Singapore. From history to economics to unique culture to food to transportation... and many many more.

My group did a small entertaining show to tell them about Singapore Public Transport, and what should be done while taking the transport. We present it in a storyboard mode where by a man is late for work and decided to take a taxi. The taxi went pass ERP and since its morning there are surcharge system. After which was lunch time where by the man took a bus for lunch. There are the bus stop, bus directory and the new buses that are handicap friendly. And finally the time whereby most working people love, the knock off time. Thus, the man choose a more economical transportation the MRT. There are the MRT lines, fares, the yellow line policy and the hidden rules in all the public transport system.

I hope this lively performance would leave a impression in them, so as when they visit Singapore, the roughly know how the public transport system works. This would benefit them when they travel to Singapore for study, holiday or work as it is a topic that has practical knowledge and it is related to them in their everyday lives.

Getting ready for presentation.

All the cameras unite.

Many many students.

Before our presentation.

Here it goes.

Learning through entertainment.

Day Twenty-Three, Lesson & a little dance for tomorrow presentation.

2009-03-25T20:17:00.005+08:00

Hello, everyone. today, breakfast as usual. Met XY on my way out for breakfast thus he accompany me down to the back street. Had Bao and Dou Jiang today. As the Bao stall was crowded filled with people, I stood there for quite awhile cause everyone by pass me and get their bao. And finally i decided that i shouldn't be nice anymore, i by pass the others and went to the front and told the auntie want i want. And finally after about 7 to 10 mins i get my bao. Went next door to get Dou Jiang. The only delicious Dou Jiang among the others.

After which, went for flexsim test at 11am. It wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, so i guess it would be just fine. After that had lunch and went for BPE lesson. As usual we had our chapter lecture and quiz. When lesson ended we had a small run through on the dance & the song for tomorrow Interaction Presentation.

Thats all for today. See you tomorrow.

I wonder how did someone manage to get those things up on the celling fan.

Them teaching the dance.

Mr Wong looks like he's enjoying the dance. And steph bear pencil case seems popular.

Day Twenty-Two, Flexsim Software Preparation.

2009-03-24T22:32:00.003+08:00

Went for lunch at canteen as usual, had the steamed stall food. Its light dishes and steamed rice. The stall was giving out free soup for each customer, was quite surprise by the gesture. They even send the soup to me. That was really nice of them even though im not familar with them.

Had our flexsim software practise for tomorrow flexsim test. Mr Wong told us about the different between statistical distribution with normal/uniform and the expression. We did our simulation again for practise.

Afterwhich we went for dinner at the nearby restaurant, QinFeng. The dishes there was nice. Its delicious especially the braised meat. After we filled our stomach, the rest of us went for dessert, Gui Ling Gao. They have many flavours, Example like red bean paste, milk and many many more.

At the QinFeng restaurant.

Gui Ling Gao with RED BEAN PASTE. [ i love RED BEAN PASTE ]

this is RED BEAN PASTE with Raisin.

Day TwentyOne, Class Day.

2009-03-23T22:39:00.004+08:00

We start lesson at 1pm today as we return back from Wudang Shan at around 930pm last night. And Mr Wong give us extra time to rest in the morning and do our housework. So we went for lunch as usual at the school canteen before going for our lesson. Today, before our class start, Mr Wong told us more about the Wudang Shan history and how the religion come about and change dynasty after dynasty. Thus this lead us to the topic on world history whereby we know the thousands of years ago, all the civilisation grew together at the different part of the world. This is shown to us by a timeline, At the same time, Egypt had built their pyramids and temples using stone and cravings. Mr Wong also showed us some of this tour photos, like when he travel to Egypt, Mount Everest and Turkey.

Mr Wong told us the unique culture of religion in Turkey as well. As we all know, Turkey is an Islamic Country thus it would have many architecture that are close to the Islamic design. However, before that the Byzantine was in power in the country thus, it has a fusion of both the Greco-Roman and the Islamic Culture. There are building that use to be a church that was converted and build into a Islamic place of worship. At the same time, the place of worship retain the churches design As well. Thus there was unique fusion of both the cultures.

NE message: We must preserve racial and religious harmony. [ We value our diversity and are determined to stay a united people. ]

As we all know, in Singapore, we have the four major races and many different religion. We need to understand each other religion and accept the differences between us, we give and take, learning from each other. We allow the different values and believes in Singapore to fuse into a unique environment whereby we live in harmony together. Staying together and united as one.

After class, we went for dinner at the MacDonald nearby. Had teriyaki chicken burger, in China, its amazing that they serve pork burger and teriyaki burger. On our way back, we saw a group of middle age aunties dancing Cha-Cha on the street. I think it is quite a common thing to do on China street. As on our way back after shopping, we would see different groups of people dancing on the street. It would be a spectacular scene if all the group combined and had a mass dance at one area. Just imagine all of them doing the same dance at the same place. After walking back to the hostel, we drop by some of the shops and do some shopping. Im surprise that most of the owners actually remember us as the exchange students. I think maybe its due to that we visit the place quite often during our stay here. The shop owners are really friendly and they welcome us warmly when ever we step in. I think this is really hard to get in Singapore whereby they actually remember you and talk to you like a friend in a shopping area.

And thats all for today. Good day to all. =)

Mr Wong telling us the history of the world.

The timeline of the different countries. [ like from thousand years ago. ]

Concentrating on lesson.

Dinner, teriyaki chicken burger.

Dancing on the street.

Day Nineteen & Twenty, WuDang Mountain.

