Ambassador Programme - Gansu 2007

Zaijian Lanzhou ...............

2007-12-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Our time in Lanzhou has come to an end. It has been an amazing four months and all of us are very appreciative of the hard work the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office and Lanzhou University put into this program. We are all leaving with some new language skills, new friends from all over the world, a new appreciation for the complexity of China, and a million photos! It will be very sad to leave tomorrow morning, but a hot kiwi summer sounds pretty good right now. See you in Christchurch!

Closing Banquet

2007-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

Tonight we attended the 2007 GSFAO Ambassador Program Closing Banquet. The Guest of Honor at the Banquet was the Vice-Governor of Gansu Province. Margaret, from the GSFAO, and I hosted the banquet performance. We performed 3 Chinese songs and some of us made speeches on behalf of the group. The banquet was held at the same place as the opening banquet at the beginning of September. It seems hard to believe that our time here has come to an end!

Lanzhou University International Student Christmas Party

2007-12-15T20:51:00.000-08:00

This evening we attended a Christmas Party held by Lanzhou University for its International students. The party was held at a hotel across the road from the University campus.

Practice makes perfect

2007-12-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

Today we had two practices for our final banquet performances. As a group we are performing three Chinese songs we learned in our language classes. In addition four of us are making speeches on behalf of the group and it is very important that our pronunciation is perfect!

International Expo at Lanzhou University

2007-12-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we hosted an Expo on campus for the staff and students of Lanzhou University. Each of us had a table and presented information about our countries and hometowns. Many students I spoke to had heard about New Zealand's beautiful scenery and most said that they would like to visit New Zealand someday.

Lanzhou Foreign Language Secondary School

2007-12-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

One room of the library

With some of the teachers

This afternoon I was invited by Principal Zhang to visit his school, the Lanzhou Foreign Language Secondary School. I was surprised by how large and well-resourced the school is. There are around 140 teachers and 1200 students in the school. I met with some of the teachers and they attempted to teach me how to do some traditional Chinese dances! I visited some classes and then met one of the foreign teacher's from the school. We then went to a nearby hotel for a banquet.

Study, study, study

2007-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

This weekend most of us are holed up in our rooms studying. We have 3 exams beginning on Monday morning. We have been studying a lot but the Chinese characters and measure words are making things a little difficult. It will be good to see how much we have learned over the past 4 months. Wish us luck!

GSFAO Good Luck Banquet

2007-12-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

Dinora delivering her presentation on Mexico

Myself and Becky from the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office

Becky, Graham, and Mr Ding

This evening the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office hosted a banquet for us after our final weekly meeting. This dinner was to wish us luck for our exams and for our final two weeks in Lanzhou.

Liao Jia Cao Primary School

2007-12-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

The group in the Guest House Lobby with the supplies we bought for the school

Graham signing the football

Luis and Anca

The football we signed for the kids

Last month we visited a Rural Primary School and spent some time playing with the kids. They made a deep impression on us and Graham and I collected money from the group to purchase supplies for the school. It is amazing here how much difference a little money makes. We were able to buy 300 notebooks, 300 pencils, 2 footballs, 1 basketball, some comic books, as well as some world maps and posters for their classrooms. I am sure that the children will be very grateful and we are all happy to help give back to the local community. This afternoon we presented the supplies to a representative from the village and he was very thankful. Hopefully the supplies will help inspire some of the kids to study hard in school and bring a smile to their faces.

Badminton & Ping Pong

2007-12-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Lanzhou Uni Post-Grad Campus Gymnasium

Graham and Youssef

Lanzhou University Medical Campus

Some of us enjoy playing ping pong and badminton when we get a chance. Now it is getting pretty cold so we don't play very often, but we used to go out the back gate to the Medical Campus and play. It is pretty disheartening to lose to school kids, but I figure they've had a bit more practice than I have! It was only recently that we saw Youssef's CV and discovered he used to be a ping pong champ back in Egypt so we no longer feel so bad that he used to demolish us on the ping pong table ..............

Zaijian Lanzhou No.33 Middle School

2007-12-04T23:43:00.000-08:00

Class 9

Class 12

The students perform exercises outside every morning

Banquet at The Green Hotel

This morning was the last time I will teach at Lanzhou No.33 Middle School. I will definitely miss teaching the students. In the evening myself, Erika, and Jeff were invited to attend a banquet with the Headmaster of the School, some representatives from Lanzhou University, and some English teachers from the Middle School. It was a very fun evening and the teachers from the Middle School were very appreciative of our volunteer work at the school. As a leaving present I presented the Middle School with a book about Christchurch for their School Library.

It's December already?!

2007-12-03T20:39:00.000-08:00

It seems strange that we will be leaving Lanzhou in less than 3 weeks. The time has gone by very quickly! I have been surprised to see some Christmas decorations around. The photos above were all taken at the Lanzhou Legend Hotel. At our local supermarket just outside the main gate there is a Christmas section with decorations and all of the staff are wearing Santa Hats.

