China Trip 2025

Over the Term 1 school holidays, a group of 13 students from Years 10, 11 and 12, together with three staff, Mr Michael Mancev, Mr Yimin Zhang and Mrs Seh Yeh Ong, went to China on the 2025 Oxley Christian College China Tour. We explored Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing. We also went to an ancient Water Town, Tongli, which is otherwise known as the ‘Venice of the East’. We also visited Xi'an Gaoxin No.1 High School.  

Oxley Christian College has taken tours to China since 2006. In 2020, a trip was planned for China, but was called off due to travel restrictions. It was a pleasure to resume travel opportunities for the students again. The China Tour not only provided historical information for the students, but also gave them an insight and understanding into a different culture, which are very important in a multicultural society like Australia. 

Seh Yeh Ong 

Head of Languages 

Shanghai

The bund was the first thing we saw when we visited in Shanghai. It’s a waterfront located on the west bank of the Huangpu river. The view of Shanghai’s diverse architecture was very pretty. We then enjoyed a calm stroll along the bund, though it was a little chilly that morning.

Right below the bund was this rather peculiar statue of a bull… seeing that at 10am in the morning was refreshing and caught us a little off guard.

After a 10-minute drive from the bund we reached the Shanghai Tower. It is the third tallest high-rise building in the world, reaching 632 meters, with a total of 128 levels. We were able to see the entire city on the 118th floor. The interior on it is similar to the Eureka tower you visit during Year 9 City Cite. On that same level, there was a large wish tree that extended from the floor to the ceiling. It had these wooden pieces where you could write a wish down and then tie it to a branch via a red ribbon. Some of the wishes we read were really sweet and heart-warming. While the majority were written in Chinese, there were some in English and even German.

Nanjing Road is Shanghai’s most iconic shopping street, glowing with lights and alive with a vibrant mix of luxury, modernity, and historic charm. On the West side, you'll find luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel, Dior, and more. Meanwhile, the East side features popular mid-range brands such as Nike, Uniqlo, Zara, etc. We were also given an hour of free time to roam around the shops and explore. Kimmy and I visited several stores, including Miniso Land, Coach, and MLB, where we bought several accessories, shoes, and bags. We also passed a bunch of thrift markets, selling luxury brands, with questionable authenticity. For example, they sold brands called ‘Gukki’ with double ‘k’s, or ‘Rolux’ with a ‘u’. It was honestly one of the best parts of the trip — just shopping, spending, and having a great time.

Another highlight was the Shanghai Acrobatics Show, where we were able to witness traditional acrobatics and modern technology combined, offering a thrilling visual experience for the night. The performance featured incredible stunts, dance, special effects, and jaw-dropping tricks on hoops and aerial silks, exceeding my expectations. Our personal favourite was when seven motorcycles zoomed around inside a spherical track.

Gwen W (12.10)

International Captain

Kimmy F (12.7) 

Tongli

When we were in China, we visited Tongli, a small ancient Water Town located near Suzhou. Tongli has a history of over 1,000 years and is often referred to as “The Venice of China”.

We had the opportunity to ride on boats, eat a delicious meal and had free time to roam around the area where we got to shop or just look at life in the small town.

One interesting thing was the safety vest we had to wear when we were on the boats. It was very high-tech. It was like wearing a sling across your chess, but if this sling touches the slightest water, it would expand immediately into a float. We were told that if we mishandled it on purpose, we would have to pay more than $200 for it.

Alma L (10.2) 

Luana D (10.1) 

Xi’an

The first activity we did after arriving in Xi’an was a bike ride along the city walls. We enjoyed a nice bike ride along with a wonderful view of the city on both sides of the wall. The Xi’an city walls carry over 2,000 years of history behind them, and yet these walls are some of the most well preserved in all of China. The walls once served as protection for the city within but now is used as a tourist attraction where people can ride bikes along the city walls. 

The day after the bike ride, we visited the Terracotta Warriors. We visited three pits each containing different types of soldiers. The first pit contained infantry and chariots with some generals, the second pit contained cavalry, chariots and infantry, and the third pit contained high ranking officers and generals. There are over 8,000 terracotta warriors in the pits. An interesting fact shared to us by our tour guide, is that they are all oriented facing east, as during Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s unification of China he began his conquest from the east and conquered neighbouring countries to the west.