2009-03-22T23:54:00.023+08:00

Day Nineteen.
As usual woke up at 5am and meet at 7am at the University main gate. When we arrive we saw the local tour guide from YiChang, the one that brought us to the Three Gorges. As she's here in WuChang for tour as well. So she came to bring us around to the Wudang Trip. We took a five hour plus journey to Wudang Shan and had lunch in a restaurant at the foot of the mountain. This is the restaurant whereby we are going to have our next dinner and breakfast as well. After which we proceed to the Wudang Shan Tourist Centre to get out tickets. Its half-price for students which is 90Yuan. On the way up, we saw many local shops selling the Swords, I wanted to get one back to Singapore, however, clearing the immigration would bring a lot of problems. After which to took shuttle bus to tour around inside. The bus journey was uncomfortable as there are many bends and turn at the mountains. I wonder how does the local stay there get used to this. Its like a hour journey by bus to get down to town at the food of the mountain. On our way up I saw a few old priests walking on the road up the mountain. They are really fit and healthy staying up in Wudang Shan. Thus, we went to Tai Zi Po, Zi Xiao Gong and Xuan Di Dian. After all these tour, its around 630pm in the evening, we proceed down the foot of the mountain again for dinner and check in to our hotel for the night.

Day Twenty.
Woke up at 6am and gather at 630 am to check out and for breakfast. We are going up to the peak of Wudang Shan which they call it the golden roof, Jin Ting. We spilt into two different groups, those that are going to climb up the mountain and those that are taking the cable car ride up. Thus, i choose the cable car as climbing takes around 3.5 hours. The total cost for both way cable car - 95Yuan. So we queue up for around 2.5 hours as it was a weekend and its really crowded. While queueing, this tour group consisting of middle age local tourist actually climb over the fencing and cut our queue. Our tour guide tried to reason with them but failed, in the end, the tour guide called the security to settle the issue. In the end, they are brought to another place. After a long wait finally we board the cable car. Its at fast moving speed, thus, we must react at a fast rate in order to get in and out of the cable car. We took 20mins journey up the cable car station on top. During the ride, when ever the cable car passes through a pit stop, there would be cracking noise coming from the top of cable car. And at the last part, the cable car starts to slow down and we could actually see that the cable was swaying up and down. It was a scary experience. When we reach, we took a 30 mins up to the golden roof. The steps were steep and uneven if we miss one step, most probably we would end up at the foot of the mountain directly. Halfway up, we went past this temple which is really crowded. The people are pushing everywhere in order to get through. This, learning to squeeze and avoid danger become a must learnt skill in China. We continue up the steps till the golden roof, it was 2 times the crowd up at the peak at a smaller area. Thus, we only managed to snap a few photos. After enjoying the cold breeze up at the peak for 20 mins, we proceed on down to the cable car point to return to the foot of the mountain. We had lunch near the cable car station. And we took off for about 5 hour plus of journey back to the hostel.

That's our weekend trip. =) Enjoy!

Our tour guide. We met here again this time after the Three Gorges trip. [ Fate. ]

Lunch after a long ride.

Selling the different Swords

The building makes me feel like im being transported back to olden times.

Tourist Centre.

While waiting for the shuttle bus.

The shuttle bus stop.

Way up. A test of Fitness.

Crown Prince Temple.

The place to burn the offering.

Pictures Gallery

The place whereby the crown prince obtain immortality.

Tie the red string on the tree and it will bring you good luck.

Crowded.

The place that the crown prince study.

One pillar is supporting all the 12 others that are branching out. [ Yi Zuo Shi Er Liang ]

Many people will like this, Fu Lu Shou.

Stairway down. [ its design in a way that the steps cant be seen. ]

Young Taoist.

Happy faces.

Chao Bai Dian

The architecture. [ looks complicated. ]

The Shifu showing them the moves.

Train hard and be a master one day.

She's so young.

Zi Xiao Dian

Training hard.

My group practising Wushu.

The Wudang Shan tour shuttle bus.

On the way to the next attraction.

Xuan Di Dian

Visting the temples.

Dinner.

The toilet.

I just realise China Heater are all in the tank form.

The room.

The high tech lock, you scan the round metal piece on the card there, and it will open up.

My room number. The number 3 again.

Breakfast, the noodles was good.

The local taxi, its three wheel, i wonder how fast it can go.

The Wudang Shan golden street.

It 80 degrees Upwards.

WUDANG SHAN

While waiting to get to the cable car ride. [ interesting things like people trying to cut the line at the side and all started to quarrel.

The carble car ticket.

The long way up.

Trying to distract ourselves from the height.

Do i look scared?

Carble cars, its rather small.

Finally i reached the ground!

Many locks on the stairway up, [ it's believe that it will bring good luck ]

The temple on our way up to the golden roof.

Temple flooded with people, squeezing, a must learn skill in china.

The golden roof.

Taken from the highest peak.

really HIGH up in the sky.

More steep steps.

There we go, the golden roof.

Almost as tall as the other peak.

be careful of the steps!

Oh! steeper slope downwards.

The pitstop, it always make a scary crack sound there.

While in the long cable car ride.

Down down and down.

The cable car meant for maintenance. [ looks dangerous. ]

Reaching the land soon!!

Struggling to get down from the fast moving cable car.

Taken at while on cable car.

A shot with the tour guide - HanXuan. She's a nice lady.

The mountains are like photoshop in. BUT its REAL. Its beautiful there.

The tour guides doing their accounts outside the restaurant.

Lunch at the foot of Wudang Shan.

