Excel China 2011

Dear All,

Another downpour swept through Beijing this morning and cooled off the  city from its previously blistering temperatures.

The 798 District was a big hit. Students learned about modern art at the UCCA (http://www.ucca.org.cn/) and particularly enjoyed the installations by Japanese artist Tatsuo Miyajima. Song Dong, an artist who exhibited at the Arsenale at this year’s Venice Biennale, also had a very thought-provoking and culturally significant installation dealing with Beijing’s traditional hutong neighborhoods, where he grew up. The students had free time afterward to explore the many galleries, shops and cafes in the district. Then we ate at Dintaifung and split up to either go to karaoke or a cafe.

This morning students met with their Mandarin classes in the morning and began preparing their final group presentations. We are all excited to see what the groups have come up with! Students attend their subject classes this afternoon and then, this evening they have a choice between three activities.  The majority of students will go to either a gongfu (kung fu) performance or to the Laoshe Teahouse while others will attend shabbat services at the Chabad House of Beijing.

Highlights for the upcoming weekend: calligraphy class, talent show preparation, and a visit to Sanlitun. Only three full days remain, but we aren’t slowing down one bit!

That’s all for now!

Until next time,
The Excel China Leaders

Chinese class book translation session

Photo class at Peitang Cathedral

Ghost Street for dinner

798 Art District

KTV night

Dear All,

Hangzhou definitely lived up to its reputation as one of China’s most beautiful cities. After Mandarin class in the morning on the 20^th, students took a scenic boat ride on the West Lake, which locals consider the “soul of Hangzhou.” After lunch in small groups, we boarded a coach to Lingyinsi. Not one minute after leaving the hotel, our driver abruptly stopped the bus. A reckless driver had changed lanes and scraped his car on the side of the bus. He was furious, and the group had to wait for a police report to be filed. Thus, we were short on time and unable to visit both the National Tea Museum and the Buddhist temple. However, we were able to leisurely walk through Lingyinsi. The cool temperatures from the previous day disappeared as soon as the sun came out, and the entire group was drenched in sweat by the time we left for dinner.

We took a coach to the Green Tea Restaurant (绿茶餐厅), one of Hangzhou’s most popular restaurants, nestled between tea fields on the outskirts of the city. Students ate traditional Hangzhou food, ranging from from steamed fish, fried lotus, coriander and tofu, and stir-fried tea tree mushrooms. In the evening, students switched the activities from the previous night: those who had gone for a massage went to the night market and those who had gone to the night market went for massages. Afterwards, we returned the hotel and prepared for an early departure the following morning.

We left the hotel at 8am on the 21st for the Hangzhou Train Station. There, we boarded one of China’s newest and fastest trains, with maximum speeds of 350 km/h (217 mph). Rural Zhejiang province zoomed past, and after an hour we arrived at the Hongqiao Transport Hub in Shanghai. After checking into the hotel, we headed out  to a Western lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Bund and Pudong, Shanghai’s famous riverside architectural wonders. We stopped briefly in an art gallery to escape a rain shower and then went to the Shanghai Museum, which houses some of China’s most famous ancient artworks, from bronzes to jade pendants to calligraphy and furniture. Some students caught a glimpse of a troupe of Maori singers from New Zealand who were participating in the opening ceremony of an exhibit documenting traditional Maori life and art.

After returning to the hotel to rest, we ate and then took taxis to the Shanghai World Financial Center, the tallest building in China (1,614 ft) with the highest observation deck in the world. The group took in Shanghai’s nighttime skyline from the very top of “the bottle opener,” as the building has come to be called.

Since we returned to the hotel rather late, the students slept in this morning!.Mandarin classes will be held in the morning, and students will be given a choice between visiting the renowned Yu Gardens or Shanghai’s Jewish Quarter where 30,000 Jews lived after fleeing the Holocaust. A river cruise on the Pu River will top off the fun agenda for the evening.

That’s all for now!

Until next time,
The Excel China Leaders

West Lake in Hangzhou

Boatman on the lake

On the Bund in Shanghai

Night view from the World Financial Center

With a very early start in Xi’an yesterday morning, we boarded our Xiamen Airways flight to Hangzhou. We landed to humid and rainy weather, but we we glad to leave behind the blisteringly hot temperatures back in Xi’an. After a slight delay at the airport, the group met up with Molly, our Hangzhou guide, who showed us to our hotel, just off of Nanshan road, Hangzhou’s “most romantic street.” The group dined at 7080, one of Hangzhou’s most popular Chinese restaurants. Students were given a choice between visiting the Wushan Night Market or getting massages for our evening activity. Students who went for massages came back feeling loose, limber and relaxed, while those who visited the night market danced in the park with a group of Chinese women and practiced their bargaining skills in Chinese.

