The trip to Anhui, China was extremely memorable and also rather educational.
We went to places such as Huangshan, Baogongci, Sanhe Guzhen, Xidi and Hongcun
ancient villages, etc.. However, out of all these interesting places, my favorite
are Huangshan, the visit to the IT companies and the school immersion. Our trip
covered a wide range of topics that helped to enhance our learning in China,
of China. This helped us understand many things such as the people, culture,
technology and products. We also visited many beautiful places to admire the scenery. In the school immersion, we were each assigned to a buddy. My buddy was a friendly
and kindhearted girl called Zhang Hai Bei, who greeted me with a hug. We had been
communicating via email before I went to China and we were very excited to see each
other. China is known to load their students with massive and unbearable amounts of
homework yet my buddy set aside so much time to send me an email to get to know me,
despite the fact that she admitted that it was difficult for her to type in English.
When we think of Chinese schools, we often visualize students sitting in their
desks, buried in their piles of textbooks, making little or no forms of social
interaction. We used to picture zombies in our heads when we think of Chinese
students. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that they were not what we
thought they were. They were not only amicable and fun to talk to, they were
extremely witty and intelligent. The classroom atmosphere was not dull and dreary.
The students never failed to answer questions with confidence. They treated us like
one of them and we were more than happy under their care. We often see them
as “nerds” who fail to strike a balance between their studies and social life and
we assumed that they were merely workaholics. We came to realize that our assumptions
were extremely inaccurate. Singaporean students, in comparison, either have a good
social life or good grades. We fail to have the best of both worlds unless we are
extremely good at managing our time. We should learn from them in this aspect
and we will truly benefit in terms of being happier and having a wholesome lifestyle.
However, something they can improve on is their art module, which is based on a lot
of rules and guidelines, unlike ours, which gives us room to be creative. My buddy
was kind and constantly explained the lesson to me in English. Her English vocabulary
was limited but she never gave up trying to help me. This is admirable because she
showed me that she truly cared for me even though we just met. She also asked me many
questions. For example, “Do you learn this in Singapore?” so as to try to make what
they are learning more relevant to me. I miss my buddy very much. Our trip to the IT companies included iFlytek and Meiling. Meiling is a user-friendly
refrigerator company which sells fridges in European countries under a different
name. The iFlytek company was a software company. In my school immersion trip, the
history teacher mentioned about Korea and Japan copying China (e.g. traditional
costumes). He said that copying from each other is something that everyone does
for improvement. This is extremely evident in that of iFlytek’s ‘ideas’. iFlytek
has adapted ideas from several major companies (e.g. Apple and Samsung). The ability
to “speak” to the phone to deliver commands and instructions is one of them. Siri
was introduced by Apple long ago. Siri could help to issue reminders, send messages,
make calls, search the Web, etc. The software iFlytek created can now do the exact
same. Modification and copying is important for us to be on par with others and
improve ourselves. We take the good points from others and make it our own. I enjoy the hike on Huangshan very much. The steps were steep and sometimes
difficult to climb. However, my classmates cheered one another one, ocassionally
waiting for our slower friends and offering each other a sip of our drink or a bite
of our Snickers bar. My class has definitelhy bonded over this. We got to know each
other better and every time someone cheered me on, I could feel their care and
concern as a friend towards me. We suffered together and enjoyed the taste of
sweet success together as we enjoyed the majestic scenery. We went through much
together and this reminded me to treasure very single one of my classmates. I
enjoyed the overall experience very much. This trip is fun and educational.
Everyone grew individually and also as a 2F family, along with our kind teachers
who definitely had the patience of a saint. 2F OELP 2014 helped me to understand
much about China and ask questions about things I want to know more about, and also
to try to answer them independently. I also learnt to be more aware of countries
outside Singapore and how we should always try to improve. I’m sure our juniors will
have an enjoyable OELP 2015. -Chu Tingfang
As we all know, China and Singapore have close relationships and they have forged
agreements in free trade, education, foreign investment and technology. These two
countries constantly help each other; Singapore does its part to help encourage
cooperation between China and ASEAN while China supports relevant parties solving
their disputes through peaceful means and negotiations. Singapore, though small
in size, is a leader in the region's development. Therefore it weighs heavily in
China's diplomacy in the region because of its political and economic strength and
influence. Singapore has also helped China with its economic and administrative
management expertise, while China's rapid growth offers investment opportunities
for Singapore. Singapore is willing to tap into the full potential of economic
transportation this economic cooperation helps to maintain a good relationship
between these two countries. Singapore's relationship with China is changing over
time and will continue to change. China may become an advanced world power in 50
years' time, but it does not mean that Singapore will be squeezed out. Each year
we have many new immigrants from China to settle down in Singapore. As such, the
new relation between Singapore and China will continue to develop. The bilateral
ties will not be broken. Our CID learning journey was to Anhui and on the way, we passed by Shanghai. The
night view was stunning as the skyscrapers shone brightly against the dark sky.
