World-Famous Terra Cotta Warrior Museum

These are pictures from the world famous Terra Cotta Warrior Museum.  This site is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, making it one of the most important archeological sites in the world and it is referred to as the 8th wonder of the world.  The site was discovered by a peasant digging a well in 1974.  Since that time over 7,000 life-size terra cotta warriors, horses and chariots have been painstakingly unearthed.  The site was constructed 2,000 years ago at the direction of China's first Emperor, Qin (pronounced Chin) who believed that he would live in an after-life world and wanted to make sure he had his army with him.  The peasant who discovered the first shards of the warriors is now employed at the museum where he daily autographs thousands of books that tell the story of the discovery.  He is now 80 years old and signs his name in calligraphy - I purchased and had him autograph one of the books.  TEACHERS: if you are doing social studies and have never taught your students about the terra cotta warriors, they would absolutely eat up the story!   

Dave

The highlight of our trip?

On Sunday, April 11th, we had a very special opportunity that may well end up being the highlight of this incredible journey. Our tour guide, whose American name is Richard, who has been with us during our entire stay in Xi'an is a very special man with an incredible life story. He was born a peasant about 20 miles outside Xi'an in 1950 and lived through some incredibly difficult circumstances as a result of being a peasant. He has risen well above his birth to own his own tour guide agency in Xi'an after being selected to go to the US to study the travel agency business due to his hard work as a student. When he began working with the China Exchange Initiative a few years ago, he began taking the American educators back to the village where he was born so that they could see the rural areas and the life of the peasants who stil live there. We got to visit the village school, where they held school on Sunday just so that we could meet the students and see them in their classrooms. Richard even arranged for us to eat lunch with the peasants in their homes. Richard has not forgotten from where he came. He may be the best living example I have ever experienced of the Woody Hayes adage of "Paying Forward". He buys all of the coal for the peasants to heat their homes and the school in winter; by bringing the educators here, he has started a perpetual charity for the village school in which the educators make donations to help the school buy supplies and needed educational materials for the students and the teachers; he has gotten the government to build them paved roads so that he can continue to bring the "American educators" to the village on his tour bus, etc. These pictures and videos will not do the experience justice, you have to see how these people live to even believe you are in the 21st century when you are there, but it is the only way I can share it with you, so enjoy!

Dave

This is the wonderful and delicious lunch that the peasants fixed for us; I've honestly never had better nor more Chinese food anywhere!

Dinner in Xi'an

On Saturday evening, we had dinner at a local restaurant where we had what is called a dumpling banquet.  Dumplings are dough wraped meat or vegetables that are steamed, and they are delicious, in fact they have become my favorite Chinese food.  At the banquet, they bring you about 12 courses of dumplings and each course is different.  For example, we had duck dumplings, cabbage dumplings, fish, crab, etc., etc.  I literally ate over two dozen!  After the banquet, there was a performance of an ancient musical play about the Emperor Qin and his favorite concubine.  This is a photo from that very colorful and spectacular performance.  It was a wonderful evening in Xi'an!

Xi'an Museum of History

These are middle school students that we met at the Xi'an Museum of History.  They were very excited, even giddy, to meet Americans.  They treated us like rock stars, asking us to take pictures with them individually and in small groups with their friends.  It was fun!

The first couple stops on our trip

This first picture is of our group having lunch at the Beijing Airport, which is a massive and spotlessly clean facility.  We are eating the ever-populat Chinese noodle dish.  There were seven different flavors so we ordered one of each and shared - delicious!

 This is me with Flat Stinger near the Gate Tower at the south entrance to the wall around the city of Xi'an (pronounced She-an).  When Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), captured Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng admonished him that he should 'built high walls, store abundant food supplies and take time to be an Emperor,' so that he could fortify the city and unify the other states. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang followed his advice and began to enlarge the wall built initially during the old Tang dynasty (618 -907), creating the modern Xian City Wall. It's the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well as being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.  Our group was able to take a bicycle tour of the wall, which is about 9 miles in circumference.  It gave us a real glimpse into the city life of Xi'an, a city of 6 million people.

 On the wall at Xi'an

 Asleep on the job on the wall at Xi'an

 This is called Hot Pot lunch.  The stainless-steele pots on the table sit atop burners that boil the water at your table.  You then take some of each vegetbale and different meats, and even eggs, and put them in the water to boil briefly.  In the meantime, you go make a sauce of your own creation.  When you get back to your table, your food has boiled and you use chopsticks to pull it out of the pot and dip it in your sauce, which cools it down so you can eat it.  We loved it!

We've arrived!

Dave has arrived in Xi'An, China!

No the change in time zones hasn't made Dave suddenly start referring to himself in third person...this is Wes Weaver, and he asked me to update the blog today as he does not yet have internet connection at his hotel!