Day Eighteen, Shopping at HanZheng Jie

2009-03-20T22:07:00.003+08:00

Its Friday the 20th, thus its results day.

So we had our BPE test 1 today. Didnt had enough time to finish the paper. Its either im too naggy or there are too much questions. Had the test from 9am to 11am and then we had lunch in school. Had egg fried with noodles, its the only dish i think its the only thing that is similar to Singapore food.

After which we took 588, a 40mins journey to HanZheng Jie. Shop around and we found out this factory outlet place, inside consist of NIKE, ADIDAS, CONVERSE and many many more. Its great!! Then we had our dinner at KFC, which i think its quite different from Singapore.

NE message: We must ourselves defend Singapore. [ We are proud to defend Singapore ourselves, no one else is responsible for our security and well-being. ]

When we are walking along HanZheng Jie, in each small shopping area, there are some shop owners wearing a red band on their arm, it say, "im trained in fire fighting" . And outside every shopping area there are security guards and banners reminding the public to be cautious of fire and theft. Which means, during an emergency, the trained shop owners would take up the extra duties of keeping their assets and making sure there are no casualties.

These remind me of the "neighbourhood watch" in Singapore, whereby there are a group of people living the the neighbourhood forming a watch group to ensure the safety of the each area or block to prevent crimes from happening or reporting crimes to the police. These let me learnt that every single citizen has a part to play for our own country security and well being. It only take a small act to bring about the difference in the place we stay, live and play.

The busy street of HanZheng Jie

Surrounded by many offices and shopping malls.

KFC in China.

New Orleans Grilled Chicken Burger in KFC?

Day Seventeen, Last IS lecture on China.

2009-03-19T21:16:00.005+08:00

Today was our last IS lecture on China. So its the last time we are going to see Xiao Ling Lao Shi, giving us lecture, on history, culture, and many many more information on China. Xiao Ling Lao Shi she has really help us to settle down in the university. From getting around, giving us a printed copy of bus guide, telling us where to go for good deals and answering all our question on China culture. Even when we ask her the weirdest question China, if she dont know the answer, she would find it out and tell us about it, and even printed hard copy for our references. I can say she really done a good job as a lecturer and as a friends. We can all see her passion for her job and her hospitality towards us. Thank you Xiao Ling Lao Shi.

NE message: Singapore is our homeland; this is where we belong. [ We treasure our heritage and take pride in shaping our own unique way of life. ]

After this few weeks in China, i notice that all Chinese here are very proud of their heritage and history. They talk about their country with pride and they are all more than willing to serve the countries. Some of the Chinese would want to serve the government as to help others that are in the society, they have the want and they have the passion for their countries. Even in our IS class, our lecturer showcase the China history, politics and culture with pride in her. Its a way the Chinese here behave.

As for Singapore, I should be proud that im staying in such a unique country, we have the four different races living together as one. Looking out for each other and not have conflicts within ourselves. With this, in Singapore we have four basic different culture and by having two different culture mix together for example Malay and Chinese culture being mixed together, we get the Peranakan Culture. This is something that only a small handful of countries get to experience. Thus, I think we as a Singaporean should not take our culture and heritage for granted, as we have the most unique way of living even if we are a young country. We should preserve our unique culture and educate and pass down to the next generation, and in the future, our heritage would not be lost with time.

Thank you XiaoLing LaoShi for your help. Its greatly appreciated.

Group picture with XiaoLing LaoShi

During break.

Day Sixteen, School: Presentation.

2009-03-18T20:19:00.003+08:00

Today we had presentation for tools and technique for process improvement. I learnt a new technique from the presentation which is SWOT Analysis which stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat Analysis. As for myself, i never got a chance to really know this analysis when im in school. Thus today was a new lesson learnt.

After which, like a usual Wednesday, we had IS lesson from 1pm to 4pm. Today lesson was on the religion and politics of China. I realise that in China, they normally do not address the top man on China as President. Instead they call him Chairman or the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. And Xiao Ling Lao Shi also show us the a slide on why Chinese of the Qing Dynasty kept plait. Plait, their specific name are known as Queue (hairstyle). The Manchus which take over China has a tradition of keeping plait. With this, the force the Han Chinese to keep a plait as well in order to show that they have surrender to the Manchus. Thus, the plait became a symbol of the Qing Dynasty until the Republic of China had taken over at 1911.

During my group presentation.

The plait, which is also known as the Queue

Look at my HUGE water bottle, its good to drink more water in this unpredictable weather.

Day Fifteen, Visit to WuGang Steel Factory and lesson.

2009-03-17T20:55:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone, we had a visit to the WuGang Steel Factory. In the factory we saw how the thick metal block is produce, the process of thinning the metal block to metal sheets,cutting the uneven end of the metal sheet, the cooling process(quenching process), and the rolling up of the metal sheet.

In the first procedures, metal ores, limestone and other chemical are added into the furnace and heated up to 2000 degree Celsius. Thus, the solid ores and limestone are turn into liquid form. To remove the impurities, chemicals are added to separate the impurities and the metals.

Next, the hot liquid metal are pour into a block mould to form the shape. And wait for it to settle. After which, depending on the type of steel needed, the heating and cooling process repeat it selves. After it reach the desired point, the metal block are send through rollers to flatten the metal block to metal sheet with the specification by customer. The uneven end would be cut off while the metal its still red hot, as it is easier to cut that way.

