My week at BaoDing #17 Junior High has been an amazing experience. I have never been greeted so warmly and treated so well in any school in my life!

I have been showered with gifts and attention from students and faculty. Some were items they, their parent, or grandparent made, and all are items that represent traditional Chinese arts and culture. I will bring these back to our school to share with our students and faculty.

This week has been named “American Week” in honor of my visit and will be so every year in the years to come. The American flag hangs in the courtyard beside the Chinese flag and posters adorn the inside and out highlighting American icons, history and landmarks.

The students want to talk with me in English and have many questions about America and our schools. They are interested in knowing what our students do in their spare time, the culture of the school and community, but most importantly details about our classes and schedules. I have been asked many questions regarding what they should do to come to the US to study either high school or college and how they can improve their English skills. Many want to attend US colleges. They know about the Ivy League schools and aspire to attend. They participate in many English competitions and work hard to pass various exams to show proficiency in English, most importantly the TOFEL exam.

I have observed many classes and presentations, was invited to participate in some!

One was lesson in traditional Chinese art using a variety of techniques including the calligraphy brushes. I shared the envelopes decorated by our students, giving one to each student in the art class. Inside was a piece of Hershey chocolate, a fortune in Chinese and English, and a friendship pin of the US and Chinese flag. They were very impressed as the techniques used were like that which they had just learned! (Mrs. Yocum must have done some research!!)

Afterward, the Art teacher gave me a bag of calligraphy brushes, ink, paint and paper to bring back to our students!

I also participated in gym class today, practicing the art of the ancient Chinese yo-yo (I was not so good!) and then a team relay with the yo-yo, in which I excelled!

I observed many English classes and a physics class.
Teachers are very skilled at designing lessons that encourage teamwork, collaboration and higher-level thinking. (Far beyond recall and comprehension) Students solve problems together and expand on the topic with questioning and exploration. They demonstrated how the content could be applied in new and different situations. For example, in physics the lesson included a simple experiment that demonstrated the techniques used to help ships pass through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam. The students were asked to think about where else they have seen this principle used and came up with many examples.
They asked questions, challenged each other’s thinking, and inquired as to how changing some factors in the experiment would change the outcome. In English class they were asked to create a proverb to summarize that which they learned from reading a biography about Matthew Henson, an explorer who was first to the North Pole (accompanying Robert Peary). Their ideas were rich.

I also met with several small groups of teachers and students to answer questions about US school and community life. Teachers want to understand that which we do and are so eager to improve their skills. Students are hungry for knowledge and advice concerning how to improve and be successful in their studies. We have many similarities and of course, differences. They are trying to be more like us, yet in some ways seem advanced in our similar efforts in the classroom. Many expressed that they like American independence and freedom to choose. They are implementing strategies like problem-based learning and team collaboration/cooperative groups with fidelity. I participated with a group of seventeen teachers who were working together to plan next week’s English class.

Two young teachers shared their lesson plan and others, including the Principal, gave brutally honest critique and suggestions for improvement. There was no defensiveness, or hurt feelings. The teachers welcomed this critique in order to improve the lesson and ensure greater achievement for all. The same process is used with students. Eventual success is more important than immediate personal feelings. The obedient culture and eagerness to learn, helps with implementation of these techniques. I explained that we are also trying to implement these practices due to global changes that require different skills from our students.

Some observations worth noting:

1. Students AND teachers are so driven to learn and improve! Education in China is compulsory until grade 9 and the students must pass an entrance exam to continue on to high school. Most of the students from this school will continue on and they take the exam very seriously. BaoDing #17 is known for it’s English language teaching and students from all around want to come to this public school.