As for the flight, Dave said   "It was obviously a very long trip, but not as bad as I had imagined."

At the time of this blog post, it is 6:38 p.m. in Xi'An, 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Dave had hoped to get internet connection today. Please check back soon for news.

Dave's Itinerary for April 7 - April 25

U.S. – China Principal Shadowing Project, 2009-2010


Xian Option
Date Activity
Wednesday, April 7 Departure from the U.S.

Thursday, April 8 Arrival in Xian by CA 1211 at 8:20pm. (Note loss of one day crossing the International Dateline.) Stay at the Huamei Gold Tang International Hotel.
Tel.: 011 8629 8761 6666
Add.: 126 West Street, Xi’an

Friday, April 9 Sightseeing: The City Wall and South Gate Tower with bicycle tour, the Museum of Forest of Steles, Hot Pot Lunch, the Big Goose Pagoda, the History Museum, a Dumpling Banquet and show.

Saturday, April 10 Sightseeing: Huatang Hot Springs, the Terra Cotta Warrior Museum, workshop with various Chinese handy craft making.
Lunch at the local restaurant in Lintong Town.
Dinner at a local noodles restaurant with local snacks as well.

Sunday, April 11 Visit Pangliu School. Lunch at farmers’ homes. Afternoon: Return to the city and see the Mosque and Bazaar, along with a traditional house complex.
Evening: Muslim dinner by the Bell Tower

Monday, April 12 Visit Huixian Art Gallery with exhibits of the peasant paintings and the art village with a painter’s home.
Lunch at airport.
Depart from Xian to Beijing CA1210 at 01:30PM.
3:20PM: Arrive in Beijing.
Stay at the Wang Fujing Grand Hotel.
Tel: 011 8610 6522 1188
Add.: 57 Wang Fu Jing Da Jie, Beijing
Tel. numbers in China:
Peihui Wang: (011 86)132 8112 5093
Richard Wang (our guide in Xian): (011 86)139 0926 8393
China Education Association for International Exchange
37 Damucang Hutong, Beijing, 100816 Tel:+86-10-6641-6080 Fax:+86-10-6641-6156

Itinerary for Sino-US Principals Shadowing Program

Apr.12th -23rd, 2010

April 12 Monday
Afternoon Arrival, Checking in Wangfujing Grand Hotel
Address: No.57 Wangfujing Street, Beijing
Tel: 011 8610-6522 1188
18:00 Dinner at Dawanju
Address: No.37 Dong’anmen
Tel: 010-65137599

April 13 Tuesday
10:00-12:00 Visit Ministry of Education
37# Damucang Hutong. Xidan, Beijing
Basic Education Reform and Development
Mr. Yu Changxue, Director, Ministry of Education
Migration Children’s Education
Professor Li Renzhu, National Education Development and Research Center
12:00-13:30 Lunch at Xiangyuchu
Address: 5th Floor, Tonggang Plaza, Xidan
Tel: 010-83988888
13:30-18:00 Visit Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City
18:30 Peking Duck at Bianyifang Duck Restaurant
Tel: 010-82081019

April 14 Wednesday
9:30-11:30 Visit National Day School
Chinese Principals’ Roles in School Management
Teachers’ Selection, Education and Evaluation
School Curriculum Design and Students’ Evaluation
Students’ Moral, Psychological and Physical Education
11:30-13:00 Lunch at National Day School
13:30-16:30 Visit a School for Migrant Workers or disabled students
17:00-18:30 Dinner

April 15 Thursday
9:30-11:00 Visit Beijng Normal University
Topic：Chinese Society Change and its impact on Chinese Education system
Presenter: Prof Wang Yingjie, Past Vice President of Beijing Normal University,
11:30-13:30 Lunch in the school cafeteria
14:30-16:30 Hongqiao Market
17:00-18:30 Hutong Tour & Dinner

Apr. 16 Friday
9:00-16:00 Visit the Great Wall (Mutianyu)
16:00-19:00 Free shopping
18:00-19:30 Optional dinner

Apr. 17 Saturday
8:00-10:30 Temple of Heaven
12:00 Leave for Shadowing Schools

Apr. 18 -22
Shadowing at host schools

Apr. 23 Friday (Noon or early afternoon) Leave for Debriefing
Telephone numbers in China:
Charlotte: (01186) 136 1128 1901
Peihui: (01186) 132 8112 5093
Our colleagues at CEAIE in Beijing
1、Yu Yougen （011 86）139 1059 2537
2、Sun Xiaoqing （011 86）138 1107 3616
3、Xiao Lei （011 86）134 2606 0806
The China Exchange Initiative
140 Brandeis Road, Newton Centre, Massachusetts 02459 U.S.A.
Tel: 617 559 6730; Fax: 617 559 6701; Web: www.TheChinaExchangeInitiative.org