♥ Wuhan

We spent our last few days weighing and packing our luggages, playing basketball with the student buddies and we called it "The last basketball match". I had alot of thoughts in my mind as I put everything I've brought here, back into that luggage. I can still vividly remember how I detested the toilet when I first saw it, how I hated the hard bed with no boster when I lied on it. Now, it was so comfortable to bathe in such cosy toilet, with great heating system and superb water strength. And the funny thing is, I've mastered my skills in urinating in the squatting position, how to not "spill" anything out, which I usually do back in Singapore. The bed was so comfortable, with new bedsheets every week and the warm blanket which kept me sleeping soundly. Everything I've experience, whether it is good or bad, is coming to an end. It is a one time experience in life and I would surely not forget about it.

The day when we set off, we were worried about the luggage being overweight. Loaded the buses with china products, we headed to the airport as I said goodbye to the hostel. The road that we usually take to walk to our classroom somehow spreaded its farewell into my heart as we drove past it. The canteen which we usually have our lunch in will also be remembered in my heart. Alot of events, lessons were kept inside my box of memory when I sat on the airplane, flying towards Guangzhou.

Luckily, we were worried sick about having to pay extra money for overweight baggage. Nevertheless, luck was on our side and we managed to save some money! I know that China is a great place, but somehow I've realised that Singapore is really a good place afterall, with higher standard of living and better enjoyments. We were born right in a safe and well environment, thus we never realised it. For example, a child born rich never realise how money is hard-earned as compared to a child born poor. Thus, we need to be contented with things we had, and that thing is my home, my homeland, and the ones I'm borned with (family) and of course, loved ones.

I'll miss you China! My adventure with you does not end here! (:

An enjoyable day to Wuhan zoo and Hu bu xiang and it was the final outing with the ICTians. There, we saw many different kinds of animals that cannot be seen in Singapore, such as the brown bear, which looks like a pig infront, and of course, the remarkable China Panda! There was also a rare sight, that a lion and a dog can actually live peacefully together. I had a wonderful experience in the zoo because I can see the animals so closely as compared to Singapore's Zoological Garden(ZG). However, I'm not sure if it was because it's early in the morning or some other factors, the animals seemed so dull and tired, not cheerful at all. As compared to Singapore's ZG, animals were kept in a man-made habitat and they would give out sounds occasionally. I think China's way of keeping them in the cage deprived the animals of being in their natural habitat and thus, lost their ability to live normally. I pitied the animal as I watched them give me that tired look. Anyway, pandas are considered China's treasure and who killed them is equivalent to killing himself. As we know pandas are endangered animals and I think China really did the best option to help protect these animal.

After that, we went to Hu bu xiang for a walk and then Chicony to collect my mochi. Then we took public transport back and the bus were super packed and I worried that I could not get off the bus at the correct stop. The bus was not equipped with any bells unlike Singapore, and one has to manually tell the ticket seller to stop at that stop to alight. Fortunately, many people alighted at our busstop thus I had enough time to squeeze through the crowd.

The day started off with worries about having our luggages overweight. Got news from people from FMS, that they had paid a total sum of 20k RMB just for being overweight baggage. It was a shocking news and we panicked, went to get boxes from the post office and started packing our things for posting overseas. I never had this experience of over-shopping in foreign countries and worry that things I'd bought cannot be brought back to Singapore. However, night succumbed my uneasy feelings as we attended a dinner put up by the lecturers. It was a "combination" with a wedding ceremony and we got to experience such occasion. They had this 3 kows to ensure their forever love and the background music brought up the atmosphere. I had this instance thinking that I really want to get marry soon and enjoy all these! Anyway, the local student buddies came and we had a great time shooting photos with them as memories. After which, we went to play fireworks at the beach and then went out to have some supper when night falls.

I really enjoyed being with the local student buddies and we promised to keep in touch. I think it is quite hard to gain new overseas friends and it is even harder to keep in touch with them as time goes by. Thus, I would try my best to contact them and share more things between our countries that we had yet to realise or experience. This celebration gave me a thought that, "6 Weeks is so fast and it is coming to an end soon" and my heart sank a little..