Happy Birthday Marie

2007-12-02T23:31:00.000-08:00

Youssef, Anca, Marie, Lali and Luis in the Guest House

Today was Marie's birthday so we celebrated by going to a Uygur Restaurant for dinner and having a delicious cake. We have had many birthday's in the group over the last four months but Marie's is the last!

Shopping

2007-12-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we visited an Antiques Market just off the Pedestrian Street (the main shopping area in Lanzhou). You never know what you'll find at the markets here!

Class Invasion

2007-11-30T13:34:00.000-08:00

Rafael showing the children where he is from

Dinora telling the children about Mexico

The Buzzy Bee was quite popular

Three Wise Men and a Scot

"Maybe if I close my eyes for long enough the scary foreigners will go away"

This morning our Comprehensive Chinese class was "invaded" by a group of very cute children from a local kindergarten. They sung a song for us and recited a poem. Each of us then told the children where we are from and how we say "hello" in our own language.

Shui Che Yuan Primary School Visit

2007-11-29T12:52:00.000-08:00

Primary School Main Building

Myself and Marie with some students

Playing charades, but I couldn't quite make out Lili's "elephant"

Some students showed us their artistic talents

Yesterday we visited Shui Che Yuan Primary School in Lanzhou City. There are around 2200 students in the school and students begin studying English from Grade 3. Some students performed for us and we then played some games with them. This is a well-resourced school and the difference between this school and the rural primary school we visited last month is striking.

Photos of Lanzhou University Post-Grad Campus

2007-11-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

One of the student canteens

The Main Gate

Looking out of the Main Gate

Student Dorm Buildings

Just outside the back gate of the University (behind the Guest House)

Another view of the small market outside the back gate

The Medical Campus which is outside the back gate of the Post-Grad Campus

The side gate to the University. Our favourite fried rice restaurant is just around the corner

Traffic

2007-11-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

A common obstacle on country roads

One of the buses, however usually they are a lot more crowded

A toll gate on the road leading into the city

Once you get out of the city the roads are a lot less busy!

Xinzhuangling Tunnel

The traffic in Lanzhou city can be a little crazy at times. The handbook we were given at the beginning informed us that to cross the road safely we should "walk and stop between lanes with a group of locals." Although we can't seem to work out the road rules here, we haven't seen many crashes at all. We do have the theory that you always give way to bigger vehicles. It seems to work. Once out of the city the roads are very different. Although you occasionally meet obstacles in the form of hay-stacked tractors and the like!

Kung Fu

2007-11-28T08:59:00.000-08:00

The bus ride back to the city

Graham and Jeff have decided to become Kung-Fu Masters

Practicing with the performers after the show

Lanzhou University Undergrad Campus

Yesterday afternoon we were invited to watch a Kung Fu performance by the Lanzhou University High Level Martial Arts Team. Many students performed and after having practiced a little Kung Fu and Tai Chi ourselves, we were all very impressed by the performance. The performance was on Lanzhou University's Undergrad Campus, around a 45 minute drive from the city.

Zaijian Class 2 and Class 5

2007-11-27T17:38:00.000-08:00

Class 5

Class 2 working on their letters

Class 2

This morning was the last time I will teach Classes 2 and 5 at Lanzhou No.33 Middle School. I have really enjoyed teaching these classes and I am sure that I have learned just as much from the students as they have learned from me. I was very impressed by the students enthusiasm for learning and of course their classroom behavior given that there are more than 55 students in each class!

For one of my final exercises I asked the students to compose a very short letter using the following sentence to begin; "I would like the people of Christchurch to know ........"

Here are some of their responses;

"I would like the people of Christchurch to know that China as more than 5000 years history. We are very happy that more foreigners come to China."

"I would like the people of Christchurch to know about our school life. We are very busy. We study at school at least 8 hours. But we have beef noodles."

"I would like the people of Christchurch to know that Lanzhou is a big city. And the people of Lanzhou are very friendly, kind, and honest."

"I would like the people of Christchurch to know about Lanzhou's Beef Noodles, they are very famous and very delicious. Lanzhou has a long history. Gansu is a very important province in China. I think our city is wonderful, but needs more and more construction."

But my personal favourite is;

"I would like the people of Christchurch to know about our teacher who has a head like a television. He's very lovely."

It's very cold .................

2007-11-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

Our Chinese Culture Class with Professor Tuo

Jeff studying hard

Myself and Tatsuji trying to keep warm in class

It has been gradually getting much colder over the past few weeks, winter is definitely here. But at least the weather won't distract us from studying for our final exams! Unfortunately there was no heating in our classroom this afternoon, so it was pretty cold. The weather in Lanzhou is hot in Summer, around 25-30 degrees, but in December and January it can get down to -11 degrees or below!

Food

2007-11-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

Dumplings

The famous beef noodles

Outside our favourite Fried Rice Restaurant just outside the side gate of the campus

Fried Rice Restaurant

Aside from a few trips to restaurants with Western Food, most of us here really love the local food. And eating here is very, very cheap! Lunch usually costs less than $1. The other good thing is that you can always buy water, soft drinks etc outside a restaurant and then take it inside to have with your meal. The student canteens on campus serve a large variety of very cheap food. We have worked out that the dumplings taste best in the morning if you go and get them in the break between language classes! Some of us are also very fond of Uygur food (kebabs and a flat bread called Nan). It will be hard to go back to paying more than $3 or $4 for a good meal!

