Hwachong BSC 24 October 2008

Hello all.

As the first time I'm writing on this blog, I should give a short introduction about myself.
I am Cai Yang Bill, from Cluster 3H1. Different people have different opinions of me, but generally I think that people will think me as a fun person.

24th of October was a really eventful day, considering that the day's outing was to the famous sites which hosted the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In the morning of the 24th, the High Flyer class had history and then chinese literature lessons. History lesson was on Chinese history, about generally the Qing, Han, Tang and Ming Dynasties.
Here's the lesson outline:

Qing Dynasty
Lasted from 221 BC - 207 BC

Significance of Dynasty
Set up the imperial system, creating the position of "Emperor" (replacing "king" in the past) and the caste system.

Built the Terracotta Army, and Qing Shi Huang's Tomb (which is rumoured to be extremely extensive and huge).

First dynasty to construct the Great Wall

Han Dynasty

Lasted from BC 202-AD 220

Much warfare, unrest during this dynasty, creating a period of West Han Dynasty and East Han Dynasty.

Significance of Dynasty

First dynasty to "open up" the Silk Road (Land & Sea); the Silk Road served as a platform in which cultures, economies and religion interacted and was exchanged.

Tang Dynasty

Lasted from AD 618 - AD 907

Period of great prosperity and wealth

Significance of Dynasty

First female emperor - Wu Ze Tian

Ming Dynasty

AD 1368 - AD 1644

Significance of Dynasty

Built the Ming part of the Great Wall, which is what most tourists see today in Badaling and other tourist sites.

Zheng He went to the West during the Ming Dynasty; people speculate that he even reached present day Kenya (east African coast).

The Chinese literature lesson was very enriching; not only did we learn new words by reading poems, we also learnt more about the purposes of the author, context of when the work was done,... and generally more or less understood the feelings, the atmosphere and the ideological systems in place in China then.

After these lessons, we went to the school canteen, ate our lunch and gathered on the ground floor of the hostel.

We set off, and Ben Tang, Derrick were all feeling very excited about the trip.

Apparently, Liki wasn't. (Or he was using too much of MSN last night).

Haha. Anyway, for me at least, I had some expectations of what the Bird Nest Stadium and the Water Cube was to be. After having seen the Olympic Games on television, my expectations of the Olympic sites were quite high.

And it seemed that my expectations were all met when I saw the National Stadium from afar.

National Stadium

After accounting for everyone, we set off by ourselves. Me, Wei Chuan and Sherman, along with a few others, went to eat first. The food wasn't great, cup noodles and instant food. But we ate it still, knowing that we'll need the energy. Then we set off to the National Stadium to explore its inside.We discovered that whatever one sees on the television screen or even outside of the stadium, it can't beat the atmosphere and feeling of just being inside the stadium. The sheer size of the stadium completely amazed me. And many things really brought back memories of events during the Beijing Olympics.

The track on which Usain Bolt broke the 100m World Record.

Water Cube

When visiting the Water Cube, we watched a water fountain show.

The diving platforms of the diving events in the 2008 Olympics.

Now, I feel that it is appropriate for me to do some reflection on the visit to the two Olympic sites. Firstly, I must say that the visit indeed had a great impact on me. I don't know why, but when I watched the Games on TV, there seem to be a veil, a covering over which makes the Games somewhat unreal. But the visit to the sites really helped to remove the veil, and it really allowed me to understand what I watched in the Olympics in June. The visit also made me in awe of the ability of China today to create such structures that undoubtedly worked to perfection during the Beijing Olympics.

The lessons also really gave me a new perception on Chinese history and literature. The teacher's comprehensive teachings, though can be difficult to understand at times, were mostly understandable and really have depth. It also, to a certain degree, inspired in me an interest to learn more and discover more in these two areas.

Okay, I will sign off now. But remember:

Beijing Welcomes You.

And London 2012 as well!