2. At all levels, there is peer critique and suggestions for improvement. They are open to this- welcoming colleagues’ and peer’s ideas. They do not take this as criticism and are not intimidated, threatened or hurt by honest feedback. It is viewed as positive. Teachers and administrators observe classes and meet afterward to make suggestions for improvement to the teacher, students work in teams and discuss how to respond and solve problems, teams reflect each day and create a journal that focuses on improvement needed, individual students do the same in portfolios, and an entire class keeps a reflection journal, with students taking turns recording progress. (The students are a ‘family’ for 3 years… with the same students in the same classroom… teachers move from class to class rather than students.)

3. Teachers teach 2 to 5 classes each day. The rest of their day is spent working in teams to prepare lessons- discussing best strategies, etc., or observing /critiquing other teachers, or monitoring students during independent study.

4. Every classroom has a document camera, LCD projector and laptop in the front of the class for teacher use. I saw no computers being used by students- I was told there is a lab, but most computer work is done at night for homework. (The students who board at the school (about 300) do not have the same access to technology and are somewhat closed off from the outside world over their peers.)

5. All students are focused in class. Class sizes are about 30-37 except for 9^th grade which may be as high as 60. They sit in teams and there are many cooperative group activities. Students stand to greet the teacher at the beginning and end of class. They sit erect, do as they are told, are silent when appropriate, raise their hand to be called on, and then stand to respond. Everyone participates in class discussions and activities. There is no chance to be ‘invisible’ here. Space and resources do not seem to be a problem. Teachers and administrators are treated with the highest respect and students go out of their way to say hello to adults. They have a course on ‘moral development’ which includes lessons on allegiance to the country and are taught the expectations of how to behave in a civilized environment.

6. There are no monitors in the café and 2700 kids eat at the same time! Some may go home for lunch but about 2000 eat at school. Some grab a sandwich and eat/ walk in courtyards, most sit in a huge café. It is as lively as you would expect from 7-9^th grade, but very respectful and under control. Students work on classwork after lunch or visit with friends and play games in the courtyard like Ping-Pong or badminton. Adults do not monitor students during this time. They simply know how to behave appropriately.

7. All students wear a uniform- similar to an athletic outfit- jogging pant and jacket. (I was given one as a gift to bring home)

8. Students do not have access to computers during the school day and software for teachers and administrators is limited. They are not using computers with students to learn or create during the school day as we emphasize at SLSD.

9. All students in this school speak English fluently. Most have been studying for 5-6 years. They can read, write and speak fluently. They are learning from a British series called Penguin books, or another called Good English. The books are short stories based upon the original longer versions. Many are about daily life or famous people. There are recordings of the reading and the students have picked up a British accent. I really like this series and need to investigate if there are similar books for learning Chinese.

10. We Skyped with our students in the US one evening (China time- night / US time morning) and the language used was mostly English. The Chinese students were very formal in their questions and responses. There were many questions about sports, food, American pop culture, school and future plans. I found our students to appear much more casual than the Chinese students. The Chinese students were VERY nervous and I could see some visibly trembling. One asked forgiveness for any mistakes they may have made in English. They took this opportunity very seriously. One girl spoke to Principal Yang after the session thanking her. She had tears in her eyes and expressed how thankful she was to come from the country (rural) area to this school. She appreciated having so many opportunities to learn that she would not have had at the rural school. She said she would encourage her siblings to apply to attend BaoDing #17.

11. Chinese students think American students have an “easy” life. These students study all day and most of the evening. Quite possibly, doing without causes one to truly appreciate that which he/she has! There is a good lesson for us, I believe, as I believe most Americans take their freedoms, education, resources, and privileged lives for granted.

12. Physical exercise is a routine part of every day. Students receive exercise for one hour each day. In addition to PE class, they take short breaks 2 times each day where the entire class jogs to the track, and around it 3 times. Their teachers run along side of them. They believe strongly in the importance of fresh air and exercise to balance their day, clear their minds, and be better prepared to return to class to learn. This exercise costs nothing- no equipment needed… but of course wearing the uniform and sneakers helps. Also, every Monday morning begins with an ‘assembly’ of all 2700 students on the track/field are in lines by grade and classroom and at attention. They conduct a ceremony of raising the National flag along with some student speeches of encouragement. The day I arrived, I took part in this event and addressed the students along with Principal Yang.