Graham's Birthday

2007-11-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

Birthdays are always a good excuse to go out for Western food

The Guest House Lobby

Yesterday was Graham's birthday so we all celebrated by going out to a western Coffee Shop for lunch and then dinner and Karaoke at night. Birthday's are a good chance for all of the group to get together. Because the group is so large and we are all very busy with individual projects as well as classes, it is sometimes hard to get everyone together! We have been together for around 3 months now so it will be hard to say goodbye to everyone. However most of us are looking forward to Christmas at home with friends and family, and I am especially looking forward to a long hot summer!

Language Class - Oral Presentations

2007-11-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Jeff the persistant shopkeeper and Dinora (Mexico) the persistent shopper

Lili (Philippines) and Graham

Akiko and Luis (Cuba)

Lali (Madagascar) and Anca

Valiantsina (Belarus) and Scott

Youssef and Marie

Our classes are going well, but it seems hard to believe that we only have another week or so of classes. After that we will have some time to prepare for our final exams. Yesterday in class we demonstrated our language skills with some oral presentations. The situation? Shopping of course!

Class 12 Meeting - Lanzhou No.33 Middle School

2007-11-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Class 12

Students preparing the string for the chopsticks game

Traditional Dance

The English Teachers office at Lanzhou No.33 Middle School

Today myself, Erika,and Jeff were invited to visit Class 12's Class Meeting at Lanzhou No.33 Middle School. Class 12 is one of the classes that I teach. There are 54 students in the class and all of the students are very enthusiastic about learning English. They had put a lot of effort into preparing activities for us today. The topic of the meeting was culture and the students talked about Chinese culture and history. We listened to some classical music, a student performed a dance, a couple of students sung, and one student performed Kung Fu. We also played a game with chopsticks. Erika, Jeff and myself had to pick up ping-pong balls with chopsticks in both hands and then climb through some string that had been strung across the classroom. It was all going fine, until I slipped on the floor and Jeff took out first prize. All 3 of us were very impressed with the efforts of the students and grateful for the chance to learn more about Chinese culture.

Air Pollution

2007-11-23T16:21:00.000-08:00

Despite the best efforts of the local government and its people to improve the environment, unfortunately Lanzhou remains one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world.
Lanzhou is situated in a valley and in addition to vehicle emissions, heavy industrial emissions, and very dry conditions which compound the problem, a lot of construction work is undertaken within the city. Coal is also the main source of fuel. The local government first started to work on air pollution projects in the 1980's. I took these two photos this afternoon to show how construction work in the city can affect the air quality.

Happy Birthday Anca

2007-11-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

Anca (Ambassador from Romania) and the group in the Guest House Lobby

Anca's Cake

Today was Anca's birthday. We all went out for dinner and then celebrated with cake in the Guest House.

First Hospital of Lanzhou University

2007-11-21T20:33:00.000-08:00

The group visiting one of the wards

Outside an operating room

The entrance to an operating room

The entrance to the inpatient building

This afternoon we visited the First Hospital of Lanzhou University. The Hospital has an 23-storey inpatient building with over 800 beds and 18 operating rooms. The Hospital first opened in 1948 as the Medicine College of Lanzhou University. A lot of the equipment in the hospital comes from the U.S. The key areas of this hospital are cardiovascular surgery, blood diagnosis, general surgery, and obstetrics. Gansu has a high incidence rate of Congenital Heart Disease (nearly 8%) and since 1998 medical teams from other countries have been sent by an international charitable organization, Children's Heartlink, to work with the Cardiovascular Surgery Department. While visiting the hospital we met a 3 year-old who is due to leave the hospital tomorrow after a heart operation.

Photos of Lanzhou No.33 Middle School

2007-11-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

Lanzhou No.33 School Building

The new school building that is due to be finished very soon

Sellers outside the side gate of the school. During breaks the students
all come to the gate to buy food.

No. 12 Class

Myself and Erika with 3 of the school's English Teachers

At 10:30 every morning the students all gather outside for group exercises

Test Day

2007-11-19T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hu Laoshi

This morning we had our second test in our Elementary Chinese class. The quiz after our first five lessons was a lot easier! Although some of us struggle with the Chinese characters and pronunciation, we have definitely made some progress. For some reason most people in the class already knew most of the expressions for shopping before we came to that lesson. Unfortunately our final exam in a couple of weeks probably won't focus on how to ask for a discount!

Cooking Class 101

2007-11-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

The group evaluating our new cooking skills

Noodles

Scott perfecting his skills

The kitchen

Today a group of us went to another campus for a cooking class. We learned how to make a beef dish, a tomato and egg dish, and most importantly, noodles.

