The Abingdonian 2019

14 The Abingdonian China Trip A group of seven pupils and two teachers travelled to China in half- term. In the late evening of Tuesday 16 October we embarked on our first exciting excursion to the culture-rich city of Xi’an, and our mode of transport was a ‘sleeper train’, which provided excellent accommodation for the night, even if it was a little noisy. After a short but sweet rest, we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed gliding through the outskirts of Xi’an. It was not long until we disembarked from the train and were whisked off by our tour guide, who took us to enjoy a traditional and local breakfast near the city centre, which consisted of delicious noodles and Chinese burgers. With our stomachs full, we set off to the local museum of traditional Chinese art, where we enjoyed the experience of having the works explained in thorough detail, as well as being able to write (or in my case attempt ) some Chinese calligraphy. I particularly enjoyed some of the old Chinese communist posters that had been created in the late 60s. At midday, we were brought to yet another charming Chinese restaurant, and were met with steaming plates of food (of which we naturally learned the names in Chinese), and fuelled up for the rest of the day. Next on the agenda was to visit the Fortifications of Xi’an. The view from on top was spectacular, and was made even better by being able to cycle on top of its nearly 15km perimeter. The wall shielded a beautiful part of the city from the endless housing blocks and skyscrapers, and within it lay lots of traditional housing as well as an abundance of beautiful temples. Having finished the cycle on the wall, we were driven up to the final highlight of the day, the bell tower in the centre of Xi’an. After having learnt the characters on all of the drums in the tower, we were able to enjoy the picturesque sunset over the square that was beginning to teem with life. For dinner we enjoyed a buffet style meal, that was slightly rushed as the nightlife of the city awaited us. We took our bus to the city centre, and were greeted with a spectacle of light; water fountains had been turned on and were in their full glory, and almost every building had been illuminated, as if the city had had a makeover. After some shopping in the local mall we checked into our hotel, exhausted but inspired. The following morning we woke up, excited to be visiting the world-famous Terracotta Army. After a short drive, we entered the dome of the main attraction, and saw why the spectacle had earned its fame. Row upon row of intricately detailed soldiers were lined up in their hundreds, and our guide explained that they had been crafted to protect the emperor in the afterlife. We visited three different buildings, which all held different soldiers of different status and rank. After visiting the attraction, we visited the small town that lies next to the site, and were fortunate enough to meet Mr Yang (the farmer who discovered the Terracotta Army), and had the opportunity to purchase some signed copies of his book. The final highlight of Xi’an that we visited was the museum dedicated to the ancient tribe of Banpo, which used to live in the area. The museum did a great job of explaining their way of life, the activities they undertook and the equipment they used to get by in their age, and also helped us learn the vocabulary for some of the ancient equipment.