Parents' Reflections

北京．．．万里长城

不到长城非好汉, 南小的孩子们、老师和家长们加油啊!!! 万岁!
~ Mrs Jane Chua (Valerie's mother)

"For one whole week, the gymnasts, coach, teachers and parents learned together, ate together, had toilet breaks together, shopped together...etc. We gave each other support in many ways, functioned like one big family. It is the end of a wonderful trip to Beijing but I hope it is the beginning of a new journey of friendship that would last for a lifetime."
~ Dr Liow Pei Hsiang (Ying Qi's mother)

"This a a very good trip for the kids and parents. We all learnt so much of the Chinese culture." ~ Mr Ang (Wei Lu's father)

Day 7

Our Pupils' Reflections

" Today is the last day in Beijing! We must wake up at 6.30 a.m. So tired... We went to take trishaw! I sat with Mrs Tan. It was a bumpy ride! We took the trishaw to a place where we made dumplings. After that, we went to the airpot and we were on our way back to Singapore!
Yay! In this trip, I learnt how to make dumpling and be on my own. I wish I will have this trip again." ~ Celine Go (2K)

"Today, we took a trishaw to Prince Mansion. Wow! The garden was so big!). Then we took a ride to a home where we took our lunch and make dumplings. Those who needed to go to the toilet took a trishaw ride there and back! We are all in the airplane now. I learnt to make dumplings and a lot of Chinese culture. I wish we could stay longer. I feel very happy! I love this place!" ~ Yang Jia Yee (3I)

"I enjoyed sitting on the plane, going to each other's room and watching the national team train. I like the the trishaw ride. The person who rode us to places was very kind. I sat with Jasmine as usual. I also liked to make the dumpling. I learnt the Chinese tradition (It was more interesting than I thought.)" ~ Faith Zeng

"I enjoyed the trip as it was a lot of fun. I got to make many friends and buy a lot of souvenirs too. I learnt to pay attention and stand straight when the teacher is talking. I had a lot of fun at Beijing." ~ Megan Tan

"On this trip, I learnt how to wrap the Beijing roasted duck, make dumplings and blow bubble gum. I also learnt more about Chinese history through visiting museums, palaces etc. I enjoyed the trishaw ride in Hutong, lunching at a local family, shopping and climbing the Great Wall of China. I even climbed all the way to the top! I also got to know the NYPS gymnasts better." ~ Yang Sin Yee (5K)

"On Sunday, we went to the Great Wall of China. I almost couldn't believe I climbed right to the top! I could see a wonderful scenery! It was very windy at the top of the mountain. Next, we went fruit plucking. I plucked 7 juicy peaches. There were a lot of peaches on the ground and a few bees flying (very scary). We learnt how to make dumplings at one of the houses. What an exciting trip!" ~ Chui Ying Qi








At the entrance of the Courtyard


Getting blessings from the Emperor Kang Xi's fu inscription.




















Enjoying a homecooked meal at a local family.



Tour guide teaching the children how to retrieve a walnut from the tree in the courtyard.









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Feng laoshi demonstrating how to make dumplings

Day 6

Our Reflections

"I enjoy going to the Great Wall of China and I don't like to go fruit plucking. It has many mosquitoes. I like the food. The toilet are very dirty but I enjoy it here." ~ Weilu

" I would want to climb the Great Wall of China again." ~ Fiona Chew

"Yesterday, we walked to the very top of the Great Wall of China. We walked to the very top. It was very tiring. After that we went fruit plucking. We went into a peach garden and after we came out, we were very itchy." ~ Emrick Quah

"I find that the training was not as tough as usual. The boys in the gymnasium are only wearing theri brief! Ha, ha, ha! The food that the restaurants served were very delicious. I had bought many Olympic souvenirs. I like the 4th and 5th day the most. I wished that I had brought more money so that I could buy more souvenirs." ~ Josiah Tan

"I don't like the boys in the Beijing gymnasium. They only wear underwear. On Saturday night, Zhuo Yue, Josiah, Emrick and I played pillow fighting. On Sunday, I was happy that my father came to the hotel. We went to the Great Wall of China together. " ~ Mark Lam

"I like going shopping and going to the Wal Mart. I bought Olyumpic souvenirs. I bought Bei Bei, Jing Jing, Huan Huan, Ying Ying and Ni Ni." ~ Zhuo Yue

"I enjoyed the Great Wall of China because some of us walked to the top. I don't really like the tour guide. He keeps talking bla, bla, bla. I love shopping at the Beijing souvenir shop."

~ Faith Zeng

"I like and don't like the fruit plucking!!! What I mean is that I like it because it is fun but I don't like it because I stepped on shit!!!(Not really, but mud) We went to the Great Wall of China and I stopped halfway!!!(so sad) I want to come back to finish the Great Wall of China. I don't care if I have to pitch a tent anywhere at Great Wall of China." ~ Valerie Chua

"I enjoyed the Great Wall of China as some of us went all the way to the top!" ~ Jasmine Koh

Training

We returned to Shi Jing Shan Gymnasium for training. Although the gym was not as clean and impressive as our school's, the children were serious in their training. Even both the teachers and Mrs Jeanie Tan were involved in coaching the children, making sure everyone spent their time there meaningfully.