The last process before the metal sheet is being roll up into a size of huge cylindrical shape is to cool the metal sheet. This is done by spraying large amount of water onto the metal sheet. This process turn the metal sheet colour to dark grey and the metal hardens. And finally the last process are the metal sheets being roll up into the huge cylindrical shape.

As for checking of the metal sheets, X-rays and Laser are used. Laser are used to check for the thickness of the block and X-rays are used to check whether are there any internal cracks in the metal sheets.

After visiting, we return to the university and rest while waiting for our class to start at 1pm. As for today lesson, we learnt Chapter 6 of BPE. This chapter is mostly about product and service delivery. How the organisation structure would affect the delivery of goods and services and the relationships with customer and suppliers. We need to know how to due with fluctuation in order to maximise our usage and reduce our cost.

That's all for today. Enjoy everyone. Stay Tune.

Outside WuGang Steel Factory.

After the visit, we decided to immerse into the life of a worker.

*no photography are allowed in the factory, so these photo are taken at the entrance.

Day Fourteen, In school.

2009-03-16T22:39:00.004+08:00

Went for Busines Process Engineering lesson as usual today. And credits to XY for the pictures. My camera was on low battery after i got back from the Three Gorges.

Walk past and there is the show poster at the activity square. It looks like traditional culture show.

The University Lunch time crowd. It reminds me of the army. Its like SO MANY people.

Day Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, The Three Gorges and the Water Dam.

2009-03-15T17:51:00.026+08:00

Hi everyone, got back from the Three Gorges yesterday. So here's the update.

Day 11, Friday.
Woke up really early on Friday morning and met up with the rest at 7am at the hostel gate. We took a bus journey of about 5 hour plus to Yi Chang, a district in Hubei. We had lunch at a restaurant there and travel to the places of interest, The Three Gorges Water Dam.
We went to the main water dam area and the model room. After which we went to a memorial park on the other side of the river. We had a long after at the area and finally went for dinner at the same restaurant. After dinner we rushed to catch our cruise ship as we are already late by 1 hour. We check into our rooms, and rest before we start exploring the cruise. Also at the same time, we are waiting for the cruise to arrive at the water dam in order to experience the "water lift" its when the boat are lifted to a different water level in the dam. And finally after the cruise had gone through the first water dam, it was nearly 1230am in the morning thus i decided to rest early for the day not waiting for the 5 levels dam which we would reach at about 2 hours later.

NE message: No one owes Singapore a living. [ We find our own way to survive and proper, turning challenge into opportunity. ]

During the visit to the huge water dam, i found out that china had build such a big water dam depending on themselves. With their own engineers and design, when almost all the others cant believe that they will succeed in this project when they came up with the idea. Now its standing tall in the river.

Like Singapore we manage to come out with our own technology of NEWater, which recycle waste water into drinkable water sources. As we all know, Singapore does not have a totally independent water source. Thus with this new technology and with the new area at marina being block off with the Marina Barrage for the reservoir. Slowly, Singapore would be able to be self sufficient in our water supply and not on other countries. This tell us that we can turn any challenge into opportunity and survive, prosper on our own. No one owes Singapore a living.

Day 12, Saturday.
Woke up at 7am in the cruise, had breakfast. We visit the Three Gorges today. First the boat dock at a ferry terminal which allow us to change into a ferry which will bring us to Shen Nong Xi, along the way, we had many beautiful sights. we took a ferry for about 2 hours before we reach the place. Along the way, we went past many cliffs, two of which have coffins stuck in the cracks of the cliffs. And the coffins are about 2300 years old. Its believe that it belong to the Three kingdom period. However, no one ever solve the mystery of how the coffins got up there so high in all the cracks. And after the 2 hour journey, we reach a small village and board into a sampan, and the local citizen are gonna revive the olden ways of boating many centuries ago. The rowers ranging from the youngest of 20 plus years old to 50 plus years old. The oldest rower records is 83 years old. They row at the deeper water level, and when they reach the shallow part they will actually get down the boat and pull it on the shore at the upstream level.
After which we took the ferry for another 2 hours back to our cruise at about 330pm for lunch.

We stay on the cruise in the late afternoon, when we reach the different gorges, they would announce for us to be at the balcony deck for viewing, and each time, there would be a tour guide to tell us the different stories. So soon we arrive at one of the gorges and we see many different shape's of mountains and cliffs. The combination views of the mountains and valleys are magnificent. We had mountain looking like goddess of mercy, angels and rat. And at the third gorges, we had the famous 10 yuan view, its the view of a picture behind the 10 dollar note. The stone depicts a frog looking at the sky. So, its quite interesting.

In the evening, we went off to a small town at far end of Chong Qing, at Bai Di Cheng. We went to a place full of historical artifacts and the story of Liu Bei and the Shu Kingdom. We visit the Bai Di Miao and know more about Shu Kingdom and Liu Bei, and there are a sample of the coffin that are taken from the cliffs. It's said that the coffin is made from a tree trunk and emptied it hollow and place the body inside. It has a good way of prevent it from decomposing it at a fast rate thus, this material are still about to be seen now after 2300 years. After which we return back to our cruise and set off for the journey back to Yi Chang.

Day 13, Sunday.
We dock at a port before Yi Chang to take a bus back to WuHan as the ferry would be delayed by 3 to 4 hours. Thus we took a land journey back in order to reach WuHan in the late afternoon. We stop by some local shops to buy the HuBei local product back to Singapore and straight back to WuHan.

Our tour guide. [ Mr Qin ]

On our way to the Three Gorges Water Dam.

At the entrance, security check.

The shutter bus that bring us around the dam.