A very happy 60th years old birthday to China! 中国生日快乐！

Due to this joyous occasion, there will be a week of break for the whole China which they called 黄金周. Alot of the outlets are having promotion events and things are cheaper as usual, except for food. We went to 户部巷 and ate alot great food. We then went to metersbonwe, me & city and alot of shops to enjoy our shopping spree. I've found out that alot of the brands in Singapore which I've thought may not be international, are also in China! I think China is really good for starting a business as there are ALOT of people in China. If there is people, there is money. I've came to learn a few business techniques. For example, Metersbonwe, a brand advertised by JayChou, Angelababy, Angela Zhang and Wilber Pan, brings in customers by using a loud microphone to publisize their promotion event. During the last 25 minutes of the event, the annoucer keeps repeating "只省下２５分钟，全场打８折８折８折８折８折８折８折，快点购买！"This makes the atmosphere high and everyone would start to rush for their clothes. Also, they emphasize on unity, they would brush up the salesperson's spirit by calling all of them to shout a cheer no matter where they are. I enjoyed shopping there too. I would surely adopt their business technique and working attitude in the future.

Also, I think the fashion between China and Singapore is different. Singapore does not have winter thus we don't have any winter fashion such as big coats and boots This is something I really cannot enjoy being in Singapore. Now, the stores are selling long sleeves, big coats and high boots and they are clearing summer/autumn season-ed stocks. One thing I've found out to be interesting is a store called: 新加坡美食屋, where they sell alot of Singapore food! What an interesting thing! However we did not get a chance to try it because we were just merely passing by in a cab.

Night soon fall and alot of people came for the fireworks and the place was totally cramped up. This shows how many people China has!  

Another meaningful IS lecture from Mr Dean on chinese philosophy. We've learnt about buddhism, taoism and confucianism.  I feel that 孔子is great philosopher because his thinkings are all good and positive for people and everyone should learn from it. However, his philosophies are misused by people for example dictatorship. It is good to have a ruler to rule the country however some ancient kings abused this power which led to dictatorship being bad. Democracy is somehow like dictatorship just that that the power of the a ruler is controlled by many people to prevent him from abusing it. Also, ancient kings used 孔子's philosophy to aid him in ruling the country, for example, it states that all people should be loyal to the king. Thus, in conclusion, i think 孔子's thinkings are still valuable and people should still possess such meaningful values.

Other than confusium, I've learnt that 道 means alot of things in different aspects, and thats why taoism's thinkings are based on this word 道. They believe in 老子's 道论and 神道, once they "return" to the nature, they can 成仙. They keep themselves in the nature and it reminds me of the Taoist I've seen back in Wudang Shan. They had gave up their love onces and families and live in Wudang Shan as they believe that they should be with the nature because it is nature that brought them to earth.

Last but not least, I've learnt about buddhism. They believe that life is full of sorrows as it is filled wih desires. With desires, no one can be contented in life as there will always be comparison. I think it is really true but I think life is like that. It is about control and beng contented. If we are contented with things we have, we can be really happy.

I went to hair salon again for treatment and once again the people there are friendly and they gave me to try 山西特产. It is very hard to open and it is really delicious. Also, I tried eating raw GAOLAT for the first time and it is really delicious too. I think China 无奇不有, it has alot of things that Singapore does not have. For example, it is very normal for them to eat dog meat and normally they will kill their own dogs. Maybe we cannot accept it but we have to understand them. They have really a huge varieties of things to eat in China thus maybe this made them eat almost anything. Nevertheless, I think people in China are really friendly and kind unlike those who are heartless, ruthless and sly in order to attain their goals. I've broken the strange barrier between them and they are one of the few friends that I've made in Wuhan.

