Northcote in China - part 1

Sport tour of China

On 20 September at roughly 5am 28 students and 5 teachers arrived at Melbourne airport to embark on a 10-day journey through China. I myself being one of the students was very excited to see what the school had in store when we arrived. This was also my first time in a different country to my parents and I bet it was the same for many other students I was travelling with. We said goodbye to our families and boarded our flight to Sydney. From Sydney we boarded the flight to Beijing.

In Beijing we met Matthew, our amazing tour guide who showed us everything such as the Great Wall, Olympic Stadium (the bird’s nest), and the Forbidden Palace, all the while becoming closer as a group. In Beijing we also managed to experience some of the local culture such as the Beijing Kung Fu show and the Silk Market. As well as that we enjoyed an intense basketball match against a Chinese school, afterwards exchanging gifts with the school. We said a sad goodbye to Matthew as we boarded a bullet train (which can travel up to 310km/h) which took us directly to Xi’an.

In Xi’an we met our new tour guide, Paul, and he showed us the Muslim marketplace and finally he took us to the hotel after a long day of travel. The very next day we journeyed out to the Terracotta Warriors and the city wall. As we travelled a very talkative Paul was telling us the history the entire time. At this point as a group we had become really close and were all getting along very well. Even the teachers were getting in on the fun. After our short time in Xi’an we boarded another bullet train, this time to Huaibei.

Tension was high for the students as we were all nervous to meet our homestay partners and find out what we had in store for the next two nights. When we arrived in Huaibei it was clear that our worries were misplaced as the school gave us a warm welcome. For the next two days the school in Huaibei, in co-operation with our homestay families, showed us around the city and how every day life works for an average Chinese family. Here we played two games against local teams, one of basketball and one of soccer, both very competitive games. It was very insightful and I found the experience to be invaluable.

After a heartfelt goodbye to our homestay families we left for our final destination in China: Shanghai. Our last tour guide was called Alan and he was a great way to end the trip, a mannered kind man who gave us a great overview of Shanghai. Because our boat ride was cancelled in Beijing we had extra money which we spent on a boat ride through the Shanghai river. After a long day of exploration, we finally arrived at the hotel. The stress of travel was starting to catch up with us though we were still enjoying ourselves.

We woke up to our final full day in China and a day with promises of shopping and learning. Our first event of the day was a workshop where we learnt Kung Fu from a well-spoken teacher. We all enjoyed it as he made it simple for us and gave us exercises we could all complete. After a quick shop in the surrounding areas we headed to the most Australian bar in China and settled down to watch the AFL Grand final. CARN THE EAGLES.

The next day we went to the largest shopping district in Shanghai and visited the Imperial Garden. As our last journey in China we ventured to the top of the Shanghai Tower, the second tallest building in the world, second only to the Burj Khalifa. After a long and amazing journey it was finally time to say good bye to China and return home.

Angus Wright

Year 9