Olympic Games Preparation

2007-11-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

The Olympic Store - Pedestrian Street Shopping Area

Olympic Countdown Clock in Xi'an

Gansu Agricultural University

2007-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Yousef and Director Ding Hongxing (Gansu Foreign Affairs Office) playing Badminton with some students on campus.

This afternoon we visited the Gansu Agricultural University, which is located on the banks of the Yellow River in Anning District, Lanzhou City. This is the only Agricultural University in Gansu Province and has over 11,000 undergrad and 1500 post-grad students. The University has set up a number of exchanges, in particular with American universities.

Zaijian Cynthia!

2007-11-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

This evening we held a party for Cynthia from Brazil as she is returning home early from the programme.

Lanzhou No. 33 Middle School

2007-11-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I taught two classes at Lanzhou No. 33 Middle School. The topic this week was education and the students were very interested in learning more about the New Zealand education system. In the afternoon a group of us visited Lanzhou University’s School of Education. It was great to have the opportunity to meet both Professors and students from the school.

Train trip to Xi'an - Warriors, western food and a bathroom with a view

2007-11-12T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Chinese version of a meat pie

With a young friend who approached me in the market. He seemed to find my actions very amusing and took delight in mimicking my English.

We *had* to see if it tastes the same .............

The Beiyuan men Islamic Street Market

Jeff on the train on the way home

Marie at the Night Market

The Bell Tower

Our hotel bathroom with a view

Big Goose Pagoda

Pit No.1

For a second we wondered if we had stayed on the bus one stop too long ..........

At the Night Market

Mt Lishan Cable Car

Xi'an - where East meets the West

Pit No.1

The warriors are so life-like

Huaqing Hot Springs

This weekend 13 of us from the group decided to take a trip to Xi'an, Shannxi Province. Called Chang'an in ancient times, Xian is one of the birthplaces of ancient civilization and 13 dynasties such as Western Zhou (11th century BC - 771 BC), Qin (221 BC - 206 BC), Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD) and Tang (618 - 907) placed their capitals here. Many tourists travel to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors that were unearthed after a group of peasants found some pottery while digging for a well near the royal tomb of Qin Shi Huang in 1974. Upon ascending the throne at the age of 13 (in 246 BC), Qin Shi Huang had already begun to work on his mausoleum (which took 11 years to finish). Today the museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. They were tagged in the order of their discoveries. No. 1 Pit is the largest, first opened to the public on China's National Day, 1979. Seeing the warriors was definitely top of our list of things to do in Xi'an.

We took the overnight train from Lanzhou on Friday night and arrived in Xi'an on Saturday morning. After checking in we all went our separate ways for breakfast. I'd like to say that we all resisted the temptation to have McD's and Starbucks ......... We then took a bus to see the Terracotta Warriors. Afterwards we visited the Huaqing Hot Springs. These Springs were a popular retreat with Emperors more than 2500 years ago. The legend says that in the Qing Dynasty Emperor Xuan Zong fell in love with an ordinary girl, Yang Guifei, after whom the Springs are named in honour of her beauty. Xi'an also has a large Muslim area with many excellent restaurants and a very good market. The next day some of us visited the Big Goose Pagoda before doing some serious shopping in the market. The train back was a little cramped, but fortunately most of us were so tired that we slept all the way home.

Waiban Presentations

2007-11-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

Erika delivering her presentation with Jeff lending a hand

Graham's presentation on Fife, Scotland

It's been a long week ..............

Each week different people have been giving presentations on their respective countries at Waiban (the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office). This is a good chance for us all to learn more about the different places Gansu has established sister city links with. In our group there are ambassadors from the following of Gansu's sister cities; Japan, Egypt, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, Hungary, Romania, Madagascar, the Philippines, Belarus, America, Korea, Namibia and Scotland.

Geely Car Company and Rural Primary School Visit, Zhong Chuan County

2007-11-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

With a student of Liao Jia Cao Primary School

A classroom at the school

Rafael (Uruguay) and a student

Liao Jia Cao Primary School

Geely Car Company

I guess Liu Kai (our cameraman) wasn't happy
with the pig's camera presence .........

La Chi Ka Cun Village

Investment & Trade Promotion Bureau of Gansu Province

2007-11-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

Myself with Director-General Zhang Shien

This afternoon we visited the Investment & Trade Promotion Bureau of Gansu Province to find out more about the local economy and Gansu's key investment projects. After the meeting the Bureau hosted a banquet for us at the Legend Hotel.

Acrobatic Troupe

2007-11-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight we attended a free performance in Lanzhou. The performance marked the end of the 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

Halloween

2007-11-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

A great night! We hired a room at a Karaoke place and many of the Foreign Affairs Office staff attended as well.

Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute

2007-10-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we visited the Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute (GNERI). This Institute was established in 1978 and is mainly involved in the study and development of solar heating and energy-saving techniques. The Institute has invited many foreign experts to study at its facilities.

Lanzhou Art Gallery Visit

2007-10-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Scott

This afternoon we visited a couple of art galleries in Lanzhou City.

