Warwick School

We had an emotional send-off from Nanshan school when we presented a painting of Warwick School to the Deputy Headmaster Mr Yu at the weekly flag-raising ceremony and singing of the national anthem. We then said goodbaye to the host partners and boarded a coach for Hong Kong where we toured the city, including a night-time cruise to see the city lights - a most impressive sight!

Day 7 consisted of a trip to Splendid China, a scaled down version of the country and the landmarks, and The Culture Village.

This attraction was warmly appreciated and many enjoyed seeing what was on offer. The highlight of the day had to be the chance of trying to barter with the shopowners to try and get the lowest possible price, even if they didn't agree!

Yesterday the boys spent the morning in school attending lessons with their partners. Particularly interesting was to see the whole school start the day with exercises. Two thousand pupils doing synchronised aerobics in front of the school - a very impressive sight. In the afternoon we went down to the former port area for a bit of sightseeing - I say former port area as it is now reclaimed land.

After a tiring flight, we met our hosts at Nanshan School. After some apprehension and nervousness on the part of the boys, our partners and host families made us extremely welcome. We spent the first day in Nanshan School, and we watched as the whole school did exercises before lessons started. We then had a tour around the school, and it is more like a university than a typical school. We had lunch in the cafeteria, and then went to two of our partners' lessons.

A busy day in Day Three. We visited the Forbidden City, Emperor's Summer Palace, the Temple Of Heaven, Tiannaman Square and Mao. The boys were amazed at the size of the crowds, standing in line to see their former great leader.

We then moved on to the Forbidden City. We passed through one court after another and seemed to walk for kilometers until we reached the Emperor's Palace. Beijing is a busy, bustling city, but the Emperor's Palace is a peaceful, quiet place that is in the heart of Beijing.

This blog is brought to you by James Dryden, Luke Price and Fred Lindsey.

We have got some photographs however we are having trouble submitting them. Please be patient and go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/thealphakid/sets/72157602411570260/ if you would like to see them

The travel agent in Beijing was unable to secure sleeping accommodation on the rail journey from Beijing to Shenzhen in the south and not wishing to spend 23 hours sitting in a railway carriage we have arranged to fly. Details of the flight are as follows:

Flt No CA1305 Depart Beijing 17:35 hrs Tues 16 October
Arrive Shenzhen 20:35 hrs Tues 16 October

The Head has kindly agreed to fund of this flight. It will mean that your son will spend an extra night with his host family, as we shall now arrive a day earlier.

This is the Blog for the China 2007 trip.