The following is for students that travelled to China this year. Loading ..read more

We are reaching the end of an extraordinary adventure and today involved many new experiences for travellers. We had the opportunity to split up into smaller groups and explore the streets of Shanghai. Some early rising groups were able to experience the Maglev (fast train) they reached some serious speed, getting up to 431km/h! Other groups after a well deserved sleep in, ventured to the Shanghai Zoo which featured amazing animals such as Ant eaters, Antarctic wolves, Bears, Hedgehogs, cheeky Monkeys and of course Pandas. It was amazing to see such a large variety of animals that you may not ..read more

After our very successful school and home stay visits in Suzhou and our very extravagant hotel,  we made our way back to the Park Hotel in Shanghai. After another banquet lunch and check in we headed for the flower, bird, insect and small animal market. This is one of the few remaining traditional markets in town. The Chinese who here for apartment and city sized pets and what a unique selection there is! There is a vast array of critters for sale here but it can be quite confronting to see some of these animals for sale and in small cages! We also went to the Shanghai Urban Exhibition Centr ..read more

Day 7 Blog Info Today Bendigo Violet St students joined the Xinghai PS students for Art class. They were sketching rocks from the Administrators Garden. They worked with oil pastels and paper and used lots of detail. Olive, Sophie and Chloe met with their sister school Principal, Mr Hong. They exchanged gifts and then explored the school garden. The school grounds take one hour to walk around! They watched their basketball team train too. The class hosted a party for Olive, Sophie and Chloe. They played a game with marbles and chopsticks. They played instruments and showed them a dan ..read more

Today was a very exciting day for all! This morning we were all whisked away to our sister schools in Suzhou Industrial Park. These schools included Wencui PS, Weiting Experimental PS, Qing Jian Hu School, Xinghai PS, Xincheng Garden PS, Fangzhou PS, Dong Zhou PS, Jinji Lake PS, Xinggang School, Weiting School, Dong Sha Lake School, Hamlin PS, Xingyang School. We were greeted with welcoming arms and were made to feel like royalty. Children were introduced to the classes and schools, some even had to make speeches at school assemblies! Our students experienced many different lessons including m ..read more

They say that Suzhou is the Venice of the East – and this morning, the girls and boys found out why. After a colossal breakfast at the Grand Metropark Hotel, we all hopped on the bus and headed out to Tongli – a beautiful Watertown trapped in a time capsule…preserving the old ways of the Suzhou District for all to see! The trip out was entertaining with our guide (Michael) singing us traditional Chinese songs and the Aussie’s abroad returning favour with Bohemian Rhapsody. Those on the other bus may have been pleased to have a bit of peace and quiet instead. The drive to Tongli was relatively ..read more

Our Morning of Travel We awoke early for our buffet breakfast before checking out of our ‘Kuntai Royal Hotel’ accommodation. After plenty of security checks, explosives tests, pats downs and coffees (for the teachers) we boarded our plane to leave Beijing, bound for new adventures in Shanghai. After sitting in the plane’s pressurised cabin, sucking in the recycled air, we emerged into the Shanghai airport with newly-found vigor and sense of adventure. Shanghai arrival! Once on our Shanghai bus, we met our new guide, Sarah. Her microphone is magnificent. Hi Sarah! We managed to catch our first ..read more