At night, we had a wonderful mooncake festival celebration with the local students. The atmosphere was beyond limit and we had alot of interaction games with them. For example, musical chair, guessing game, rumbo rock and their traditional tongue twisters. I think China people are the best at tongue twisting We also put up a performance for them. I've got to mix with the local students too like Jack and Judy. I think it really takes initiative to gain a new friend. Strangers are not really as scary as they seems and we must learn to trust them. I think the local students are really passionate and they are good at bringing up the atmosphere. This is one thing I want to learn from them. Overall, the celebration was successful and I enjoyed it alot. I cannot wait for the real mooncake festival in China as I want to check out how different it is between Singapore's and China's celebration.

An unforgettable trip with ICTians on the Wudang Mountain. We set off early in the morning and had our lunch at the foot of the mountain. I've found out that there are typical dishes that will be served such as the 黑木耳炒菜，小白菜 and there will be always 4-5 meat and 4-5 vegetarian dishes and 1 soup. I wonder what will be served to the local people if they come to Singapore. Will it be our typical 鸡饭 or 煮炒？I think every place has different food cultures and we should learn to appreciate it. For example, if you are in Japan, you have to learn how to appreciate Sushi, or when you are in America, you have to learn to appreciate western food.  After having our lunch, we visited 3 different spots in Wudang Shan and the mountain is indeed very tall. The bus drivers were equipped with superb driving skills to drive along dangerous mountain roads. This reminds me on an accident figure that I've heard so far. China is ranked the top 10 most frequent occurence of road accidents and on average, 1 accident happens per second. I've also noticed that people in China are not scared of vehicles on the road. They can walk very near a moving car and feel that it's still very safe. As compared to Singapore, if one walks so near to a moving vehicle, he/she will confirm think that it is very dangerous or they will be scolded by the driver for threatening their lifes. Singapore's road is much organised as compared to China but however, we cannot blame China for being unorganised because it is really too big. It is very hard to maintain every single road like redrawing the divident line and more. Thus, we have to careful whenever we are.

We got a chance to try their tea leafs and it is very delicious. We have to finish one cup i 3 sips, first to clear the throat, second to nourish the throat, and last to taste the tea. There are alot of table manners and techniques to prepare tea and it requires alot of training and hardwork. This reminds me of the qualities of a demour girl in olden days - 琴棋书画. They also must know how to 泡茶 in order to become a good wife who can serve tea to her husband. However, these qualities are not important in this modern day already but I think everyone should at least know some kind of quality. For example, cooking, playing piano, can all be it. Anyway, we visited places like the Prince's Study room, temples and more and it is really an eye-opener. I've also learn that a curb is built on every door so that people who enter must lift their legs and lower their body, as a form of respect to the one they are visiting.

There are alot of Wudang Dizi on the mountain too. They had left their home to come to this quiet and natural place to 修道 as they believe in Taoism, which allows them to be immortal once they have reached total purification. It takes hardwork for them to overcome their greeds and temptations in order to achieve their goal. I think life is up to a person to decide, you want what kind of life, then take which route in life. They had chosed to give up a materialistic life to pursue their beliefs and thus I respect them alot. It takes huge courage for them to come so far and I think I should be like them, determined* to lead what kind of life.

Had a bad fall in the hotel's toilet and was unable to climb up the mountain on the next day, thus I took a cable car up the mountain. I managed to reach the submit and the view was gorgeous. It is really hard to see such sights in Singapore and it is a great experience. My friends were very kind to help me along my way to the submit too and I think friendship is very valuable. One should help out with one another when they need help so that the world can revolve around with love.