Soccer

2007-10-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

The boys preparing to take the field

Mmmmmmm ............ Hotpot

This afternoon some of the boys played a game of soccer with Margaret's (from the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office) husband's team. Unfortunately we didn't win, although Scott scored a great goal. Afterwards we all went to a delicious hotpot restaurant overlooking the Yellow River.

The Yellow River

2007-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

An inflated sheepskin raft

Any last words?

Lanzhou is the only Provincial city through which the Yellow River runs. Tourists can go for a cruise on the river by motor-boat, or on ancient style rafts made up of inflated sheepskins. Apparently the history of these rafts can be traced back over 2,000 years. Lanzhou is also home to Zhongshan Bridge, the first bridge over the Yellow River that was completed in 1909.

Pingliang City

2007-10-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

Wumiao Village, Jingning County

Beautiful Kongtong Mountain

The best banquet yet!

Wu Yue Village

Paparazzi

An 85 year old resident of Wu Yue Village

We left for a road trip on Thursday morning. This time we headed east to Pingliang City. This city is at the juncture of 3 provinces, Shanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. The bus ride to get there was very bumpy but we are used to spending our time on the bus! After a delicious banquet for lunch we visited Wu Yue Village. This village is home to 437 families and in recent times the village has undergone a period of development, resulting in a dramatic increase in the quality of life of its inhabitants. We met a beautiful 85 year old woman who lives in the village. We then drove to Kongtong Mountain which is located on the western outskirts of Pingliang. Kongtong Mountain is regarded as the birthplace of Taoism and is a scenic wonder. The 600 very step steeps up to the peak are definitely worth the effort. At night we had a very beautiful banquet at Pingliang Hotel. The table was unlike anything I've seen before and the food was delicious. Today we visited Jingning County before returning to Lanzhou. While there we visited another village, Wumiao and an Agricultural Demonstration Area that has received recognition for its apples.

Theatre

2007-10-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

This evening we attended a local Theatre in Lanzhou. The performances were very beautiful but once again the 'Dance of the Thousand Buddha Hands' stole the show.

Lanzhou No. 33 Middle School and Lanzhou Daxue Primary School

2007-10-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

English class at Lanzhou Daxue Primary School

The students with their regular English Teacher

Today I began teaching 4 classes at Lanzhou No. 33 Middle School. The school is located next to the Lanzhou University Post-Grad campus. Many of the students in my classes have a high English level ability. The students all seem keen to speak English and some knew some basic facts about New Zealand. The classes are very well behaved, especially considering the average class size is 60!! For the past few weeks I have also been teaching one class a week at the Primary School located next to the Guest House I am staying in on campus. The students also enjoy studying and are very energetic.

Dumplings

2007-10-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Marie perfecting her dumpling technique

We all love Dumplings. Although I believe one member of our group has actually consumed more dumplings that the rest of us put together! This morning we visited another campus and learned how to make dumplings. Like Tai Chi, making dumplings is a lot harder than it looks. We all had fun, but since it took us over 2 hours to make them, and we usually pay less than 5o cents for 8 delicious dumplings from the student canteen, I don't think I'll be making anymore dumplings anytime soon!

Tai Chi

2007-10-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

We have started a Tai Chi class on Thursdays. I have been out a few mornings before class on my morning run and have seen many groups of people doing Tai Chi. Their movements look very graceful. Ours do not. Tai Chi seems to be one of those things that looks easy to do, but isn't. Although for some reason we all seem to pick up the Kung Fu moves a lot easier! I have actually been really impressed with the attitude towards exercise here. In the mornings there are many people out doing Tai Chi, playing badminton, running and walking. It seems to be that everyone, no matter how young or old, exercises. School children also do compulsory exercises in the morning.

Baiyin Techonology Park

2007-10-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

The 'People's Square' Baiyin City

Dinner with Municipal Leaders

Today we visited the Baiyin Technology Park in Baiyin City. Baiyin is located approx 80 kms north of Lanzhou and has a population of 1.75 million. Baiyin was decreed as a "hotspot area for investment" by the Hong Kong Investment Trade Promotion Association in 2004. In October 2001 a contract was signed between the China Science Academy and the Baiyin Municipal Government that established the foundations for a high-tech industrial park in the city. The total area planned for the park is 16 square kilometres, incorporating an industrial development area, living services areas, an ecological green area, and a high-tech service area. In the future the leading industries for Baiyin are predicted to be non-ferrous metals, new energy sources and eco-medicines.

Confession

2007-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I must confess. Although we love Beef Noodles someone told us about a local hotel that serves Western food, namely hamburgers. Needless to say we had to go and check them out. But I'm sure it'll just be the once .................

Photos from Turfan

2007-10-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

Map of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Escaping from a tomb at the Astana Burial Grounds

The Astana Burial Grounds

The Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves

The ruins of Ancient Jiaohe City

Ready to take on the world ...................

