Day one, we assembled at Changi Airport and took the flight SQ832 to Shanghai Pudong

International Airport. We were made to compare Changi Airport’s Environment with that of

Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Firstly, In signages, Changi Airport has many

electronic signboard directories situated every few metres away and is written in four

languages, English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil. We think this is because there are more

tourists and visitors from other countries in the airport and we have the budget to revamp

our signs to make them more easily readable. However, the signs in Shanghai Pudong

international airport is manual and only written in Chinese and badly translated English. We

think because English is the universal language and Chinese is their local language that their

signs are written this way. Their signposts are also scattered around although not carelessly,

but not as conveniently as Singapore's. We believe this is because Shanghai, which economy

is not as developed as Singapore, has more important areas to focus on than its airports and

thus, this makes the place less flashy and the signs not as developed as Singapore's. Changi

airport. Secondly, in the criteria of art installations, Changi Airport has lush patterned carpet

floors, air conditioners and art sculptures, giving the place a very classy feel. However, the

floors of Pudong international airport is tiled or in some places, marble and although there

is air conditioning, there is not sculptures or colour in sight except for the occasional

advertisements on the plain white wall. Overall, Pudong international airport gave a very

hostile feel to the environment, making Singapore Changi Airport feel more welcoming.

Lastly, the transport network in Changi airport is very advanced with its sky rail travelling

from Terminal to terminal within minutes and it's horizontal electronic ramps that allow

visitors a chance not to walk while travelling in or out departure halls. However, the main

mode of transport in Pudong international airport is walking and considering the place is

large, it gets slightly tiring. Hence, lazy or tired visitors taking midnight flights would prefer

going to Changi airport. Overall, Changi airport has a better name and reputation because of

its fascilities from its high budget the government allows in the developed economy of

Singapore.

On day two, we had a rushed breakfast because of some latecomers. Through this, we

learnt that punctuality is very important. These students held back the class and in

consequence, made everyone get a shorter time to have breakfast. This shows that we need

self independence and sensitivity so as not to cause inconvenience to others. Afterwards,

we visited the Wahaha company, which is currently the fifth leading beverage company in

the world, manufacturing milk powder, beverages, notebooks, ice cream, machinery,

retail,printing, dairy farming and pollen tonics. Wahaha had a rocky start, selling ice cream,

exercise books and drinks on a tricycle and in a school, along with some retired teachers as

staff. Slowly, through overcoming numerous obstacles, Wahaha has now become the most

well known beverage brand in China. Through our visit, we learnt about setting reasonable

goals, being resilient and being unafraid of entrepreneurship can bring up a great company.

Wahaha’s aiding in natural disasters and creative advertisements portraying celebrities also

gained them much popularity with the people of different walks of life and ages. Their

innovations with dairy products and risky expansion of the company was a big part of

leading the company into the route of success. Wahaha is a new hope given to many small

companies and a role model to follow in its principals of success. Next, we visited HangZhou

west lake which is a UNESCO world heritage. Initially, we were surprised that no admission

fee was needed since many governments of different countries view their heritage sites as

little gold mines to make additional money, not excluding Singapore where botanical

gardens need an admission fee. However we found out later that charging fees would

definitely reduce the tourism in hangzhou. The lake was picturesque, full of rich legends

pass down from generations to generations, some even reaching us, example 白蛇传. It was

sunny and windy at the same time, while slightly foggy. The pagoda showed the detailed

heritage of China and many love stories. The place even had a romantic feel, explaining the

two pairs of bride and groom taking their wedding photos there the same day we visited

the west lake. Afterwards, we went to the dragon well tea plantation, grateful to be under

shelter with a hot cup of tea since it started raining. We were told that up in the mountains,

it rained very frequently and was very cold because of he strong winds. This explains why

tea plays such an important role in Chinese culture. We also learnt about the village where

the plantation is held whereby almost everyone has a surname of 梅. This shows the culture

of taking one’s last name after a marriage, a practice, surprisingly getting less common due

to the new perspective of feminism. We also learnt about how our tea is made and when to

harvest it or how much tea one plant can produce a year. The tea was extravagant not only

in taste but in its price as well. Some classmates could pull through to buy a small Tin

though, with the e amount of money we brought. We learnt about the stories and about tea

today, covering two big parts of what we know of as Chinese culture.

Day two, we visited xuanyuan farm and harvested our own chilli, cucumbers and peaches.

Since young, we learnt the Chinese poetry:

锄禾日当午，

看滴禾下土。

水流盘中餐，

粒粒皆辛苦。

I haven't understood this poetry very clearly as I used to think that farming was a low status

job that require low brain power. However, I realised how hard farming can be once I tried

to do so on a few plants and there were hundreds of them! Farming also requires a lot of

brainpower where you have to match a plant characteristic to a certain criteria before you

are allowed to harvest it. If it doesn't match the criteria and is plucked, the food would be

ultimately wasted and food wastage has to be avoided as much as avoidable, meaning a

lesser income for the farmer. This trip allowed me to gain newfound respect for farmers.

