St Edward's Chronicle Summer 2018

22 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

China By Daisy and Lily Helling

In March, at the start of the Easter break, 23 St Edward’s pupils and five staff made their way to Beijing, China. After a day of travelling, we were met by the warm Chinese smog – and the journey began.

skills and talent and we were holding our breath for most of the acrobatic sequences. Viewing Chairman Mao’s embalmed body at the heart of Tiananmen Square in Mao’s Mausoleum had to be one of the most eerie events for me, however, as he looked so serene. Silently watching him surrounded by local people bowing and praying passionately was certainly intense. Other sights in Tiananmen Square included the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China. Tiananmen Square is popular for its political significance and was a beautiful square to visit, especially in the gorgeous weather we experienced. Behind Tiananmen Square is the Forbidden City, a former Chinese imperial palace. The towering buildings around us, the vibrant colours of the wooden decoration on the Palaces and the sheer size of the city really made the visit exceptional. Travelling to Xi’an on the Bullet train at 300 kilometres an hour doesn’t seem that fast

too many skills, to our first sighting of China on an adventurous rickshaw ride around the Hutongs, the narrow alleyways of Beijing. The most challenging was climbing the Great Wall of China (the only man-made object visible from the moon with a naked eye). Very impressively, a small selection of the group, including Mr Thomas, ran all the way to the top. The challenging flights of multiple steps were worth the climb to see the view of the Wall from a higher, clearer perspective. Of course Chinese merchandise was then bought: when was it not? Just as entertaining was watching a Kung Fu and acrobatic show featuring young children back-flipping onto their heads, fifteen girls on a bike and six motorbikes in the ‘Globe of Death’. The performers showed incredible

China was an incredible experience. We participated in some extremely enjoyable activities, from cycling 14km along the city wall in Xi’an, where the teachers showed off far

Replica terracotta warrior soldiers at a factory in Xi’an.