The Emin Minaret

The Flaming Mountains of Turfan

Tuyugou Village

National Holiday Week - Oct 1-7th

2007-10-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

The hard beds on the train

The "hard bed" carriage on the train

Outside the most famous Nan (flat bread) store in Urumqi

The dried grapes that are famous from this area

Urumqi City

A sign showing 3 of the languages used in Urumqi - English, Mandarin and Uyghur

We very lucky and had a whole week off classes due to National Holidays. I elected to travel to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. With 3 other delegates I left Lanzhou on the 1st and headed into the west. The train ride to the capital, Urumqi, was around 20 hours. I wasn't quite sure what to expect about the train ride. Initially the waiting room at Lanzhou Station seemed to confirm my suspicions that I was not in for a comfortable ride. However I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the time passed and I would definitely recommend traveling by train around China. We had hard beds on the train, although to be honest I'm not sure that they were any harder than our usual beds! Urumqi is a bustling, modern city. A large number of minority groups inhabit the city (officially 13 ethnic groups) and this makes Urumqi and Xinjiang a very interesting place to visit. Aside from anything else the food in this area is very good! We also visited Turfan for a couple of days. This area is abundant with tourist attractions definitely worth a visit.

Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

2007-09-30T20:09:00.000-07:00

Labrang Lamasery

The Grasslands

Taken from the bus on the way home

The most stylish way of pouring water I've ever seen

Our cameraman taking Jeff for a ride

The Grasslands

This weekend we went on another road trip. This time we headed south to Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. On Saturday night we visited the Grassland area near our hotel. This area is absolutely amazing. The scenery is world-class and the people are very open and friendly. We rode horses and were entertained with local dances while eating dinner. The next morning we visited Labrang Lamasery. This is one of the six major monasteries belonging to the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was erected in 1709 and is also the largest institute higher learning of Tibetan Buddhism.

Foreign Experts Dinner

2007-09-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

Once a year a Banquet is hosted for all of the foreigners working in Lanzhou. The dinner was also a celebration of the 58th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. This was a good chance for us delegates to met other foreigners. It is also at this Banquet that the Gansu Provincial Government grants the "Dunhuang Award" to foreigners in recognition of their contribution to the development of Gansu Province. This award has been granted every year since 1996. Although Dave Adamson from the Christchurch City Council could not attend the Banquet to receive his award, he is obviously thought of very highly here in Gansu. We were entertained at dinner with a variety of performances, including dances by students from the Northwest Minority University.

A lunch disaster .............

2007-09-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Graham and I decided to be somewhat adventurous for lunch today. Big mistake. We chose a restaurant at random and the fact that the staff seemed to be sleeping when we entered should have been the first sign that lunch wasn't going to go smoothly. The second indicator should have been that not only was the menu entirely in Chinese, we couldn't recognise any of the characters. The third indicator should have been when we randomly pointed at items on the menu and the waitress laughed. The end result was a complete disaster. A big pot was brought to the table with various things inside. I would like to say what was boiling away inside the pot but to be honest all I can remember is a tentacle, some celery, and something resembling boiled snake skin..................

Five Springs Mountain

2007-09-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

After initially catching the wrong bus a group of us made it to the bottom of Five Springs Mountain by mid-morning. The park on the mountain is the largest in Lanzhou. The Middle Peak of the Five Springs Mountain, the highest point in the park, reaches 1,600 meters (5,294 feet). While there is an amusement park, a zoo, and naturally a large number of people milling around, there are many beautiful temples to explore and the view from the top is well worth the effort.

Gansu Provincial Musuem

2007-09-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Galloping Horse

Today we visited the Gansu Provincial Museum. There are altogether thirteen exhibiting halls in the museum. The most famous relic is the bronze Galloping Horse, a 1,800 year old statue that was excavated in 1969 in Wuwei.

Waiban

2007-09-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the Foreign Affairs Office (Waiban) for the first time. We have all been paired with a staff member from the office in order to exchange ideas and information about our respective countries and China. Those delegates whose country did not have a representative in Gansu on last year's programme will be giving presentations in the following weeks to the rest of the group and the Waiban staff. Some of us have started playing ping-pong in our spare time. Although I must admit it is a bit discouraging to be annihilated by small children!

Time to study ..................

2007-09-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Language class: Youssef (Egypt), Jeff, Graham, Dinora (Mexico),
and Cynthia (Brazil) learning a Chinese song

A major component of our time here will be spent studying Chinese language and culture. We had our first culture class yesterday with Professor Tuo. We have a total of 8 language classes a week and judging by our first lesson we're going to need all of them!

The Guest House

2007-09-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

The front of the Guest House

My room. Each of us have our own room with an ensuite

Lanzhou University Guest House

Jeff "working" at the front desk

The view from my window

All of the delegates are staying at the Guest House on Lanzhou University's Post-Grad campus. The Guest House is really nice and is only a couple of minutes walk from the building we have classes in. The University was founded in 1909 and since 2001 has gained recognition as one of the 38 key Universities cooperatively sponsored by the Ministry of Education and local Provincial Government. Currently Lanzhou University consists of 31 Schools with 32,109 undergraduates, 6677 postgraduates and over 100 International students.

The long ride home ...........