Afterwards, we visited afterwards, we went to Zhongshan ancient village for a quick

outdoor lesson and to fully enjoy the picturesque scenery. The place was so well preserved,

it gave off a serene feel and of traditional taste. Later during our tour of the village, I learnt

that the village was shaped like a cow and was shocked to see the advanced means of math

and science concepts in place during the designing of the place. I used to think ancient

Chinese were underdeveloped, with only Confucian values but naught of science or math in

their minds but this trip proved otherwise. The designs of the water system was rather

fascinating. The water from the mountains flow down to multiple ditches in the village along

the sides of the houses. The ditches are then used to collect water for personal use, to put

out fires and much to our confusion, as a map of the village. Their use of brick and cement

was also surprising as in our minds, we thought them at the standards of using wood for

homes.

On the fourth day, we climbed up mount Huangshan. The climb up the uneven steps was

tedious and just as we felt we had enough stair climbing to last a lifetime, we are gifted with

a view of the valley. At first, we did not know why people enjoyed talking of mount

Huangshan even before we made our way to China but we understood immediately as an

ancient Chinese painting came to life right before our eyes. Soaring mountaintops covered

in a layer of misty fog that shrouded everything in that altitude. It was a cold, hard climb but

a climb worth it. We learnt about some uniquely shaped rocks and trees that was given

names over the years and slowly, became more creative. We began to see rocks as animals,

trees as personifications of human acts. We heard different calls of the native wildlife and

looked as the wildflower so bloomed to the sunlight that was surprisingly warm even 1648

metres off the ground.

Day five, we finally made our way to Hefei, Anhui where our first destination was Li

HongZhang’s Formal Residence. This tourist attraction is situated right smack in the centre

of the busy city life. There was also a lot of traffic and we were even stuck in a traffic jam on

the way there. There were modern stalls and sculptures on both sides of the street and even

a very modern shopping mall just a stone’s throw away. This made Li HongZhang's formal

residence stick out like a sore thumb. However a close visit if his residence shows deep

cultural roots. From the interior designs to the carvings on the wall, portraying bats and

grapes. Bats for prosperity and grapes for fertility. Looking at the place, a very clear struggle

for urbanisation and preservation of culture. Li HongZhang's estate is very big and its place

can be made into more than three new shophouses and a road to clear traffic. However, the

cultural heritage is unmissable. He also played a significant role in China history. It is very

fortunate to have such a well preserved artifice and it being under the government disposal

makes it just more valuable and rare. Afterwards, we visited Meiling fridge company and

realised That having a great mindset for setting a business like what we learnt in Wahaha is

not enough. Meiling company stresses on its staff member’s wellbeing. We learnt that being

a good business owner takes a lot of patience and sensitivity too. Afterwards, we saw our

buddies for r first time and got to know about their school lives better. I also realise that our

school Austen and theirs are very similar, being academically geared. However, facilities

wise, RV had better facilities than shoucun middle school. Afterwards, we reluctantly bid our

buddies a quick farewell and went to a local bookshop to compare prices. We bought a few

items and recorded prices. We realised that most items in China, although similar in

Singapore, might be less expensive. We think it is because most of it is made in China and

thus, shipping cost is unnecessary, making the cost cheaper.

Day six, we went back for our school immersion programme and performed for the school

students. We also set in for some lessons. We conclude that our learning styles are very

different. In Singapore, we mostly learn through textbooks and assignments. However, in

shoucun middle school, their lessons are very hands on and the teachers are able to

captivate students with brain teasers and abnormally difficult questions. Making lessons

unpredictable and exiting. After bidding a great farewell to our buddies and promising to

keep in contact, we headed for the biggest supermarket in Hefei and did some research on

the cost of groceries there, then comparing it to Singapore. Now, we realised that some

food like durian is actually more expensive than back in Singapore because of distance cost.

Day seven, we went home visiting with our buddy though instead of bringing us to their

home, they brought us to see a memorial slash museum about those who fought bravely

but lost their life in the wars. We were touched by their acts after hearing what they did for

the country and the hardship they faced not only on he battlefield but also during trainings.

China is unfortunate to lose such great heroes. It gave me thankfulness to out ns men back

at home to go through backbreaking trainings to protect us from any future enemies. Later,

our buddy brought us to a forest trail where we rode bicycles and enjoyed the view of the

go biggest freshwater lake in hefei, anhui. Afterwards, we visited baohe cultural park and

learnt more about the most famous person to ever come from herein,baogong. We learnt

about the great qualities of him and once again, saw the struggle for modernisation.

Afterwards, we went through a talk about huangmei opera, unique in hefei, and the renga

get drums, giving us a taste of hefei unique culture. Afterwards we had dinner at haidilao

restaurant and learnt how a good service is important in attracting customers.

On the last day, we took the high speed rail to Shanghai and know about the environment

problems that comes with the convenience of a high speed rail. Then, we took a plane back

to Singapore.

Overall, this eight day trip was packed with knowledge hat cannot all be fully absorbed. It

was one of the most fruitful trips I had overseas and is looking forward to another, although

I hop it would be less hectic so we have time to fully enjoy the beauty of hefei, anhui and a

whole new culture.