The project model.

Model of the Dam.

Model of the "Water Lift" beside the dam.

Overall view.

The Huge Water Dam.

The "Water Lift".

My group.

The Dam is so far and its still HUGE.

Hello, SMILE =)

WOW. we are just next to it.

The memorial park.

Enjoying ourselves inside the park.

a far view of the dam. its magnificent.

The lying down position of Chairman Mao ZeDong [ its natural rocks ]

Dinner at the restaurant.

Our Room.

The bathroom got to lock from the outside.

The VIP card in the cruise.

Exploring the cruise.

Hey i saw my group mates all there.

The "water lift" structure.

When its still at normal level. [ notice the water hole. ]

The water is going higher and higher.

And Higher.

There it go. We reach the higher end.

The broad river in front of us.

At the lobby of the cruise.

The cruise.

At the ferry.

Nice view.

Nearing the Village.

The Sampan is waiting for us.

Rowing.

The Shen Nong Xi local tour guide.

The local rowers. Strong and Fit.

The water is so clear.

Getting ready to pull the boat.

One two three pullllll.

Harder.

Does it look like godness of mercy? [ please use the imagination ]

the rat looking cliff.

The angel looking rocks.

WOAH a resting stop up on the steep mountain.

People stay on the steep mountain.

Want some treasure hunt.?? see the stairway inside.

The frog looking stone.

Look carefully at the picture on the note.

Doesnt it look like it?

The new notes faces.

Docking at Bai Di Cheng

Up we go, its a really high stair way.

Liu Bei and the rest of them.

The coffin on the cliff.

The artifacts.

At the gate.

Dinner on board the ship.

okay, thats my weekend Three Gorges trip. =) Its worth a try to the Three Gorges.

Day Ten, Its a cold rainy day.

2009-03-12T20:38:00.004+08:00

Woke up early in the morning and found out that its raining. The temperature is really cold today. Its about 8 degree or even lower. As usual bath and dress up and i decided to go down to the food street even its raining. So as to able to feel the way the local hawker on the street doing business in the rain and the locals getting around buying breakfast. Its amazing to see how they work in such a cold and wet day. They have no choice but to work hard for their living. Okay will be posting up picture on my pre packing trip for the 3 days 2 night to the Three Gorges. See you on Sunday.

Isnt it amazing, the old man can pull the cart and use an umbrella at the same time.

Day Nine, Shopping, class and dinner.

2009-03-11T21:03:00.007+08:00

Woke up later today as lesson only starts at 1pm. Washed clothes and bathe in the morning before eating our "brunch". And of course there would be my favourite Dou Jiang! After we filled our stomach, Stephanie, Winson and I went to a nearby shopping centre to do some shopping. And i found this pair of NIKE classic shoe that i like it alot and its having discount. So its a good buy. The sales service here is quite good. They greet us when we enter and even when we leave. They really showed their sincerity. I think they have good service attitude. About 10 mins to 1pm, we proceed back to the school for lesson. So today we had lecture on the history of different Dynasty in China. And most importantly the four great inventions, the printing skills, paper, gunpowder and the compass. Had a fruitful IS class today. And we meet up for dinner with Mr Wong, Mr Loh and the rest at this restaurant that the rest of the Singapore lecturer always go, thus we get to eat something less oily and salty there. It feels good though the portion is a bit too small. So that's all for today. Im going down to the food street for my round 2 supper. See you guys.

My daily dose of Dou Jiang. i drink like 2 to 3 cups a day. [ p.s I look fat here cause of the many layer and jacket okay. Not eat too much. ]

i bought new nike shoe!!! its the classic version.

My lecturer here. Always so cute. [ sorry for the blur picture.]

China 4 great inventions.

During the lesson break.

Guess who is eating in class??

Exploring Mr Loh W.T. place. [His place is sparkling clean.]

His place water meter.

His place has a water dispenser.

His living room.

His room.

The guest room. [ The bed looks thick and good!! ]

The wet market.

Looks clean and neatly organised.

Its actually live chickens and ducks in the cage.

Our dinner place. Food are more towards our taste but the portion are small.

Day Eight, school time.

2009-03-10T16:10:00.006+08:00

Went for lesson at usual at 10am in the morning. Starting to get use to the life here. When things start to settle down, i start to miss home. And its only the starting of the second week. Things will get better soon. Went around the school area, and we eat mostly canteen food these few days. The food here is delicious but its just too oily and salty. Oh ya and i bought Soup Dumpling "Tang Bao" for breakfast. And the soup is actually chili oil. But to my surprise, its very delicious. But with health concern, i still drain out the "soup" before i consume it. Well there are many interesting things and culture around here just keep a look out in this site.

Transportation Company.

Order and it will be fried instantly.

My lunch!!! You Mian with Hui Gou Rou

ohhh our whole table of food.

Im putting on weight in china.

While waiting for lesson to start.

Smile!!!

Xiang Yu

Flexsim Software, XY laptop has good graphic.

Do they look scared?

no TP, can anyhow park

Locking of bikes to prevent stealing.

Wall's Ice Cream. 3.50Yuan only!!!

Day Seven, Just a day in school.

2009-03-09T18:21:00.007+08:00

Hi there everyone, Its the seventh day that im here, in Wuhan. More or less we are settle down here. The temperature is not as cold as the first day we arrive. Its more comfortable now, like a giant air con room. We had a whole day of lesson for today or maybe for this whole week. However today the deputy principal of Ngee Ann came to visit and talk to us in the late afternoon. In his speech, i actually found out that we already had the best accommodate the university can give us. So i think im quite grateful for it and its also a good chance to learn in a different environment as the next business opportunities would be in China.