Temple of Heaven

We felt closer to 'heaven' when we stood on the slab of concrete. It was the same piece of concrete where the emperors stepped on to 'talk' to gods in heaven. We also stood on the particular spot where sound could be echoed back 3 times. The children did our Nanyang Cheer in front of many tourists.

The Nanyang Cheer...









The Guardian Angels for the trip...


















Our 3rd and last shopping spree for this trip - at Ya Xiu. It was our last chance to purchase the Beijing Olympics souvenirs. We bargained and shopped to our hearts' content!



All our children bonded well through the trip. Previously, the boys and girls played separately but towards the end, all of them had fun together. The boys even taught the girls how to do the mushroom turns! It was such a heartwarming sight.







The 'Think Tank' Game

Day 5

Our little princess and her "Empress Dowager"...

We were shown how to differentiate a real jade from a fake one.







We were busy selecting the jade for our seals.









Engrossed by the artist's work...







At the Great Wall of China
At the fruit plantation

What we do on our long bus journeys...chatting with friends, playing games, reading, sleeping and messaging parents ...

Our nightly hangout...

Our Reflections

"I had a great time in Beijing! It was very exciting! Beijing's toilets are very dirty! I am very happy that I had a very big and comfortable bed. I have a good trip in Beijing! I miss my parents a lot! We went to Great Wall of China today and we climbed almost to the top! I was very tired at the end of climbing the mountains. Then we went to take our lunch. It was delicious. I love it!" ~ Michelle Teo

"We were so tired when we climbed the Great Wall of China. When we go down, it was so scary! At night, we went to Mrs Tan's room to play. I want to go back to see my parents. I hate the fruit plucking as we got mosquito bites. I miss my family very much!" ~ Celine Go

"I was so tired at the Great Wall of China but I had a lot of fun. We climbed a lot of stairs. We went for fruit plucking. Eww! The place was very dirty and disgusting. We saw bees too. Mrs Tan helped us pluck the fruit. I miss my parents a lot! " ~ Kay Yian

"I dislike climbing up and down the stairs as it was very tiring, dangerous and hot. I like to sleep in the bus because it was very cooling. I hate plucking the fruit. It was so dirty and hot! I miss my parents very much too." ~ Rachel Lee

"I am very tired but I had a fun trip so far. But it is very very x10000 hot! I wish this is in winter." ~ Yang Jia Yee

"My friends and I had a lot of fun today. We went to the Great Wall of China,visited the Wax Museum of Ming Dynasty and fruit plucking. I did not enjoy fruit plucking because the environment was horrible... What I like the most was visiting the Wax Museum because I took pictures. I wore a Chinese dress which the ancient princess wore! I enjoyed the trip today. I miss my parents a lot too." ~ Olivia Chuang

"I dislike Beijing as some toilets are so smelly and they do not have locks. I wish that we do not need to eat vegetables there. Instead, I hope we could drink chicken soup at every meal. And I hope there will be many snack machines." ~ Megan Tan

"I love the Great Wall of China. Although it was tiring, at least we got the opportunity to go there. I don't really like the toilet there as it was quite smelly and dirty! I like to go for the gym training because we get to train and Feng laoshi is not very strict here." ~ Xue Qi

"Truly unbelievable! I made it to the designated peak of the Great Wall of China."
~ Mrs Jeanie Tan

Day 4

Forbidden City

We were awed by the grandeur of the majestic Forbidden City. It was so huge that we took 3 hours walking from the entrance to the end. The children were tired and their legs were aching. The sun was scorching so they drank lots of water to prevent dehydration.

Outside the Forbidden City, the children were mesmerised by a craftsman creating malt candy figurines. All our tiredness vanished the moment we stepped into a 1-yuan shop for another shopping spree.

We proceeded to Beihai Park to experience being an emperor, feasting on the Imperial Banquet. We were pampered with the exquisite table setup. The desserts were exceptionally intricate.

We visited the Beijing Zoo, watching the cute pandas. The tour guide shared that we were very fortunate to catch one of the 'lazy' pandas in action on the playground.

Day 3

Observation at Beijing Xian Nong Tan Tiyu Yudong Jishu Xuexiao
Today’s visit was to a professional sports school. All the gymnasts who train here are the best in Beijing. These gymnasts would vie with the other top notch gymnasts from other provinces to be in the national team. The boys watched the Fitness and Conditioning sessions of the male gymnasts. The girls met Yang Yanhong, a World Championships Gold Medalist. She shared her experience with them and wrote individual notes of encouragement for them. Coach Feng even showed us her hostel during her training days here.

Beijing Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

We learnt how Beijing developed over the years and the future plans for the city. There was an impressive and intricate 3-D model of the entire Beijing city. Watching the 20-minute 3-D movie concluded the visit. The teachers were honored to be photographed in front of the original Olympics flag.

Cloisonne Factory & Wangfujing Street

We were enthralled by the workmanship and the process involved in producing the cloisonné pieces. We were on a shopping spree, sweeping all the various Beijing Olympics 2008 mascots and souvenirs. We had our dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the upmarket Wangfujing Street.