However it was only a short while before we went ahead and rode on the high speed
rail to Hefei. The rapid modernization of China over the past decades has definitely impressed me.
China was different from how I had expected it to be, its new urban landscape,
skyscrapers, highways and obvious signs of a higher standard of living were so
different as opposed to how the country was 30 years ago. The high speed rail is
one of the modern transportation in China which can replace the need of other
transportations to different parts of China. I can see that its convenience and
speed is well liked by tourists and some citizens to travel .I think it is a great
way to travel comfortably while enjoying the view outside the windows. We passed
by many villages along the way, perhaps the high speed rail can even make rural
areas more accessible to everyone. The high speed rail is a sign of globalization
in China as it shows how China makes use of modern technology. We then visited the
iFlytek, a company which sells smartphones. All the functions were compacted into
one single app and it really accommodates to consumers' needs. I like how many of
the phone's functions can be integrated into daily activities to improve our lives
and change the way we utilize technology. It was admirable how the company extracts
a simple idea then innovates and improvises to make it its own creation. The user
friendly design certainly attracts many customers, enabling the China market to
catch up with major companies. The Meiling electronic home appliances company is
also doing well by expanding into the foreign market, it has many famous brands
under it and it is renamed when shipped to other countries. Their smart fridge is
a lot more advanced than what we have seen in Singapore, I feel that Singapore
can do better in developing our local electronic home appliances brands. Meiling
is a reliable and much trusted company and their reputation is so good that they
are even exempted from examination for exports. In terms of technology, Singapore
does not have so many multinational corporations; we can learn from China which
is strong in research, development, entrepreneurship and start improving on our
technological development. Also, I can tell that China has put in efforts for maintaining the cultural sites.
While globalization has made China more modernized and requiring space for further
expansion, many historical sites are still there. Some parts of them have been
demolished for construction of other architecture but the rest are rather well
preserved. We visited the Former Residence of Li Hong Zhang and it was found to be
in the middle of a shopping district. We were told that what we see today is only
less than 1/12 of the original! Nevertheless I am impressed that at least the site
is present up till today and it has undergone renovation. Another example is the
Huizhou Ancient city, nearly the whole attraction was newly renovated thus we were
unable to see much of the original historical site. However, part of preservation
is maintenance and it can be concluded that the government does take note of
preserving culture. In Sanhe guzhen, I noticed some citizens living in there despite
it being developed into a tourist attraction. I believe that the Chinese government
has taken measures by not demolishing these ancient architectures and replacing
them with apartments and skyscrapers. They also pay close attention to promoting
China's culture and that is one thing Singapore should learn and can do better.
However Singapore does have many museums to display and preserve artifacts with
cultural and historical importance and one of them is the National Museum of
Singapore. The government has also made plans for sustaining and preserving our
heritage to halt further loss of historical building to urban redevelopment and
to recover the built heritage and place identity. Many “shop houses” for instance,
were saved from the fate of demolition. A country's tradition is unique in its
own ways and would be irreplaceable once it is lost. That would definitely a pity
if it all disappeared just because of modern technology. We were also given the chance to visit the ever so magnificent Huangshan, a
popular tourist attraction located at the south end of Anhui Province. Since
its UNESCO World Heritage listing 20 years ago, Huangshan Mountain has taken
various measures to maintain its natural beauty. For instance, Huangshan pines
which are native to east China are cared for by specially trained staffs that
ensure the evergreen tree remains plentiful. The efforts in protecting the
landscape have won Huangshan more than 40 international and domestic awards. Over
the past two decades, Huangshan has received nearly 30 million visitors. That is
why Huangshan is enjoyed and visited by so many tourists and it will only attract
more to come. Although a total of 19 areas were designated as "Nature Areas", in
Singapore, no real action plans have been put in place to develop the Singapore
Green Plan. Apart for the existing two Nature Reserves, Central Catchment and
Bukit Timah, none of the 19 areas have any legal protection and can be developed
at any time. The best example of this is Sungei Khatib Bongsu, a wetland site,
which is threatened by the proposal to have a semi-expressway cutting through its
core. I feel that Singapore can follow China’s example and do better in nature
conservation. What I had enjoyed the most was the visit to a school in Anhui. The students there
were very hospitable and warmly welcomed us. We attended the same lessons as them
and got a chance to interact with the local students. It was an enriching
experience, we learn just about the same things yet the methods of teaching are
so different and the way students respond to them differ as well. Learning in
China is more student-initiated as all of them already know what is to be taught
and they have revised beforehand. It is also a habit of theirs to spontaneously
volunteer an answer in class. The teachers do not have to call upon names for one
to answer a question like in Singapore. Their curriculum is also more flexible as
they have a 10 minutes break after each lesson for them to relax and mingle around.