My breakfast with Soya bean drink.

Look at the Jian Bao and Jian Jiao, so big.

Just before class start.

The Tic Tac advertisement

The Nike bottle advertisement

The medicated oil advertisement

Wooo starting with something that we all are familiar with.

Who does this remind you of in school?

Ngee Ann Deputy Principal

They make this Wuhan trip possible for us [ *clap clap clap for them ]

The important people. [ Thanks for visiting us. =) ]

Mr Wong C.C look so happy. And behind is Mr Ng H.C here in Wuhan with us for 2 weeks.

Dinner full of vegetables. Its time for less meat more vegetables.

Mac Red Bean Pie. =))

Day Six, Trip to Hankou & the theme park

2009-03-09T17:11:00.014+08:00

Okay. i guess im growing fatter and fatter here. Most of the time we eat and eat, the Xiao Chi here is nice. Especially when the food street is just across a narrow road.
So this morning we had no class since its Sunday. Thus we decided to go to the theme park with the local students. We had lunch in school canteen before we meet up with the local students. We took public transport bus number 549 a forty mins ride to Hankou where the theme park is. The bus is really crowded its like stacking on each other. But the lucky ones like stephanie and i got a seat right behind. So we alight at Hankou and proceed to the theme park. We are surprise that there are no entrance fee to the park and the rides are pay by per ride inside. Actually we think this way is quite expensive cause we cant repeat our ride. They took roller coaster, viking and the wave machine. And each ride tickets cost about 20 to 25 Yuan. The theme park is really crowded. There are also many small stalls selling food and toys along the way which i think its illegal as when they see the park security, they ran as fast as they could. In the park there are a handful of beggars on the street, turning to the people standing at the roadside. I guess they are just trying to survive in such a big society risking themselves.
After spending the half the day at the theme park, we went to a nearby shopping mall for dinner. As its during dinner time, most of the eating places are full. Thus the hungry us had decided to settle for something quick, so for the third time, we had MAC. After which, we shop around at the shopping centre along to street.
At about 9 plus in the night, we took a bus back to the hostel. On the bus ride, stephanie and i share a seat. However halfway through, the conductor scream at us to stand up. At first we are quite shock. Then we stand up thinking that she wanted us to give up our seats for an elderly person. But to our surprise, she sat down instead and both of us are really puzzled by what she just did. And finally we understand why she scream at us, cause at the side of the chair it states "conductor seat" in Chinese. And lastly before we return back to the hostel, i went to the food street to get a cup of delicious soya bean drink.

Last night dinner.

something similar to KFC?

Lunch/Breakfast Time

The second level canteen.

My lunch, Fried Dou Jiao and Qie Zi [ long beans with egg plant. ]

On the public bus. Its squeezy in here.

The entrance of the park.

the nerdy image.

Many people are coming to the theme park. [ free park entry, rides by per ticket. ]

i wonder what is she thinking.

Uncle and son boating on the lake.

Do we actually look shock?

Trying hard to pose for the picture.

Its a bull made up of all the drink cans by Pepsi company.

Ice skating ring. [ ice skate in the winter, are you game for it? ]

The road side "mama shop".

this is suitable for the young and weak-hearted.

The crazy roller coaster. [ most people sat on it. ]

Viking the most popular ride.

One of the rides, looks old though.

Getting ready for the ride

The wave ride. [ ohhh....our people are on it ]

The guys enjoyed themselves. [ They brought us to Hankou. ]

I found a bat on the tree while stoning on the bench.

The artist at the park.

DINNER TIME

My set meal. double cheese burger set. [ was too hungry that i finish 3/4 of the burger before i take photo of it ]

Winson Mac Dinner, Fillet O Fish. [ i think he's trying hard to smile after so many meals of MAC.]

The shopping mall we went to. On the street, 3 of the huge shopping mall belong to the same person. [wahh that person must be super rich ]

The wide walkway, and its so crowded. [ Its like our orchard road ]

Hugo Boss [ they have many imported brands too ]

Cartier [ opening soon ]

Gucci [opening soon]

Day Five, City Tour.

2009-03-07T17:47:00.024+08:00

Its the fifth day since im here in Wuhan, went for city tour today. Woke up real early and meet the rest up at 730 to catch our coach for the city tour. So the plans for today were, visit Dong Hu, Hu Bei Museum, Lunch at the street xiao chi the to the Yellow Crane Tower.
First was Dong Hu, its a good place fo photo taking, and the environment that is really clean this give me a feeling that i,m in a really huge royal garden. Went all the way to the Qu Yuan statue which is built to commemorate him. Have we all wonder why his statue is located beside the lake. Maybe its related to the story if Qu Yuan during the dumpling festival.
Aftewhich, we took a 2 mins bus journey to the HuBei Museum. It is mostly about the Chu culture and what is buried in the tomb of the Chu Marquis and finally have an idea of how Chu people live. As there are 2 tombs that are found in Hubei, thus they are all showcase in this museum. I also found out that when a someone of importance die, the maid servant and musicians along with others are buried together with him. Which means if the person die wvery one else have to die as well. Life is so not fair.
As all of us are feeling hungry as we left real early from the hostel, we headed for lunch in a street full of different xiao chi. I especially like the siew mai in wuhan.
And finally our last stop for the day, The Yellow Crane Tower. We spent large amount of energy to climb up the stairs. And we found out much about the past of Yellow Crane Tower. It is different in each dynasty. And the different design show the culture of each dynasty.
Alright thats all for today. Really tired should blog next time.

