Virtual China '98

King Group

Monday, April 21, 1998

So far China has been a thrilling experience. We stayed at the Pennisula Hotel for two nights. We felt ourselves to be very high class in the Peninsula Hotel. At first, we thought it was going to be in the middle of nowhere but it turned out to be in the center of the city. When we got off the bus, the bell boys came and assisted us in getting our luggage up to our rooms. The lobby of the hotel was oversized and we thought it was very grand. The rooms were fantastic and we had a awesome view of the harbor.

Everyday we had to wake up at 7:00 am. The food was okay. We had the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hotel staff was very polite to us while we stayed there. I think that this hotel was very nice and overall I am super satisfied.

On the third night, we arrived at a less grand hotel, the Taishan Overseas China Hotel. The rooms were much the same, but the rest of the hotel could not be more different. We'll let you know tomorrow, what we think of this place.

Visit to My Village

When I was returning to my home from working in the fields, I was surrounded by a large group of children dressed in red shirts. They were on a cycling trip with their school in HK. They were asking me many questions about the life and history of my little village.

I told them that my ancestors had founded the village over 100 years ago when they fled the Emperor. They hid in this area to protect their families. They lived by farming, raising chickens, ducks and other animals and by fishing. We have lived the same way ever since. Beginning in 1949, the government took the land but permitted us to continue to farm in return for giving them part of our harvest. We are able to live well and are happy.

I thought all of the children were very polite. I was amazed by how different they appeared, especially the little ones of Chinese descent. They were stronger and much better dressed than our young people. Some didn't even speak Chinese. This is very surprising to me, as Chinese people should keep their culture and their language even when outside of China. I hope they appreciate their heritage and remember their history.

In the end I thought they were nice and I invited them to return again.

education

Throughout our 2 days journey we visited a few schools on the way to our destinations. First school was a primary school and it was hilarious! All the little children were all very frightened of us and wanted to know us as much as possible. They were having a class so it was much easier to get some very natural and also very interesting features and images of the classes and the students as well. Although they were all scared of us at first, we all got to know each other very well later on. What I was very astonished of was when I saw how poorly the students as well as the school itself were being treated. I felt that the students should be looked after with care at school as well as at home.

The second school we visited was called Kuo Ling Middle School. All the students weren't there because it was lunchtime and the students go back to there home to eat their lunch. The teachers teach Chinese, English, politics, math, chemistry, music, history, biology, art and physics. The teachers were very nice enough to answer our questions for us with details. It was much easier and comfortable for us as they could speak English a bit. Although we didn't actually get to talk to the students, I again noticed the lack of development at school.

I hope that in the future the system of the school improve for the children and also for the future of china. Also I hope that the children gets more care and understanding than they do now.

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