This provides a good balance between work and play. Meanwhile in Singapore, our
teaching is more creative and hands on. We like to study things outside of the
textbook to have a greater understanding of the subject. Perhaps, students in China
adopt a more serious attitude towards school and have to be more attentive and
since their parents had paid a lot of money just for them to get into a good school.
It was only expected for them to be the crème of the crop; this competitive streak
encourages them to study harder so as to not lose out. Most importantly, I saw for myself whether old is better than new. I first started
by comparing the modern days with the older ones. Both have their good points and
their bad ones. And as time passes by, many things have influenced and what we have
now is without a doubt, different from what it was a century ago. However, the
biggest difference between the past and the present is technology and how we
communicate. This has affected us in the way we act and our thoughts. Many of the
younger generations are not exposed to traditional ways and simply dismiss them
as unimportant. Yet, countless choices in human lives are reinforced, driven by
from traditions, whether religious traditions or what is passed down from ancestors.
As many cultures throughout history have found, traditional ways can often help
enhance rather than undermine sustainable life choices. Therefore I concluded that
old is actually the building block of new. Improvements cannot be made without the
old as people would only realize a need for development when looking back. Then
would they understand the limitless possibilities in progress and feel more inspired.
The old is in no way less significant than the new as one can use it as a yardstick
to gauge how far we have come or use as a reference to make new changes. That is
one thing no one should forget thus it was the most important lesson learnt. The whole idea of an overseas cultural trip is a new and creative way for active
learning. I have definitely been exposed to more Chinese culture, history and
heritage. This valuable knowledge may be found on textbooks but the actual experience
further enhanced my understanding. What I had enjoyed the most was learning about
the rich history of China while taking in the spectacular scenery. I learnt to
appreciate the different cultures of China and made many comparisons between China
and Singapore along the way. I also thought about the significance of objects and
how almost everything can be related back to history and culture. After this OELP
trip, I was better able to understand how globalization has affected the culture
and daily lives of the Chinese. This really honed my critical thinking skills and
made me consider things from other viewpoints. I really hope that the school would
provide us with more opportunities to go for such immersion trips in future. -Liu Xingyu Kathy
On the 25th of May, our class started our OELP trip to China. When we first
arrived in China, I was not quite sure what to expect. However, as we explored
China as a class, I was able to have a deeper understanding of China. Personally, I think that the most memorable point about China is their history.
Through this OELP trip, we got to learn about many historical characters like Li
Hong Zhang and Bao Gong and the stories behind them. After visiting these places,
I understood more about how China ended up how they are now and what China was like
in the past. By visiting looking at the architect of the houses at the historical
places and ancient villages, I was also able to learn about China’s culture and
values. A few specific examples would be the many writings around the houses, houses
having doors only for servants and a specific place where women have to stay in till
they are married. These showed the values that the people felt were important, for
example, being filial, and also showed how there was a culture consisting of very
distinct and segregated statuses. After going to these places, I am now able to
appreciate my life now more as I get to study and go out freely even though I am a
female. As the trip continues, we went to companies and schools to study more on the current
China. To me, the current China is definitely improving and that is because they
are competitive. The companies in China are producing many innovative ideas to
compete with other countries while the students in China are studying very hard for
a high position in the world. I think that having a competitive spirit is very
important and we should learn from China is this aspect instead of being complacent
because our country is already developed. As we look around China, it is inevitable that we bond more as a class too. As we
climb the 8 km through Huangshan, we encouraged each other and fight on together as
one. When we took pictures together as a class and laughed together, I felt like we
really bonded well. During and after the tough climb, some of us felt really cold
or had terrible muscle ache. When we saw this, many of us helped each other and it
was a really heart-warming scene. Another heart felt moment for me was when we
finished the climb as we all felt the sense accomplishment. That was the moment
when we can all proudly say that 2F conquered Huangshan together! After this OELP trip, I believe that 2F learned much more about China and grew as
a class. After all the nights going into each other’s room, sharing our experiences
and learning, taking down notes together, the trip was definitely very meaningful
for me. I believe that OELP trips will continue to be great learning experiences and
bonding trips for River Valley High School students and I definitely did not regret
going for this trip.