13. Fashion, makeup and material things do not consume the students. They also do not seem to have the issues with cliques and bullying that we experience. I discussed this with Principal Yang. She feels that much of this is due to the moral education classes. Students are TAUGHT the expectations for behavior and being kind and helpful to each other is expected.

14. Many of the students (300) who board at the school have come from the country (rural areas), however, the majority of students live in the community surrounding the school or are children of professionals or government officials. Their parents value education and support the schools. Many do live in affluent families. They are responsible for their own transportation and arrive at school on bikes, by bus or in private cars.

15. Retired teacher continue to come to school to help with tutoring or other tasks. Their experience and wisdom is welcomed and respected.

16. Above all, everyone in this school recognizes the importance of relationships. The school- all 2700 students and 261 teachers are a family. It shows! Teachers and students alike spoke to me about how important their relationships are with each other. Priority is given to getting to know students first, in order to encourage their learning. Students love and respect their school, teachers, and their Principal. Principal Yang Xinghua has led the improvement that has caused the school’s reform over the past three years. Her leadership is evident throughout the school.

It was my honor to visit this very special school. I have much to share with our staff and return to Southern Lehigh eager figure out how we can expand the relationship with our new sister school. We can continue to share and learn from each other. Principal Yang and I have discussed future plans to connect our teachers and students via technology and hopefully, to sponsor student /teacher exchanges in the years to come.

As an ancient Chinese proverb states, "有志者，事竟成 (pinyin: yǒu zhì zhe, shì jìng chéng)" or Where there is a will, there is a way!

Here are more videos of China from Ken Lockette of Avonworth School District in Pittsburgh.

Here are some more videos of China from Ken Lockette of Avonworth School District in Pittsburgh.

I am at the sister school- BaoDing #17 getting many photos and videos. I have no time to post because they are keeping me very busy! I am learning so much! Their students (2,700!) in grades 7-9 are all fluent in English and are full of questions about the USA. We are dispelling inaccuracies from movies and TV!!! I am observing classes, activities and performances. We are going to try to videoconference tonight with Southern Lehigh Middle School students and the students here. It has been an amazing experience and I will post details as soon as I can!

Here are some videos created by Ken Lockette, one of the administrators with us from Avonworth School District.

Here are some videos created by Ken Lockette, one of the administrators with us from Avonworth School District.

What is the most important sport in China? Table Tennis (Ping-Pong), of course! We traveled to the National Training Base to experience Ping-Pong training first hand. The base is a school for children beginning as young as 5. They are recruited to learn Ping-Pong and eventually join the National Team if they are good enough. The students attend school about half of a day and practice the other half and in the evenings. Tuition for this camp is the highest we have heard so far: $10,000 Yuan/year, which includes room and board. The Principal/Director also told us that we can send our US students to the school for summer camp and they can learn Ping-Pong and Mandarin while they are here. If students stay at this school, which only goes to grade 9, and then they want to go on to high school, they must get private tutors. The emphasis is Ping-Pong, not academics, so no high school will accept them unless they can prove they are academically capable. Some go on to become professional Ping-Pong players at various levels if their skills are good enough.

We headed next to Longxing Temple, the most famous working temple for this region. Many ancient Buddha sculptures are in various structures in the temple. The gardens were beautiful and well kept. The spring blossoms and flowering lilacs filled the air and made us all a bit homesick for our yards. Maybe when we return we will experience the lilac aroma again?! Our guide spoke English and told us she taught herself because she loves the sound of our language. She did a wonderful job of explaining everything in English.