This image touched my heart because it is really heartwarming to see two old women still helping each other out even though they can bearly walk properly. This is how everyone should live, till death. They are just like two chopsticks, one may be easy to be broken, but two it may be magnificent. Thus we cannot underestimate friendship, love and unity. I've also spotted many people bringing ther parents to Wudang Shan and somehow I think China people are the most fillial creatures I've ever seen. Their love towards their parents are words that cannot be described and I think Singaporeans should be like them too. I've seen too many lonely elderlies in Singapore and I surely wouldn't want my parents to be like them too. I need to be filial to them to repay their kindness. Even such an old lady is there to help her old mate, 何况是年轻的我？ 

An interesting IS lecture from Dean (Director of the School) in the morning. We learned more about chinese religion and philosophies and also the ancient China. There are different kingdoms back in the olden times and 秦始皇 was crowned the first official king in China as he united the 6 province into one whole Chinese Empire. This whole lesson gave me some thoughts about 秦始皇.  He was a ruthless king who sacrificed thousands or millions of lifes to build the 万里长城 to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against the Xiongnu attacks. He also destroyed works of the wise and clever people as he was afraid that they would threaten his position. As a result, alot of cures of cancer or even aids may have been destroyed by his hand. Many people had different opinions about him but I think he was a unique, successful ruler. He may had sacrifice millions of people to build the 万里长城 but this may help save alot of people's life in the long run, which can be billion of people. Also, he may have thought that he was a capable person of ruling the whole empire and other people whom are clever than him may not be as good as him. Thus in order to keep his throne, he had to sacrifice others to enable him to allow his empire to prosper. He may have thought that he can change the whole of China and he may be the only capable person of doing so, like a revolution, so he had to be ruthless to attain his goal. Thus, I admire him alot.

Other than 秦始皇, we also learnt about philosophies of 孔子 like 三纲五常, 仁义礼智信. This reminds me of my days back in 南华中学, we had this 8 important values to be kept in mind everytime, 礼仪廉耻忠孝仁爱. Mr Dean asked us a question at the end of the lesson: "Will you still uphold the values of KongZi even if you know they are really good?" In this society, I doubt people will uphold these values, for example bad things like greed, lying are all inevitable now. However, to live as an upright person, I would really try to uphold these values as hard as I could to attain peace in this world.

Everyone has to do their part.

In the afternoon, we had a trip down to Coca Cola factory to find out more on their manufacturing process. We had a short video introduction of the brand Coca Cola and I was totally amazed by the whole business. I suppose it is the most popular brand in the whole wide world and revenue generated is beyond limits. I did not know that Sprite and other drinks were under them too and we had a few bottles of it there. I think their business strategies are very powerful because not only it focuses on the F&B line, it also work hand in hand with alot of other companies and events such as Beijing 2008 Olympics, as main sponsoror and more. They also donated their funds to the charity. I think a business needs to work towards different direction and sector in order to prosper. Also, they have to be unique in order to survive in this competitive market. Also, I think franchising Coca Cola is a brilliant idea as demand is very high, I can see that China is working hand in hand with the Americans too.

I've came to know that the real formulars of the drinks are only known by 3 Americans in the world and the unique-ness is kept to the highest. I think that it is important not to reveal any secrets of the company to anybody as it may introduce copy-cats and business may be affected by that. We had a glance at the manufacturing process of the cokes and it was really a massive production. I can see on average, 1s, a bottle is completed. The machines used are very high-tech and this saves alot of manpower and also in turn reduce production cost. It is important to catch up with the technology used in the current market in order not to lose out to others. It is important to advertise the products to the market properly too, for example, the Chinese had Jay Chou, S.H.E and alot of other popular singers and artists to advertise Coca Cola, which in turn generate higher sales.

In conclusion, I've learnt more about the production and marketing of F&B in China and I would certainly make use of it in the future.

After 5 hrs of tiring bus journey, we finally reached 三峡大霸. We went to 3 different stops and took a look at the project model and the real large dams. It not only helped generate enormous amount of electricity, it also helps rise up several sea levels which enable boats or ships to travel onto. I think building such huge dam needs alot of manpower and hardwork, just like the Great wall of China and such enormous project can only be done in countries with huge piece of land, unlike Singapore. Thus I think anything can be possible in China because they have the land, people and capital.