2007-09-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Map of Gansu Province

Jinchuan Non-Ferrous Metal Corporation (JNMC)

Our last banquet on Sunday before coming back to Lanzhou

Scott and our bus driver for the week

Jeff and myself being interviewed by a local TV station

Drinks at a Banquet - coke, wine, baiju, tea

Akiko and Tatsuji on the bus at JNMC

We began the long journey home on Saturday, via Zhangye and Jinchang. In Zhangye we visited an Agricultural Garden and a Water Irrigation Exhibition Hall. Conserving water is a major focus of local government as Gansu is very arid. Jinchang is an industrial city and we visited the Jinchuan Non-Ferrous Metal Corportation (JNMC) this morning. Jinchuan Group Ltd is the largest producer of nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals in China. At our final banquet for lunch most of us couldn't even eat half of the dishes presented! We got back on the bus after lunch and headed for home. We have had an amazing week, and we all feel very fortunate to have had the chance to explore so much of Gansu Province. We learned a few lessons this week as well;
1. Always be kind to your bus driver as it is his or her job to keep you alive in the often crazy traffic. 2. All of us in the group could never make it in the army as the rations we had brought with us for the week we had eaten within a day of us leaving Lanzhou. 3. Gansu is a little-known treasure in the North-West of China that has abundant attractions and beautiful scenery well worth a visit.

Jiuquan City

2007-09-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

"Happy Birthday Miss Hungary" - Erika and the group outside our hotel in Jiuquan

Wine Spring Park

A worker making Jade Cups at the Luminous Cup Factory

A lunch banquet with city officials

Gansu Dayu Water-Saving Company Co.

Today was Erika's birthday (Ambassador from Hungary). We had arrived in Jiuquan late last night and had visited the Night Market before crashing. Life on the road is fun, but we are all feeling the effects of staying in a different hotel every night! This morning we visited Wine Spring Park, a famous site of the West Han Dynasty. We also visited the Luminous Cup Factory of Jiuquan. The cups are made from Qilianshan Jade and were first produced more than 2,000 years ago.

Dunhuang

2007-09-13T20:30:00.000-07:00

Site of the Mogao Grottoes

Mogao Grottoes

Jeff demonstrating how not to get off a camel ..........

Dunhuang Night Market

A Wind Farm

The magnificent sand dunes

Marie (Ambassador from Kamakura, Japan) discovering the easiest way to get back down

On Wednesday morning we had a very long bus ride to Dunhuang. In ancient times, Dunhuang was the center of trade between China and neighbours in the west. At that time, it was the most westerly frontier military garrison in China. Today Dunhuang is most famous for the Mogao Grottoes, which are considered to be the richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. The work that went into constructing the Grottoes spans more than a thousand years and the site was justifiably listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. While in Dunhuang we also visited the beautiful Mingsha Mountains and the Crescent Moon Spring. Despite being surrounded by towering sand dunes the Spring has never been submerged by sand. After climbing to the top of the sand dunes for a breathtaking view, most of us elected to take the easy way back to the bus, by camel.

Jiayuguan City

2007-09-11T21:34:00.000-07:00

Our ever-present cameraman preparing to amaze us with his strength

5 seconds later .................

There's obviously something about wearing a hard hat ..............

Jeff's birthday celebrations

Jiayuguan Pass

Graham taking a shot

The advancing "enemy"

Jiayuguan Pass

After another early morning start we headed for Jiayuguan City (located in the middle part of the Gansu Corridor). After checking in to our hotel we headed out for Jiayuguan Pass. This was a key pass of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty (AD1368-1644) and is the best preserved today. The pass was listed as a world cultural relic by UNESCO in 1986. Jeff, Graham and myself took the opportunity to do some archery from the top of the Great Wall. I have to admit that any advancing enemy would have no problem dodging my arrows! I think even the lady handing out the arrows thought I was a lost cause. In the afternoon we visited JISCO - Jiuquan Iron and Steel (Group) Co. The company's products are used in construction, welding, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, and transportation. We returned to the hotel and celebrated Jeff's birthday. We were all tired after another day on the road ......................

In and around Shandan

2007-09-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Myself and Luis from Cuba

With a new friend outside our hotel in Shandan

110th Anniversary of Rewi Alley's birth

2007-09-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Erika (the Ambassador from Hungary), Jeff, Graham, and myself at the ceremony

Scott and myself with the New Zealand Ambassador, Anthony Browne

Shandan Bailie School

Myself and Bill Willmott

Students from the Shandan Bailie School

This morning we attended the celebrations for the 110th Anniversary of Rewi Alley's birth. I think it is difficult to describe to New Zealander's how important Rewi Alley's legacy is to the people of China, and in particular to the people of Shandan. The New Zealand Ambassador to China, Anthony Browne, was also at the ceremony which was held at the Shandan Bailie School. After the ceremony we had a short tour around the school. In the afternoon we were shown around the town and visited a beautiful Buddhist Temple. At night we were treated to a perfomance in honour of Rewi Alley's life. Our favorite performance was the dance of the Thousand Buddha Hands.