Finally, we’d like to share about one of the most loved highlights in Xi’an, the Hanfu experience. The evening after our visit to the local school, we all dressed up in a traditional Chinese garment called a Hanfu. We were dressed in Tang Dynasty style. The Hanfu store we visited had a wide variety of garments giving us almost too many options to choose from. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant which consisted of many delicious local dishes. Finally, to end the day we enjoyed some free time at a shopping street nearby in our Hanfu… imagine that!

James Pong (11.13)

Henry Zhao (11.15)

George Ren (11.14)

Visiting a High School in Xi’an

When we were in Xi’an, we visited a school. The school we visited was called ‘Xi'an Gaoxin No.1 High School’ and is known as the best school in Xi’an. It is an international school and has a very impressive campus with an athletics track, a large cafeteria, several science rooms, art rooms, and four-storey teaching buildings to accommodate the large number of students attending the school.

During our visit, we met with the Principal and staff of the school, took an art class, met with our buddies, went to lunch, gave presentations about Oxley and Australia, and had classes with our buddies. After this, we ran on the athletics track and then we headed off.

This trip really showed us the huge differences between our schooling system and theirs. One of the first differences we were exposed to (other than the language, obviously) was the length of time they go to school. Officially, students start at 7:00 in the morning and don’t leave until 5:00 in the afternoon, but most students will stay for extracurricular activities and clubs. Not only that, they go to school for six days a week, as opposed to our five days. That may be something you consider next time you want to complain about how long the school day goes for!

Overall, this visit was an eye-opening experience, and a highlight of the trip. It provided a wealth of insights into the daily lives of students in China, and we won’t forget it in a hurry.

Roman Y (12.10)

Trinity H (11.15) 

Beijing

Beijing was the last city we visited on the trip and included some of the most amazing places. We travelled from Xi’an to Beijing on the high-speed train that took around 4 hours. We were able to get to Beijing quickly, whilst also seeing the view as we travelled through the cities. It was the first experience many of us had with a bullet train and we all enjoyed it.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world, that stretches 21,000km long. We were able to learn about the history of it as well as climb part of it. The wall was very steep and rocky, with some almost completely vertical stairs. While we needed to take a couple of breaks climbing it, we were still able to enjoy the view, being able to see how far it stretched. For me it was such a surreal experience being on the wall, as I remember learning about it throughout school, and now I can say that I’ve actually been there.

Summer Palace and Panda House

The Summer Palace and Panda House were the last places we visited on the trip. The Summer Palace was a really beautiful place that had a beautiful lake where we took photos and had so many beautiful flowers. We were able to walk through the long corridor, which was a covered walkway in the Summer Palace. The Long Corridor allowed us to view both the lakeside and the mountain side. It had a really calming feel, that brought the whole tip together. The last place we visited before the airport was the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo. This was a place many of us were very excited to go to see all the pandas. There were only a few pandas we were able to see as they were all sleepy (just like we were), but the few that we did see were very cute. Since there were only a couple of pandas, most of us spent more time in the gift shop buying souvenirs and cute fluffy pandas to take home for ourselves and our family/friends.

An overall highlight or something I valued out of this trip was becoming closer with the group. It took us a couple of days to get used to each other as we don’t really hang out or talk to each other at school, but it was really fun getting to know everyone more and spending time with them throughout. I think we all enjoyed sharing laughs with each other and creating memories we will always cherish from this trip.  

Georgia V (11.13) 

Zara Z (11.13)

Food

When we were in China, we were lucky enough to try a large variety of different dishes.  

Perhaps one of the most famous foods we tried was Peking duck. We got to see a chef cut and prepare the duck in front of us. The way the chef prepared the duck was simply extraordinary.

Peking duck has very crispy skin and is served in wraps containing vegetables and sauce 

Hot pot was something else we ate. Hot pot is where a pot full of broth is placed over a flame and diners can put raw ingredients inside to cook it. These ingredients usually include meat, vegetables and tofu. The cooked food is then dipped into sauce and enjoyed hot.

One of the lesser-known foods we got to eat was Biangbiang noodles. They are handmade noodles that are quite wide and thick and served with a spicy sauce. The name comes from the sound of the noodle dough hitting the table when it is made.

Additionally, we got the opportunity to try making meat dumplings ourselves with a local family in Beijing. We got pieces of dough, flattened them out, and put in a mixture of meat and vegetables in them. It was quite a special experience that many of us hadn’t had before.  

Overall, the food in China was quite incredible. The dishes we had reflected the local cuisine and culture. We tried food we’d never had before, and it was a rewarding and unique experience.  

Jack D (10.4)

Ryan H (11.14)