I wasn't that disappointed when I saw the room that we would be spending 2 nights in. The cruise looked alright and it is considered a better cruise in Hubei already. As compared to Singapore's cruise, Singapore cruise is way much higher standard. I saw many China tourists and I found out that China people love to travel around especially their own country. Thus I think China does not earn much from their tourism spots because most of the spendings are done by their own people, whereas in Singapore, our tourists are from all over the world and Singapore generates alot of revenue from tourist attractions. After a comfortable night in the room, we went to 重庆长江三峡，白帝城 the next day. The place was full of history of 张菲，诸葛亮 and more. I love to read 三国演义 and I think China is a very interesting country with lots of history worth looking up.
 


One thing I find interesting is the China people's baby's backpack carrier. They are made of grass and it was a guy who was carrying the basket. I think it is common for people to use things made of grass in China as they have plenty of such resources, for example, their shoe, hat, bowls and more.


After visiting the 重庆长江三峡，白帝城, we went onto the cruise again to rest and set off for 神农溪stream by the Chang Jiang River. We were transported by a jetty boat and we had a clear view of the scenery there. There were tall giant hills beside the stream and the stream became narrower and narrower. They also explained that due to the works of the dam, the water level has risen drastically. It is famous for boat trackers too we got to experience it. 17 per boat, 4 paddler, 1 captain. It was really tedious for 50+ year ol men to row a boat of 20+ people and from the backseat I can clearly see how much muscles they used to row that. It was really heart-wrenching to see really old man doing such harsh job and they used all their might to push the boat away from the shallow area. I wondered if they had rowed the boat since young and they had remained in this line for many years. Who would be there to replace them next time? I think life in the world can be really different. One needs to put in such hard work to earn a little amout of money yet another one just have to shake their leg in the office and get a higher pay. Life can really be unfair and we should be contented with what we have in life. Nevertheless, we did not let their efforts go to waste as we enjoyed the whole process.

The tour guide on the boat also taught us how to sing songs of the 缅甸族. Zhe Tian Mer Tian Er Tian (今天明天后天) is what I've learnt from him. We need to learn more and respect each other's cultures in order to attain peace in this world. We cannot only know things of ourselves and live among ourselves everytime. We have to understand more of other people's culture to prevent racism and riots which may cause bloodshed. Thus, I've always open myself up to new cultures and beliefs.

A very tiring 3D2N, but a fruitful experience.

I visited the a salon for about 4 times for my hair treatment and I made friends with the hairdressers. They were around my age and I asked them what they do when they were bored and they said they always go out for fishing. I also told them that things in China are very cheap but they told me there are things in China that are of the same price as Singapore just that we did not see before. This shows that China has a larger range of pricing in terms of quality than in Singapore, one thing can have many different type of quality and thus many different pricings.  Also, the weather in Wuhan is very harsh and the year before last year, there was a snow hazard. They also told me alot of places worth visiting in Hubei.

One thing I did not know about China was during the SiChuan 2008 earthquake period, the whole of China's television channel would be directed to only one channel - 中国中央电视台, which only broadcast issues on the earthquake. The flag of China was lowered to half for 3 days and all internet gaming was ban. All citizens of China had to 关注 this issue. This showed how China people were united and 心联心 despite it having such a huge piece of land. The hairdresser seemed very loyal to his country and they loved their country very much. They tried to portray China as best as they can too. Wondering around their own homeground is equivalent to travelling around the world as their land is very huge. They can never finish experiencing all the things in their country, this is one thing I find that life of China people is much interesting than Singaporeans' do.

Also, their 团圆饭 is always in the afternoon and at night, the children will go out to play and around 12 they will reach home. Unlike Singapore, we have 团圆饭(reunion dinner) at night. I think every country has different cultures even though they celebrate the same festival as us and I would certainly like to experience them in my life.