Welcome to Dong Hu.

My groupmates at the gate of Dong Hu.

Map of Dong Hu

Uncle rowing hard

The internal transport service in Dong Hu

Now we have many many Tao Hua.

Tao Hua

Dong Hu is beautiful

Memories of Dong Hu with friends.

Can see our heart?

Qu Yuan Statue

Posing with Qu Yuan

The Museum

Entrance to the Chu culture.

Overall view of the Chu city

The fire furnace

The weapons of the ancient army

Fossil of the tomb [Its a ancient war carriage with horses in front ]

Ancient pillow. [ it must be really hard ]

The house of the Chu people

Cross section of the coffin

Ancient Army uniform

The ancient war times.

Musical instruments

How the wrap up the coffin

The older version of our book now.

Ancient drum

Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Coffin of maid servant and musician

The inner layer of the coffin

Outer layer of the coffin [ wow its really huge ]

The Musical Instruments

An olden times table.

This is a national treasure of China.

Protective Gear for horses.

LUNCH TIME

Oooooo. Its crowded in here, the food must be good.

The local Siew Mai. [ P.S This is the best Xiao Chi ]

Jian Jiao Zi [ known as Guo Tie to us ]

Dou Pi

Cimin enjoying the squid.

THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER TOUR SITE

Exterior of the Yellow Crane Tower site

Why is it so crowded early in the morning.

WOW so much stairs to climb.

My group members. [ we blend in to the environment of Yellow Crane Tower. ]

Along the way up to the Yellow Crane Tower. [ Words art pieces on the wall. ]

Do we look like tourist??

Beside the Yellow Crane Tower

Yellow Crane Tower

Taking a shot with the local army guy.

A wall of mosaic tiles on the wall depicting the story of Yellow Crane Tower

View of Wuhan City from the Yellow Crane Tower

Current Yellow Crane Tower

The Tang Dynasty Yellow Crane Tower

The Song Dynasty Yellow Crane Tower

The Yuan Dynasty Yellow Crane Tower

The Ming Dynasty Yellow Crane Tower

The Qing Dynasty Yellow Crane Tower

City of Wuhan

A must take photo site. [ the big bell ]

Zhuge Liang Fan.

On our way back to the coach we saw this signboard.

Day Four, first BPE lesson and lunch/dinner at the street stalls.

2009-03-06T17:06:00.012+08:00

Alright, the day started at 8 pm. Had the cup noodles for breakfast. Actually i think their cup noodles are quite nice. While Stephanie had rich tea biscuit and i had some of it too.

After which we walk towards our classroom for our first BPE lesson. Since its on the 7th floor, most of us wait for the lift and we squeeze into the one tiny lift, the life squeezing style of NP. Went for class and Mr Wong showed us the handphone with tv function that he bought from china, it was quite interesting that they actually had such technology. Maybe its because they didn't really promote or do further research on these product to improve it. If not i think the phone would actually be quite popular. We had to do this quiz after every lesson and it has 30 questions in it.

After lesson, it was time for lunch again. I found out that when we are in the cold weather, we tends to get hungry easily. It feels like i havent never been full for more than 2 hours. So i hope we would put on weight when we return to Singapore. We took a short walk to the nearest food street behind our hostel. It has alot of different road side stalls. We walk one round and decided to eat "Chong You Bing" something like singapore roti prata. And a bowl of wanton/dumpling soup. The soup only cost us 3Yuan and there are like 20 over wantons inside. Its really worth the money. Its a different experience to eat in a road side stall cause it is sort of like open air and there are many people around us.

With our stomach filled up, we head back to the hostel for a rest and started doing our laundry as we think today weather is good. The sun appear the whole afternoon thus, we find that today is the warmest day ever since we arrive in Wuhan. As usual after finishing up our stuff, we start taking photos around the room again.

Went out for dinnerat 630pm. We met up with "Fire", "Zero" and "Guy" for dinner. We took bus to the street opposite the huge shopping centre that we went yesterday. Its a double decker bus. And we had "xiao chi" for dinner, had "xiao long bao. And Fire, Zero and Guy had mac for dinner. Oh and something different here is that Mac Has got VIP discount card in China. Which means the discount card can be use in the whole of china. So cool. And headed back to hostel after dinner as we got to gather early next morning for city tour. Since some of us are afraid that we might need supper in the night thus, we went to the food street behind and got ourselves some "bao" and "mantou". The MANTOU look so delicious although its just a plain white block of MANTOU but its the best of all.

Group photo. [ We really must thank these guys for bringing us around the place from dinner to shopping to our daily necessities, they are really helpful, friendly and nice. THANK YOU VERY MUCH ]

My breakfast. [ cup noodle that i bought from the mini mart beside the hostel.]

Rich Tea Biscuit and Milo. [ yummy!!!! ]

First BPE lesson with Mr Wong CC.

He's showing us this phone that he bought in china for 120 plus SGD. ** It has TV function

The TV phone, can watch Singapore channels when use in Singapore.

Below are all the happy people in class.

Quiz that we have after every lesson.

LUNCH TIME

The street stalls behind the campus. [This food is similar to the roti prata that we have in Singapore, it bigger and thinner with many other toppings. ]

The next stall we visit, wanton/dumpling soup. [ the soup is really hot and steaming ]

Wanton/Dumpling Soup [ look delicious!!!! ]

Yum Yum

Winson is eating the different kind of food from the street.

