John Lightbody & Michael Walsh

Greg Gibson & Dougal Crawford

After an emotional leaving banquet with toasts and ‘gambi’s’ a plenty, team GCU woke this morning with the slightly daunting, yet exiting task of catching the morning train to the capital city of Beijing. Early morning starts have become somewhat of a norm as we met in the dining room for one final breakfast buffet, with our usual staple of cereal and melon being devoured with haste. The delightful Mr. Shu chuckled happily as a few fuzzy heads gathered in the hallway to take part in some final photos with the hotel staff.

Last night’s official send off with the UJN students had most certainly been meaningful, however the reality had certainly set in after some goodbye hugs as Lewis, Xien, Kate and Circle walked us directly to our first class compartment as we finally settled in to the best seats in the house!

Feeling the strain from over-indulgence last night, some delegates were quick to take advantage of a mid morning nap, while others kept busy by playing card games, which made light work of the 3 hour journey. Beijing by all respects a distinct change of scenery as we disembarked the train to be met by our new tour guide, Grace Ren (no relation to Amy Ren, as far as I am aware). Grace was quick to marshall us into orientation as we climbed onto our new coach and for many, the air-conditoning was well-recieved as the humid Beijing air got the better of us.

Grace gave us a basic introduction to the gargantuan capital city before escorting us to our first landmark which certainly needs no introduction- Tianenmen Square. As we passed through a couple of security checks we arrived in the epicentre of world Communism, where we were given a chance to really take in some of the formidable government buildings and some impressive chinese architecture which left this delegate awestruck. Numerous photographs were structured in order to include a sterling portrait of Chairman Mao as we made our way to the gates of the enigmatic Forbidden City.

The forbidden city was another chance to revisit some Chinese heritage as Grace informed us of the habits of former Emperors as we cleared a few of the massive archways which were used to summon former officials to the court of the Monarch. Leaving the beautiful forbidden city via the North gate, we then made the short walk to the Red Wall hotel, where some relieved delegates made good use of the double beds before setting off in to town for some much needed carbohydrates (GCU students swarmed a Pizza hut branch amidst a beautiful cosmopolitan shopping centre.

With the prospects of a well-earned lie-in tomorrow morning, the GCU delegates continue to bond by practicing some simple Mandarin phrases in preparation for our descent on the Chinese markets tomorrow afternoon.

“All present and accounted for”

Zai Jian

Matte Andrews

Following a night of relaxation, pampering and group bonding, the group awoke feeling rather refreshed and prepared for a day of retail therapy. The day started with the usual early morning call for breakfast at 8.30.

Following breakfast we all split into small groups and patiently waited outside the hotel for taxis to take us along to the Chinese markets where many hidden gems and traditional items awaited us. The bargaining skills we have accomplished in previous market trips proved very useful, and led to some successful purchases and gifts for home – we also had time to wander around the local area.

Lunch consisted of some much needed western delights including Pizza Hut and McDonalds. This was rounded off with some delightful beverages being consumed in the world renowned Starbucks. With many full stomachs and excess pizzas boxed, the group were refuelled and refreshed for the second part of our day.

Many of the students took up Mr Shu’s earlier invitation for a game of “ping pong” in the late afternoon in a nearby hotel. Eagerly anticipating the challenge of Mr Shu to a game, the boys warmed up and impressed us with their skills however they were unable to defeat him in the mini tournaments. We were treated to a display by Mr Shu and his former coach, mesmerised by their faultless and effortless talents during the never ending rallies.

Some members of the group were not quite finished indulging in retail therapy and continued looking for some treasures in the shopping mall. The stores visited were very exclusive chinese brands such as Polar and the bear, Pucca and Sephora. The Pucca store stood out as the most dazzling due to its array of goodies on display such as handbags, phone charms and Pucca teddy bears. The hours seemed to fly by and some members finished the day with a manicure at the local nail salon.

The group once again dressed in their finery and celebrated the end of the Jinan journey with Mr Shu, Mrs Ju, Mr Lu and Mr Wong who hosted a farewell banquet. An amazing spread was laid out and the beer was flowing to accompany the endless toasts shared by our hosts. The whole delegation was invited to give a toast with some sentimental words shared to reflect our experiences in Jinan. We were joined by our new friends and exchanged some gifts as a thank you for the generous hospitality we were treated to. The hotel decided to celebrate Dougal’s birthday a day earlier with a cake, and Mr Shu also presented him with a bottle of local liqueur.