One thing that they told me which aroused my interest is that every family would put fireworks and fire crackers when the clock strikes 12am on 新年初一to 讨个吉利to scare off a beast called 年. They said that even if the house is super poor, they will still find ways to put off fire crackers. Those who are richer would spend $1000 SGD on fireworks which in turns symbolise a better and brand new year. He told me an experience that he was out in the streets that night and they forgotten the timing and headed home at near 12. He described to me the scene that the sky would be all lid up with fireworks and the streets will be filled with smoke that they cant even see where they were going as the clock strikes 12. I can imagine the number of people in China and the number of fireworks which would be put off that night. It is really magnificent! Unlike Singapore, fireworks and fire crackers are ban and when the clock strikes 12, the atmosphere isn't there at all. However, I can understand that Singapore is a small piece of land and fireworks can cause outbreak of fires. It is quite impossible to spend my new year without my family, thus I would love to bring my family to China to celebrate new year for once and enjoy the wonderful experience.

Wow, China!

Anyway, we visited an industrial computer equipments manufacturing company 蓝星 & I was amazed by China people's creativity to start a business. He said that “只要懂得创新，就有商机”and “遇到挫折时，不是放弃，而是像有经验的人学习”which I think is worth learning. He also said that everybody can do the same thing and have the same idea and in order to survive, one has to stand out from their creativity. I am also very 佩服 of their courage to fight on and maintain their business even if times are bad. He also emphasized that learning is what we do in life, we cannot stop, thus I would continue learning till I die.

A wonderful day to a plantation in Wuhan! It is my first time going to such a huge patch of plantation. We can pluck whatever we want and eat as many oranges as we wished. We also dug the ground for sweet potatoes and it was a rare experience in Singapore. We got ourselves dirty out for the first time but we managed to obtain rich and fat sweet potatoes out of the ground for roasting. The local student who led us for the whole trip were very friendly and they helped us to dig a hole in the ground to start a fire for the roasting. It was my first time being so close to local students and we had alot of interactions. I found out that they are very humourous and happy-going person. Anyway, it is illegal in Singapore to set up a fire in any places and the local students were surprised by that. I think Singapore is a very strict country as compared to China and we were restricted in doing alot of things like putting fireworks, eating chewing gums, throwing rubbish on the floor and more. What a 'FINE' country indeed. However, we should be thankful for all these restrictions so we can all live in a happy, safe and clean environment in Singapore. Without these restrictions, people can litter anywhere as they wish and set up fire which may cause harzards which in turn spoil the reputation of Singapore as a clean and green country. Even if there are alot of litters in China area, they have enough manpower for cleaners to clean the place unlike Singapore. A cleaner in Singapore is considered a 'disgraceful' type of job but in China it's very common. This can be due to Singapore having a higher standard of living too. Anyway, we enjoyed this whole session as we did things that cannot be done in Singapore!

At night, we had barbaque with the local students and we chatted for quite awhile. They are very open to try new things and we introduced them to try BBQ Marshmellow and no doubt they were surprised by that. We also exchanged information about each other's country and in their point of view, Singapore is a clean and green city and we were proud to hear that too. They said that the transport system in Wuhan is already very good. We had a great time chatting, however, when I talked about Japan, one of the guy had a stronger opinion against Japan and I thought if I had brought up a wrong topic because they were once conquered by Japan and they may had a huge grudge on them. Thus I did not talked about it any further and would like to find out about more if China people still holds a grudge against the Japanese.

The BBQ style in China is also different from Singapore in terms of the food. They had BBQ mushroom, potatoes, lamb meat satays, cucumber and more. Whereas Singapore have BBQ chicken wings, marshmellow, hotdogs, chicken satays, chilli stingrays, corn and more. Once again, the night was not lighted by any lamp post and we could not see anything in the night at all and we managed to survived using torch lights. It was a unique experience as if I was in the military, out in the wild field. In the midst of the BBQ, we went to put fireworks at an open area beside the BBQ area. Here's a short video of the fireworks we put that night. The local students were kind to assist us in playing the fireworks and some of us were like frogs in the well as we did not play fireworks at all in our entire lifetime. We were elated and the atmosphere reached to the fullest. It is illegal in Singapore to put fireworks, even sparkles, as they can cause fire harzards. We had fun that night, free from BANS.