We next went to lunch and ate at a traditional Baoding restaurant. (I will be in Baoding all next week, shadowing Principal Yang). One of the specialties of Baoding is donkey meat and we had it for the first time! Donkey meatballs…tastes like beef. The restaurant was packed with 4 wedding banquets, so it must be a popular spot!

After lunch we went to 2 museums—one of local art, most of which was modern—Hebei Province folk Museum, and then to a local university which houses the Hebei Geological Museum. Here a local professor gave us a tour explaining everything from the Big Bang Theory to dinosaur finds in Hebei Province. All of the dinosaurs exhibited here are local. The one kind of dinosaur heads look very much like the Chinese dragons!... Interesting!

Evening ended with dinner and then time to pack. Our shadowing Principals will be picking each in our group up at 9:00 AM. I am eager to visit Yang Xinghua and her school in Baoding.

We arrived at the Hebei Provincial Education Department and once again were greeted by The Director of International Education. Today was a series of lectures on the Chinese National Government Policies on Education, the assessment of teachers, students and principals, and the recruitment and hiring processes of teachers and principals in Hebei Province.

It is obvious that our hosts want to improve their systems and that the Chinese government has placed a high priority on education. They have developed a 10-year plan (2010-2020) that they hope will bring dramatic change. They expressed many of the same concerns and initiatives that our schools are facing, i.e.: The challenges they face when trying to change old habits, the need for innovation and problem-solving to meet new global needs/competition, the challenges in recruiting highly qualified teachers, the need to balance written high-stake exams with higher order/’soft’ skills needed for the 21^st century, the problems faced when college graduates cannot find jobs, etc. It is interesting how similar our systems are while our cultures are so different!

Our first speaker was Shuxing Zong of Hebei Education and Science Research Institute, a Professor/Researcher who has helped develop Provincial policies and works with master students in Hebei University. Dr. Shuxing gave a detailed history of the Chinese political system in regard to educational policy-making and explained the processes used to develop new educational policies including the Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation of new policies. He explained that in 1986 China developed compulsory education for all children grades 1-9, but that it has taken 20 years to implement due to the many very rural areas in China. The plan for the next 10 years addresses concerns collected through surveying thousands of educators. The top concerns expressed that are now being addressed include:

1. Burden on students has been too heavy—too much stress

2. Selection of schools—school choice

3. Difficult and expensive to enter good kindergarten

4. Education in rural areas for children whose parents are working in cities— standards on tests are not equal.

5. Quality of teachers is low in rural areas

6. Need improvement for top talents—innovation for post secondary Master’s degree and PhD’s

7. Financial support needs to grow—it has been low for many years

8. Schools need more school level control—Principals

9. Compulsory education is not balanced

10. College entrance exam needs reform

The new Master Plan is very comprehensive and covers all fields, process and collective policies and rules to focus on the whole education of each child. This is the first time China has focused on education. Education is the new national initiative to meet the challenges for the future and scientific advances facing the world.

We headed to lunch and had yet another interesting meal that included a chicken stew—including the feet and head… and the largest fish I have seen on a plate!

Xiaoyan Shi, Vice Dean of Education College of Hebei Normal Assessment of Teacher’s Evaluation was the second speaker. She explained how assessment is changing in similar ways that our US systems are changing. In the past, assessment based on high stakes written exams was a system of reward and punishment. Now the assessment is moving to a system that focuses on continuous individual improvement. Dr. Xiaoyan explained how difficult making these changes are in their system since the written evaluations are easier to administer. The problem, as she explained it, is that written exams are limited in that which can be measured. They are trying to become more holistic in their assessment practices, again, not unlike our work at Southern Lehigh.