ROAD TRIP!

2007-09-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Graham monitoring the traffic situation from the back of the bus

Our first look at the Great Wall

Myself and Li Ting (Margaret) from the Gansu Foreign Affairs Office

Around 8am we all met in the lobby of the Guest House and boarded the bus for a week long road trip around Gansu Province. Our first stop was Wuwei, around four hours away. The traffic in Lanzhou city has been a little difficult to get used to, but we have developed a theory that the bigger the vehicle you are traveling in, the more likely it is that you have the right of way. Thus, we felt very safe on the coach! We had lunch in Wuwei and visited Leitai Si, the place where the town's single most famous object, the Han-dynasty Flying Horse of Wuwei, was discovered in 1969. We had our first look at remains of the Great Wall after getting back on the road, and arrived in Shandan late in the afternoon. Not many tourists seem to pass through Shandan so we attracted quite a lot of attention. After dinner at the hotel we all went for a walk through the small township and soon a small crowd gathered behind us. Jeff, Graham and I were beaten by some kids at Ping-Pong. And although our rendition of "Do-re-mi" for the kids wasn't exactly top-notch, the crowd clapped anyway!

Opening Ceremony Photos

2007-09-08T22:41:00.001-07:00

Myself and the "Japanese Team" - Akiko, Tatsuji and Marie

Graham performing a Scottish song for his fans

Thrills at White Pagoda Mountain

2007-09-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

The end of the flying fox ................

Jeff demonstrating what could potentially happen at the end of the flying fox.

White Pagoda Mountain

This morning 4 of us set out for White Pagoda Mountain. We took a cable car over the Yellow River to the top of the mountain and then wandered down. There are great views of the city from the top. On the way down we came across a small pond with giant oxygen filled balloons. Two of us elected to try the balloons out. Basically we stepped into a giant deflated balloon which was pumped full of oxygen, sealed, and then pushed out onto the pond. It was fun for the first 5 minutes, until the combination of laughing so hard from falling over and a lack of oxygen made us question our decision. After exiting the balloon I think the sudden influx of oxygen went straight to my head and I convinced myself that along with the guys I should try out the flying fox on the mountain. It was fun, but for a brief moment at the end of the when I saw that only 2 men holding a rope stood between me and a thick pad I had another moment of clarity and questioned my apparently low safety standards! After finally making it down to the bottom of the mountain we walked back to campus and got ready for the Opening Ceremony for the Ambassador Program. The ceremony was our first chance to experience a Chinese Banquet and we were all very impressed. Although it was also our first chance to be asked to sing ...................

Mmmmmmmm

2007-09-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

Graham (Fife, Scotland), myself, Jeff (Oklahoma, USA), and Tatsuji (Utsuki, Japan) beside a Beef Noodle Statue on the Pedestrian Street - Lanzhou's main shopping area.

Beef Noodles, Exercise Machines and Blood Tests

2007-09-07T19:22:00.000-07:00

Outside the International Travel Healthcare Center

Jeff, the Ambassador from Oklahoma, trying out an exercise machine

By now most of the Sister City Ambassadors had arrived. There are 19 of us in the group, representing 16 of Gansu's Sister Cities. Aside from catching up on some sleep we have begun to explore the city. We also had to have our medical records checked at the International Health Center for Foreigners. Unfortunately some people had forgotten to bring the original copies of their records and had to undergo a variety of tests. We're still not sure what Scott's ultrasound was for .......... At the Health Center we first discovered the exercise machines. We have since seen a number of exercise machine parks around the city and many people use these machines for their daily exercise. Before leaving for Lanzhou I had heard from some Chinese students that Beef Noodles were famous here. However I had no idea that they would taste so good!

Photos of Lanzhou City

2007-09-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Lanzhou is the capital city of Gansu Province and has a very interesting history. The city used to serve as a resting place for travelers on the Silk Road along which people once used camels to transport goods through western China. The city is home to more than 3 million people (and 36 ethnic minority groups). Lanzhou began to develop rapidly after 1949 and while not a major tourist spot, it is strategically placed as a gateway to Northwest China. The city stretches along the Yellow River and is surrounded by mountains. Major industries include petrochemicals and machine production. Gansu is known for its fresh produce such as watermelons, peaches and corn. Staple foods include potatoes, pork, mutton, and vegetables, but above all else beef noodles!

Christchurch to Gansu!

2007-09-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Scott and I departed Christchurch Airport bound for Lanzhou, via Auckland and Shanghai, on Monday September 4th. We were both excited to finally be on our way after hearing so many positive comments about Gansu from last years participants. We arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday morning after a sleepless night on the plane. After transferring to Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport we *finally* boarded our plane to Lanzhou. When we arrived at Lanzhou Airport we were met by Yuan Mei (Mary), the Program Manager of the Foreign Affairs Office at Lanzhou University. We were taken to the University campus that is to be our home for the next 4 months. The Guest House we were are staying is very comfortable. Although I have a feeling that only having hot water at certain times of the day may prove interesting .............