-Lee Yi Xuan
I felt that trip to Anhui, China was very fun , educational and interesting .
I enjoyed myself and also learned a lot of different things . When we went to
the industrial visits to eg. Iflytek and meiling factory, I was really amazed
by the improvement in technology. All the while I always thought that China was
just a devolping country and that people outside of Beijing or Shanghai are not
so devolved and industrialized . Iflytek presented its version of voice technology .
I was pretty amazed that the technology is able to translate dialect into Chinese.
If you speak dialect like teochew or Cantonese, Iflytek is able help you translate .
From my point of view, I feel china is doing well in industrializing and modernizing
China . They have invested well in improving technology and this can aid in having
a better and richer economy. I attended class with students from anhui . After spending 4 hours for 2 days with
them , I am able to see the difference between the study environment between the
school here in Singapore and in anhui . The students are very participative ,
disciplined and are very smart. The classroom size is smaller compared to Singapore ,
however there are at least 50 students In one class in the school in anhui. I also
heard that the school fees of this school is really expensive. Whereas the
Singapore government has heavily subsidies for us . In anhui , I also learned about the cultures and history of china. Visiting places
like the residence of lihongzhang and baogong , I learned about their different
contributions to China. Visiting hongcun and xidi , I learned of the cultures of
past china. The old town has shown me that education was important during the old
times and still is now. I also went to huangshan to experience the scenery .
Nature surrounded the entire mountain and it was very beautiful. The scenery at
hongcun and xidi was also very calming . I had experienced and learned a lot during
the trip . I really wish to comeback again and also learn more things.
-Lionel
Throughout these 7 days in China, I feel that our class has got to know each
other better. Also, the fact that this would be our last year together as a class
further motivates each of us to interact more with the class. There were many
times that the class was extremely talkative outside and made a lot of noise.
However, we did quieten down with a bit of warning. Just like the first day, when
we were having our lunches and dinners, we did not bother about the teachers and
just went on eating and chatting. That night in the briefing room, the teachers
mentioned it and immediately the day after I could see the changes where teachers
would get questions on what drinks they wanted to have or get the first scoop of
rice. Another impressive factor that our class did really well in was the
punctuality in the morning. We had a midnight flight and by the time we reached
the hotel in China it was already 1am. The checking in, bathing and changing of
clothes and not to forget brushing of teeth took the time to nearly 3am before we
went to sleep. I was certain everybody would be tired and will take longer than
normal to wake up. Even so because we were supposed to wake up early tomorrow too.
When the time reached, I opened my eyes but did not feel tired. I realised my
classmates may need help in getting up and decided to knock on their doors. A few
other of my friends did this too and in the end everyone ended up being punctual
for assembly in the lobby. I think this attitude of helping each other is
commendable. Just like me and my roommate, we depend on each other. There are
times when I will wake him up and times when he will wake me up. Also, during the
first few bus trips, many of us were either sleeping or listening to music. After
a gentle reminder, we only waited till the guide gave us the permission to rest did
we do so. One of the days, we took a bullet train. I unfortunately lost my ticket
and it only thanks to the guide that I was able to board. I learnt that we should
be more aware of our surroundings and being more responsible to our belongings as
we are in a place we do not know well with strangers we have never met before.
Back at hotels, the guys were especially noisy and kept running about and laughing
or talking really loudly. We were one of the lucky classes that were allowed to
go to each other’s rooms but we took that for granted. I think our class should
work on being grateful for what benefits/priorities we have. Our beloved guides
have taught us a lot too about the traditions of China and its atmosphere. The
school that we went was the best in the district. Their school fees are unbelievably
high and for that I think we should remind ourselves of our heavily subsidised
school fees. In a result of that, the students in their class are extremely
attentive and give it their all every single day in hopes of getting better in
their studies and getting into the school they want. All this so that they can
get a good job and support their family in the future. I believe we students in
Singapore should learn this aspect from them. In a nutshell, I feel our class
matured a bit in this trip to China, and although we needed a few reminders on
our behaviour outside and inside, I feel that the class have learnt from their
mistakes and this will apply to our daily lives. -Gerald Goh Jun Yi
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