Dr. Qixue Cheng—Deputy Dean of Human Resource Office of Hebei Ed. Dept. on Recruitment of Principals and Teachers was our last speaker. He explained that Hebei Province has a population of 70 million people, with 680,000 teachers and 10 million students k-12. In 2003, they adopted a new system for recruitment of teachers and principals that is improving their system. He described their processes of hiring from beginning to end. Some interesting differences are that they have an age limit to apply, male 50 – females 45, and that the retirement age for males is 60, and for females, 55. So many young people need jobs that they have created these limits to allow for younger generations entering the field. Principals do not pick their teachers—they only say what positions they need. Then they must work with the teachers they are given to develop their skills. Teacher contracts are 3 to 5 years long (renewable) but Principals may only work in the same school for 2 terms of 4 years each. The Province is working on standards to unify the qualifications and fairness/ openness of process.

In all, it seems that the Chinese are placing a greater emphasis on education and are supporting it with a great deal of financial resources. They recognize that as a developing country, education is critical to their success. They are allowing many experimental or pilot programs to occur using many of the same strategies and practices that we are implementing.

Our day concluded with yet another interesting meal that included dinner in the Director of Education’s private room used for entertaining his guests. We had another hot pot meal—each person cooked foods they wanted in their own pot of boiling water. These pots were fancier than the last. I have never eaten so much in my life! Each meal is a bit different than the last. There has been a person from the education department assigned to plan our meals. He told us he wanted us to experience the many unique cuisines of the region… yet another educational experience learning the culture of the Chinese.

Tomorrow we visit the most important sport training facility in China… Ping Pong!

Our first stop was the Shijiazhuang Foreign Language School. This school is a premier private school funded mostly by private industrial groups. The school has 10,000 students grades k-12. It is one of only 16 high schools in China that has the privilege of recommending some of their students directly to universities (without taking the National exam). Students must pay tuition to the school up through grade 9. It is very expensive and only the wealthy can attend. High School is public so the tuition is much less, but the enrollment is also much smaller than earlier grades.

This school’s facility is much like a community college in our area. About 30% of the students live in dormitories at the school. We were provided a promotional video that is professionally done. It is worth sharing with our staff, students and community to understand what is happening in China. I found this school very much like ours. Their mission and vision focus on the future and preparing students for their world. I was able to have a lengthy conversation with a group of Middle School teachers and we shared information about our schools. They wanted to know how our students, teachers and administrators are evaluated, how to motivate students to do their work, strategies for teaching English, how to involve students in community service projects, and details about our curriculum and resources. They had a chart in their teacher’s conference room that indicated their move toward innovation and problem solving… they are working to move from lecture to authentic learning. We found far more similarities than differences between our systems and all agreed… “kids are kids” regardless of their home country.

The second school we visited was a public school for the Arts. Students attending this school are mostly middle and high school. They must audition to get in and must live on campus. They do academic classes for half of the day and practice their talent the other half. The facilities were dismal (notice the walls in some pictures) but the students and teachers more than made up for it! This proves that learning can occur anywhere when there is a passion. We saw students practicing singing, a variety of musical instruments, and many kinds of dance. The culmination was a performance the students put on for us as their honored guests! So professional… so moving! Hard to believe these are kids!

Tomorrow is a day of lectures on the Chinese educational system.

For our last day in Beijing, we started by checking out of the hotel and loading the bus with our luggage—no easy feat! We headed off to the Forbidden City. The President of Brazil was also visiting and various areas were shut off and guarded. The Chinese are very serious about their VIP’s! The Forbidden City has a long 3,000 year-old history and many cultural icons and stories of the past can be experienced here. I especially like the historical stories of daily life inside the walls. The small animal characters on the corners of the roof represent the rank of the person living in the homes within the walls. Nine was considered the luckiest number and was reserved for the Emperor’s house. There were actually 9,999 building in the Forbidden City due to the luck of #9. The Imperial Garden is beautiful, adorned with ancient sculptures, trees and plants. The “Lover’s Tree” is a hot spot for picture taking, representing long relationships as two trees intertwine. This is an interesting point considering that the Emperor and Empress during the Ming Dynasty only lived in the same house for 3 days! After that, he was apparently rather busy selecting the most beautiful girls in China to bring to the Palace as his thousands of concubines. Many of the sculptures in the city are symbols of that which was considered lucky. For example, an elephant guards the entrance to the North Gate as a symbol of money. Turtles are throughout to represent long life.

