Mr Greenwood's Visit to XiHang No3 Primary June 2013
Mr Greenwood’s Visit to China June 2013
Mr Greenwood was part of a group of Warrington Primary, Secondary and Further Education establishments funded through the British Council as part of their Connecting Classrooms initiative. The purpose of the visit was to establish a partnership agreement and a focus for continued collaborative work.
Saturday 22nd June
I arrived in Xi'an, having flown from Manchester via Helsinki in Finland, early this morning. As I was travelling west, the night was very short as Xi’an is seven hours ahead of England. When I arrived it was raining, but over the day the sun has broken through the clouds and the temperature is 35 degrees Celsius. As Xi'an is in the northern hemisphere, they are also at the start of their summer. Why not have a look where Xi'an is on Google Maps!
This afternoon the group visited the Wild Big Goose Pagoda, which is a Buddhist monastery in the heart of Xi'an. There were 280 steps to the top of the tower, but the view was worth it. Xian is full of high-rise tower blocks and this is where the vast majority of Chinese people live. I have yet to see any houses like we have in Appleton.
I also met Chen Hong the headteacher of our partner school this afternoon and she is very excited about developing a partnership between the children in Broomfields Junior School and her school, which is called Xi Hang No.3 Primary School. The school has 3500 pupils aged between 6 and 12 years old.
Sunday 23rd June
Today I saw the Terracotta Army. The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures showing the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. These sculptures were buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and their purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.
The figures were discovered in 1974 by local farmers, when they were digging a well. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Some of the sculptures have been discovered almost intact. However the Chinese have discovered many sculptures in pieces and have spent many years piecing them back together.
Later I went to the Muslim market in the centre of Xi'an, which was packed with different stalls selling local food, jewellery and many other Chinese products. The sights and smells were very different to an English market.
We saw lots of Chinese people riding mopeds, it is a very common form of transport in Xi'an and no-one seems to wear a helmet, It is common to see children, even toddlers riding with their parents on these mopeds. I saw one moped carrying a father and three children! Considering how busy the roads are in this city, it is a miracle that I have not seen any accidents.
Monday 24th June
I visited two primary schools in Xi'an, Xi'an Municipal Experiment Primary School which is partnered with Burtonwood Primary School and Xi’an Yu Cai Primary School which is partnered with Sankey Valley St James’ CE Primary School. Along with Andrew Redman and Viv Formby, the Headteachers of the other two Warrington Schools we enjoyed our first task of life in a Chinese Primary.
In the first school I observed some lessons on how to improve the environment, art, pottery and enjoyed listening to their school choir. At the second school the children put on a martial arts show, demonstrated a cup-stacking relay race and performed a traditional Chinese dance. I have learned so much about schools in China and here are a few facts.
- Xi'an Municipal Experiment Primary School has 2199 children, 107 teachers and 39 classes.
- The school building is huge, more like a high school than a primary school. One building has nine floors. The playground is about the same size as ours, although it does have its own running track and is made with an all-weather pitch finish.
- There are usually 50 - 60 children in each class, although in one lesson I counted 74 children. The children sit in rows at desks and are very well-behaved. When they answer a question in class, they always stand up.
- The main subjects they learn are Chinese, Maths, English, Computing, Science, Art, Sport, Health and Music. They also learn calligraphy, pottery, diablo and martial arts. The school has a pottery room with six pottery wheels. They also have an ICT suite.
- The school day starts at 8:00am and the morning finishes at 12:00pm. During the morning the children have 40 minutes lessons with two short break-times. At 12:00pm the children either go home or have lunch in school. After eating their lunch in the school canteen (there is no school hall) the children retire to the dormitories and have a sleep. Lunchtime lasts for two hours and lessons start again at 2:00pm. The children go home from school at 5:00pm.
- At breaktime the children enjoy playing their own games. The most popular sports seem to be table tennis and basketball.
- On Monday morning at the start of school all the children stand in the playground with their teachers for the 'Raising the Flag' ceremony. Two children attached the Chinese flag to a flagpole and hoisted it to the top. Then the children saluted the flag and sang the national anthem.
Tuesday 25th June
A cultural day today, I was taken into the countryside to a small village to see traditional Chinese crafts such as cookery, weaving and wood carving. I was given the opportunity to sample traditional Chinese food including different types of bread and cakes. I have recorded some videos so I can show you what it was like when I get back to England.
Tomorrow I will be visiting our partner school Xi Hang No.3 Primary.
Wednesday 26th June
My visit to Xi Hang No.3, it is an enormous Primary School - 3500 children and 170 teachers. On arrival I was taken to their TV studio to make a short programme for the children. They used the TV to communicate with all the pupils as they cannot bring the school together for an assembly like us because it is so big.
After recording the programme I visited some classes watching Maths, Music and Science. In the Maths lesson I watched Year 4 children doing coordinates, using treasure maps just like us.
To understand the importance of coordinates in real life, the children watched a short film from the Chinese space station that had been recorded earlier that morning.
In the afternoon I was taught how to make noodles with the children, which was great fun. The challenge was to make the noodles as long as a belt and I just about succeeded.
The day finished with the graduation ceremony for their leavers, who were moving onto their next school, just like our Year 6 children. I was the guest of honour and handed out Learning Passports to the children.
It took a long time as there were over 300 children to present to. Afterwards the children did some lovely performances including singing, ballroom dancing, calligraphy and playing the zither. They also sang the English song, 'If you're happy as you know it!'
Finally, I was delighted to be presented with a beautiful picture painted by one of the leaving pupils. You can see it now on our display in the school hall.
Thursday 27th June
Today our Chinese hosts wanted to let us see some more of the area around Xi’an so we were taken by minibus on a journey about 75 miles East to the Hua Shan mountain range. It was incredibly warm with temperatures approaching 40 degrees celsius!!
The journey up the first part of the mountain was by cable car and very steep!! We then had the opportunity to walk further on the granite rock of the mountain. The handrails were all covered in red ribbons and padlocks with the names of couples written on them as a token over their love and friendship. When we returned to our hotel in Xi’an we then had further discussions about our International Partnership Agreements.
Friday 28th June
Another busy day, this time our hosts wanted to show us the Chinese Giant Panda, so we went out with the staff from Xi Hang No.3 Primary School to a nearby zoo. Again, it was incredibly hot and we wondered if the Panda might be resting, but fortunately for us he wanted to make an appearance!
After another lovely fresh, local Chinese lunch, it was back to the Hotel and a change into formal clothes for the official signing ceremony. This was full of speeches in both Chinese and English with full translation, partner Head teachers signing official documents and an incredible number of official photographs.
Following the ceremony, friendly discussions, an exchange of gifts and a drink of green tea I was invited, along with Andrew Redman and Viv Formby, to join the Head teacher and some staff from Xi Hang No.3 Primary School for a final evening out as their guests.
They took us to a fabulous restaurant where we had a meal of duck, with every element of the meal being duck related. We had an enjoyable time and it was completed with a trip to the Xi’an City Walls and a tandem bike ride, before some final goodbyes back at the hotel.
Saturday 29th June
We were all up at 5.00am for breakfast before a minibus trip to Xi’an airport and our return trip to Manchester via Helsinki. The end of an incredible week, but the start of a new partnership with Xi Hang No.3 Primary School.