Today the weather is impeccably clear. Hangzhou is one of China’s greenest cities, and the cicadas that live in the trees around the West Lake are making quite the racket!  This morning we will boat on the West Lake and will have the opportunity to either visit Lingyinsi, Hangzhou’s largest and most famous Buddhist temple, or to learn about tea, one of Hangzhou’s most historically important industries. We depart tomorrow morning by train to Shanghai, China’s economic capital.

That’s all for now!
Ben, Kathleen, Abby, Michael and William

Dear Family and Friends,

The pace of the Excel China trip has shown no signs of slowing since the student’s full-day excursion to Tianjin on Thursday. Though the day was cloudy with rain showers, the group had an exciting day outside of Beijing.

On Friday morning, we invited a Peking Opera troupe to CASBUU to teach the group about the ancient art of Peking Opera, the most famous of China’s traditional operas. Intricately painted faces and flashy jeweled costumes are two essential elements of Peking Opera, which uses few props and scenery on stage and relies almost entirely on actors’ gestures and movements to set the scene. Singers train for years to master the complicated lyrics, songs, and acrobatic moves that accompany many operas. Several students tried their hand at face painting while others had their faces painted by the actors in the troupe. Regardless of who painted their faces, however, the oil-based makeup was a challenge to remove! Two male actors performed, one who sang a famous song and one who demonstrated acrobatics. Though the size of our classroom somewhat limited his range of motion, the students were still impressed by the acrobat’s skill.

On Friday afternoon we took a coach for Beijing West Railway Station to start our 8-day tour of central and coastal China. We boarded the T231 bound for Xi’an at 4:55pm. After passing through the ticket turnstiles the students searched for the sleeper car and for their assigned bunks. More than one student evoked Harry Potter during the journey, but the Hogwarts Express didn’t have beds! Students played cards, watched movies, and talked until hunkering down for the night. The train rolled into Xi’an at 7:15am after a slight delay, and the group immediately went to our hotel for breakfast.

Upon finishing a traditional Chinese breakfast of fried rice, sauteed vegetables, sweet breads, and hard boiled eggs, the group piled onto a coach to go and see one of China’s most remarkable artistic and architectural wonders: Emperor Qinshihuang’s Terracotta Warriors. After an hour on the coach our guide, Michael, directed everyone to the site, where three large pits are together filled with over 8,000 clay soldiers, no two of which have the same face. The destination is extremely popular for both Chinese and international tourists alike, so the group had to brave some crowds to get a good look. The weather was also uncommonly hot, so many students took refuge in an air conditioned tea house while waiting for the coach.

The group arrived back at the City Hotel Xi’an around 4 and had free time to explore the neighborhood around the hotel in small groups for a bit.  We then left for dinner and went to a Xi’an specialty restaurant.

Today the group is out exploring Xi’an proper, biking on the ancient city wall and exploring Xi’an’s famous Muslim Quarter. Everyone is looking forward to enjoying an evening of karaoke; watch out Rebecca Black, the Excel China students are at the mic! We will depart for Hangzhou early tomorrow morning!

Bye for now,
Ben, Kathleen, Abby, Michael, and William

When travel photography class meets wedding photography

Delicious Goubuli buns

History of Goubuli:

Goubuli’s stuffed buns are known for their generous filling, which is succulent but not greasy. This famous snack was created during the late Qing Dynasty by a native of Wuqing County, who had the nickname “Dogy”. At the age of 14, Dogy left home and came to Tianjin, where he was apprenticed to a restaurant specializing in stuffed buns.

A diligent and honest young man, he eventually opened a shop of his own. As his stuffed buns tasted better and had a unique flavour, they attracted an increasing number of customers. As time went by, his nickname became known far and wide. Later, people changed “Dogy” to “Goubuli”, which literally means “the Dogy who doesn’t talk”, because he was often too busy to speak to his customers. Then, eventually, his buns were called by the same name.

Today, with its main outlet located at 77 Shandong Road, Heping District, the Goubuli Bun Shop has developed into a corporation with 89 branch restaurants opened in Tianjin and two dozen other Chinese cities, provinces and regions. In addition to over 90 varieties of stuffed bun, its restaurants also offer more than 200 dishes.

Tianjin river pier