We left the Forbidden City from the South Gate and walked to Tienanmen Square: the largest city square in the world. Many government buildings surround the square and of course, Mao Zedong’s mausoleum is housed here. The round state Theatre is the largest of it’s kind, and I believe Principal Yang may be bringing me here to see it inside next week.

We headed to the train station for our two-hour ride to Shijiazhuang in the Hebei Province. The train station is also the largest in Asia. The ride went through the countryside heading southwest from Beijing. There were towns lining both sides of the tracks the entire way. Life appeared to be very similar to the villages we have experienced so far. Some towns were larger and we continue to see cranes everywhere—mostly building high-rise apartments.

We arrived at the Yanshan Grand Hotel, checked in quickly and then were off to attend the welcoming banquet sponsored by our guests- the Hebei Provincial education Department. We were presented with an extravagant feast at the traditional Peking Duck Restaurant. Dr. Hou Jianguo, Director of the International Cooperation and Exchange Division of the Hebei Provincial Education Department and Lui Jiangyi, Deputy Director were our guests. We exchanged great conversation through our interpreter and both expressed an eagerness to build lasting relationships. They are open to discussing any ideas for exchanges and communications between our school systems, including helping us to secure Chinese Guest teachers in the future. I ended my day by skyping with my daughter in her office near Times Square… another long but rewarding day!

Tomorrow we visit some local schools.

Yes, it was a very long way to the top! We were not sure we’d be able to make it, but 5 from our group made it as far as you can go- Tower #23 at this section of the wall. Beyond that, the wall is not restored so you are not able to continue. This was a very strenuous walk. The last stretch to Tower 23 was very steep! I had to ‘pull’ myself up each step. The return down was nearly as bad. This section of the wall has parts that are up and down, steep inclines, stairs and a few flat sections. When I was in China in fall ’09, I also made it to the top but at a different section. This one was longer!

After we survived the wall, we stopped for lunch then returned to Beijing to visit Olympic Park and then the Hutong Preservation area. Along the ride back, I tried to capture some life in the small towns we passed. Also, there were areas with thousands of Poplar trees that have been planted by the government. We were told this is a new strategy to deal with the sand storms that blow in from the north.

Many of the buildings at Olympic Park have been converted for other uses, but the park remains a tourist site. The Hutong area is a residential section of Beijing that dates back to the Ming Dynasty. Much of China is very poor by our standards and housing is small and crowded. This section has very narrow streets. It is very difficult for cars to pass, but people do have them here. We rode a rickshaw to a local family and the mother explained the history of the section and her house. This family is considered wealthy in the Hutong. Many people who live here are retired and have pets. It is not a great place to live if your fur is white!

Today was another ‘traveling’ day. We leave Xi”an to return to Beijing where we will spend the next 2 ½ days. Principal Yang called me this morning from Baoding to welcome me to China and let me know how excited she is that we will meet again! She is planning a full week of activities for my visit. It was nice to talk with her again.

Our 2 hour flight was trouble free and we arrived in Beijing about 3 PM. We boarded our bus and arrived at our Hotel about 4:45. Traffic in Beijing has become so bad, with over 5 million cars, that each day cars with a license plate number ending in 2 numerals between 0-9 are NOT permitted to be driven. Even so, getting stuck in traffic during rush hour can mean up to 3 hours to travel a short city distance. Our group of 28 administrators has now been divided. The provincial government is hosting our group from PA. This is a first time and we are being treated very well! The educators from New England and Ohio are being hosted by the gov’t in Beijing. This is the usual host for the China Exchange groups, so while we are staying in the same hotel for now, we are going in different directions and our group will leave Beijing to go to a different city for our educational lectures in 2 days.