As with tradition we retired to the 6th floor corridor to continue the celebrations and pack up our cases for the journey ahead.
We are looking forward to travelling to Beijing and discovering the many famous landmarks it has to offer.

Miranda Oxer & Sharifa Mclean

Its fair to say a few of us woke this morning with a sore head, after an unusual but excellent night out in Ji’nan city centre. However, one thing that will always lift your spirits is the hospitality at our hotel, as well as the wonderful staff. So after another hearty breakfast we were good to go on our way to Qing Dao – a long six hour bus journey through the countryside of Shandong Province (not the anticipated four hours!)

We were delighted to once again enjoy the company of Mr Schu on our trip, who showered us with compliments about our “dynamism” and “creativity” – a real character that we have all warmed to.

After a sleepy bus journey, we awoke in the cosmopolitan city of Qing Dao, a small place on the east coast of China, with just the 7,000,000 inhabitants. We were all taken aback by the modern construction and the “western” feel to the city known as the “Geneva of China” due to the heavy european influence over the ages.

Our first stop, as ever, was the restuarant where we had our first of many seafood delicacies that Qing Dao had to offer. Whilst we are all willing to try new food in China, its safe to say we were soon to be “all fished out”.

We now moved on to what many of the group were looking forward to the most – Tsingtao beer factory. A brewery founded in 1903 by British and German settlers. The museum provided a facinating insight as to how a business can develop initially in a British colony, then under Japanese occupation, Chinese Communism and now under the bustling, modern economy we know today. The drunk room, at the end of the tour, with contorted sloping walls provided a timely reminder as to what too much beer can do to you! Nevertheless Mr Shu bought us all fresh beers in the bar, as we relaxed and discussed our dynamism and creativity some more.

We constrained our itch to visit the restuarant at this point, and instead travelled to the sailing centre and port to marvel at the most impressive skyline, we personallly, have seen in our lives. The Olympic centre, beautiful modern sculptures and array of boats on the backdrop of numerous skyscrapers rising into the everpresent Chinese fog was marvellous. We wondered down the seafront where Riz went all Austin Powers on us, setting up some action shots for the facebook page.

Next stop, we thought it best to visit another restaurant. Fish was on the menu and of the boney, scaley, with plenty-of-eyes variety. We then had the opportunity to see what we were eating, by viewing the fish in the tanks ready for cooking. Whilst this may seem unusual to us all, is very much apart of Chinese cuisine.

After the travelling, beer and fish we were ready to chill out at the hotel, and chill out we did. The hotel was of an excellent calibre with all the trimmings, and we all took great delight in wandering around in the bath robes provided for us. The Chinese occupants of the Hotel also got an unexpected photo opportunity – I dont think you see twenty British students walk around in dressing gowns every day in China.

As ever, Mr Shu was for some socialising so we enjoyed a drink at the bar before he lead us to a private dining room where we talked, laughed and relaxed some more before collapsing in bed.

The day of the fish ends. Fishy chat, fishy food and fishy shenanigans but another cracker in the land of the rising sun!

Andrew Lawson & Rizwan Sabir

Today was met with great optimism as the promise of some sporting activities got everyone excited after a week of heavy indulgence at the dinner table.

First however, the group were given the chance to showcase any artistic ability they had, with some of the group proving much more creative than others – Nosheen and Linda showing notable quality with the brush. Greeted with a generous round of applause, we filed in to one of UJN’s many art classes to try our hand at some Calligraphy. Professor Li, with the aid of some UJN students, showed us some essential tips which helped in creating our ‘masterpieces’.

As the Calligraphy was winding down, the group were visibly flagging having gone more than three hours without being fed – a landmark at this point.

Basketball was up next, but despite some no nonsense defending from Andy and an ambitious three pointer from Matte, we got roundly trounced by the Jinan students; who’s line up was similar in stature to the LA Laker’s.

We were much more optimistic for the football that greeted us next as we knew secret weapon, Rizwan Sabir had been training all week in preparation for his Caley debut. Shaun and Greg scored the pick of the goals as we ground out a 6-5 win in typically British fashion.

Supper tasted particularly sweet after victory and we decided to toast the win with another trip to KTV. The hits were belted out and both the UJN students and our delegation were happy to continue the night next door as we got in about a pretty lively disco.

A great day and night was had all round; and having reached the midway point, the trip has provided some memorable moments with hilarity and inter-delgaton camaraderie at an all time high. The group eagerly await the weekend’s trip to Qing Dao and next week’s visit to Beijing.

Simon Ward