We bought many cup noodles for our backup supply.

Back to hostel. Its time for more photos!!!.

My super messy table.

My favourite cozy area.

DINNER

On the double decker bus.

This is Fire, Guy and Zero [ from the left ]

The underpass. Look just like the MRT underpass that Singapore had, just that is so much crowded here.

Xiao Long Bao

Shao Mai and Zhi Ma Jiang Mian

The streets [ on our way back to hostel, taken on a double decker bus. ]

And the freshly made and steamed MANTOU. [ i love the MANTOU ]

Day Three, First IS lecture and exploring the neighbourhood.

2009-03-05T23:49:00.004+08:00

Today's weather is warmer than yesterday, its a good news. Hopefully the temperature would continue to go up. We had Mac for breakfast in the morning, the Mac here has pork burger. So since its something new i decided to take the pork burger for breakfast.

Mac for Breakfast.

Seee. the mac in china has pork burger.

it looks like mc chicken on the inside.

On our way back to hostel, the local students help us take this!!

The local students, they are really helpful.

Afterwhich, we went for the first IS lesson today at 1pm in the afternoon. We had lessons on China history [ the different dynasty, the battle of ChiBi and other battles, and the famous people that are born in China,Hubei or Wuhan ] ,geography [ where is Hubei and Wuhan located and where did all the famous battle and people of china occur or stay ] and we talk about the places of interest in Hubei and Wuhan. And finally, we went for dinner at a nearby area and we took a public bus down to a huge shopping centre. Many thanks to the local students that brought us out for dinner and shopping. =)

Our IS Lecture Hall.

Our IS local lecturer, Xiao-Ling Lao Shi. [ always answer our question without fail ]

The first dish for dinner and the most special one. The mutton hotpot.

The huge shopping centre that is 20 mins away by bus.

Alright i shall post the dinner/shopping group picture tomorrow. =)

Good Day All.

Day Two, Tour Around Campus Area

2009-03-04T22:37:00.006+08:00

Its so cold at night that i cant sleep. Its freezing here in Wuhan.

Meet up at 1130 today for a tour around the campus area.

Had lunch at the school canteen. Its all automated, we use this top up card to pay for our food.

Our lunch for the day.

While waiting for the others to come back with their food.

Afterwhich we went to the different building in Wuhan. Visit the lecture hall and the classroom.

Around the campus.

In the classroom.

We went out of school to walk around and ended up in a shopping centre and supermarket to get the things we need. And on our way, we got our calling cards. We had mac for late lunch.

Found it on the street. Interesting.

On the street, really cold out there.

Mac for late lunch.

At night we had a exchange time with the local students at one of the lecture hall which we will attend class at.

Our evening activity.

Day One - Leaving Singapore, Arriving in Wuhan

2009-03-04T18:05:00.011+08:00

Woke up early in the morning around 3 plus am.

Meeting time in airport is fixed at 530am to have a group check in.

Howie pick us up from our place [winson and I] at around 4. And off we go to Geylang for prawn noodle for our breakfast.

We reach the airport at 530am there are many parents and friends sending their children after which we walk around and took many pictures before we head for the departure gate.

My classmates & The MDE OIP Members

Breakfast on the plane.

So we took a plane [Airbus 3 something ] from Singapore to Guangzhou [ BaiYun Airport ]

At Guangzhou Airport & My lunch from 7-11

then we took lunch in the airport. And its from 7-11.

My Group Members

Getting into the transit plane.

After about 3 hours we took a domestic transit [ Boeing 373 model ] to Wuhan Airport.

Outside Wuhan Airport.

Then we arrive at Wuhan University of Science. Its in the night already, so we went for dinner nearby and then back to the hostel to rest for the day.

My room.

The toilet.

One of my roommate.

On my bed.

So here it goes, my first day in Wuhan. And its really cold in Wuhan, around 0-4 degrees celsius.

Pre Opening Post Two

2009-02-27T11:28:00.003+08:00

Hi all, 3rd march is nearing.

4 days are left for us to get ready.
From winter clothings to our daily necessities. Please take note that the weather is really cold right now at least for the month of march. Forecast of weather for 3rd march would be 1 to 3 degrees. It might varies as time changes. Here's the link for you to check on the updates of wuhan weather; http://www.weathercity.com/cn/42/wuhan/

Yesterday had the final trip meeting before we depart on 3rd march. We download the Flexsim software and had a breifing of what is to be expected over in wuhan. Notes are given to us in a file, it contains many useful informations. And finally, for all,

reporting time at CHANGI AIRPORT TERMINAL 1, 530AM. please dont be late.
flight information [China Southern Airline],
CZ 352 SINCAN 0800 to 1150 [ from singapore to guangzhou ]
CZ 3346 CANWUH 1535 to 1700 [ from guangzhou to wuhan ]

The group photo after the meeting. [ credits to winson for this photo. ]

Pre-Opeing Post ONE

2009-02-07T20:35:00.004+08:00

Hello everyone.

Welcome to my china blog.

This shall be my -2 post

Since the opening date for my blog is the first day i reach Wuhan .

I went for trip briefing today at LT 5A.

There are about 120 students altogether for the china trip.

After several talks, we were split into our division for a detailed briefing.

I found all my group members today at the briefing.

We had to hand in a number of forms by monday, and i need a passport photo.
Shall get it taken tomorrow when i go for dinner. =)

Okay, and here are some pictures of the division briefing.

Mr Wong C.C conducting the briefing.

Paying attention...