We went to another Chinese style dinner, which was very tasty. A big variety of vegetable dishes, sweet and sour pork, soup made with wild vegetable leaves and a fish that “looked back at us” was served. The fish had been cooked in a LOT of garlic and was delicious! After dinner we took a walk down town and stumbled upon an area with many street stands selling unusual treats! The photos tell the story! It was very crowded, the aromas quite pungent, and the noise level high. I felt like I was at an event like the Allentown Fair, or Music Fest, except rather than seeing French fries and funnel cake, we saw live scorpions, bats, bugs and squid on sticks and stinky tofu (and believe me, ‘stinky’ is an understatement!).

Tomorrow we are off to climb a mountain. Lucky for us… we will have stairs.

Sea urchin, snails, sausages, mussels * Squid on a stick * Whole baby chickens

Noodles * Mystery red food

Dumplings * Candy

Bugs on a stick * Bats & Scorpions

Today was our visit to the country village and school at Pangliu. The village is about an hour drive from Xi’an. Everywhere you look in and around Xi’an there are cranes and construction of new high-rise apartments. It seems as though the entire country is under construction and it is hard to imagine this without seeing it for yourself. There is much dust on every surface and constantly in the air!

The Pangliu village has about 2,300 residents and about 100 students attending their elementary school. Upon our arrival, we visited the main industrial operation of the village: brick making. There were about 30 workers in the operation today. Men and women dig the clay dirt from the fields and shovel it onto a conveyor belt, which puts the dirt through a brick-forming machine. The bricks are formed into blocks then placed in rows and stacked onto wagons pulled by small garden sized tractors. The workers then drive the bricks to a staking/drying yard to dry out. Later they are moved again and placed in a kiln to be fired/dried further. The village uses these brick for their houses and sells them to other villages also.

We saw many pet dogs roaming through the village, and one cat – on a leash in a shed. Dogs were mostly small in size, but there were a few larger mutts. All of the local villagers were very friendly and eager for us to take pictures of their children or grandchildren. I shared some Hershey Chocolate Kisses with the children and they were eager to receive it!

We got to eat lunch prepared by one of the women and ate in her home. She was very proud to make this meal for our group. The food was very tasty and contained mostly steamed vegetables recipes. We actually split into 3 groups and each visited a different home for lunch. I left some Southern Lehigh pens as gifts for the teachers and administrators, as well as our lunch host and her high school-aged daughter.

Today was a study of Anthropology, and I thought of my son, Taylor often! We began by visiting a 6,000-year-old village that was discovered in 1958 –Banpo Village situated near the Yellow River. After being discovered, about 20% of what they think exists was excavated. The village was matriarchal as the women were pretty much the providers. They did farming and gathering, while the men ‘tried’ to hunt. Their weapons were pretty primitive (sling-shots) so they often came home empty handed. They believe that these people did not have a mate—as in a marriage--and so the children were attached to their mother, often not knowing whom their father was. (How do they figure this out?)

Anyway, we saw the excavated areas with 3 different styles of houses and areas where they made pottery and fired it. They also built a very deep moat around the village with very primitive tools to protect the village from wild animals like tigers. Interestingly, their building techniques are still similar to how we might build a pole building today.

Next, we went to the pottery factory where they make the Terra Cotta Warrior replicas today. They demonstrated how they use the clay to mold the warriors and then fire them. They also demonstrated how they make some lacquered furniture (fancy) and other painted pottery figurines.

On to another Chinese style lunch—Round table, many different dishes and a lazy Susan to pass it around.

(Please click on the title of each blog post to view in its entirety. That way, you will be able to see all the photos!)

We began our day after a great night of sleep! Boarding the bus at 10am we were off to the Xi’an City Wall. Xi’an is one of the oldest cities in China- 5000+. A wall was built around the city during the Tang Dynasty and is one of the few city walls that have been preserved. Many other city walls have been destroyed as modernization has occurred and the walls get in the way of traffic. Xi’an, being an exception, has made the wall a tourist area. The wall is a huge square that surrounds the original city. There also was a moat outside the wall with a bridge as the entrance. There are “gates” that stand at each corner of the wall where soldiers used to stand guard.

Today, we rode bicycles the entire way around the city. The distance is 15km, but of course I had to drop my sweater without knowing and had to backtrack to find it! This added another 4km to the trip! After 1.5 hours of riding bikes over the very bumpy stonewall we made it all the way around! What an adventure and an awesome way to see the city sites.

Next we headed to lunch and enjoyed ‘hot pot’ meal. Each person had his or her own pot of boiling water. You place whatever food you want- noodles, all kinds of vegetables, and meats or eggs into the boiling water to cook. You also create your own dipping sauce using whatever ingredients you like- various oils, soy sauce, vinegar, hot sauce, fresh garlic, scallions, etc. I really enjoyed the fresh cooked spinach and cabbage dipped in garlic, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. I did not try any meat, just not in the mood—but others said they were good.

After lunch we went to the Xi’an History Museum. The grounds were beautiful! (It was in the 60’s here today—cold for Xi’an spring) The museum has over 35,000 artifacts dating back 6000 years! They have an amazing collection of oracle bones, pottery, bronze, porcelain, artworks, figurines, etc. I even found ancient gargoyles!!! (Actually called Tomb Gatekeepers.)

We took a short break to the hotel to rest up for the evening activities. This began with a special dinner for this region…

20 varieties of dumplings! Each was served in a steam pot. There were steamed, fried and boiled dumplings with fillings of pork, ham, chicken, duck, tomato, cabbage, scallops, shrimp, mushrooms, lotus paste, almond, fish, and seafood. Many of the steamed variety were shaped like the item they encased. They also served us Hot Pot Chicken Baby Dumpling soup. The story says that the more baby dumplings in your bowl, the luckier you will be. I hit the jackpot with 6- more than anyone else at our table! I am so lucky!!!

After dinner we were entertained at the Shaanxi’ Grand Opera House by the Tang Dynasty Palace Musicians and Dancers. It was a lively display of culture and we enjoyed musical selections and many dancers depicting life from this time.

Tomorrow we are off to the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum- about 50 km from the city.

Today was the LONGEST day of travel! I got up at 4:45 am and left the house at 6 to drive to Philadelphia airport. Check-in went very quickly with no delays. I met up with the four Administrators from Berks County at Philadelphia International Airport and we took off at 9:45 for Chicago. We arrived at O’Hare about 11:00 and immediately headed for the next terminal to leave for Beijing. We started boarding the plane at 11:30 and were in the air in no time… thirteen hours to go on this leg. We flew from Chicago up over Canada and the North Pole then over Siberia, Mongolia and came into Beijing from the west.

Since we were following the sun, it never got dark and even with the shades down, all of us had trouble sleeping. I may have slept a total of two hours with short ‘cap naps’. Luckily, we my seat was in the bulk head which allowed me to stretch out my legs- a huge bonus on such a long flight in economy class! We watched movies, chatted, and listened to audio books for most of the trip.

We arrived in Beijing about 3:45 pm and had to wait for people from other states with our group to arrive. More waiting… everyone was exhausted.

Finally, Ohio, Indiana, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire groups arrived and we had to catch a 6:30 flight to Xi’an. We boarded this flight late and then once boarded, were delayed by another hour. At this point, most of us could not keep our eyes open since we had been up and traveling for over 24 hours. Finally, we got clearance and were flying south. We arrived in Xi’an at 9:30PM and then learned we had a 45-minute bus ride to the hotel. After a VERY long day, we made it to our rooms!

And now, we are feeling so tired yet wide-awake! So, off to bed at almost 1:00 AM. Tomorrow we will start our adventure in Xi’an with some history of this ancient city.