For the second time since 2009 a large group of Dollar Academy pupils made their way to the Far East in search of culture, history and not a little bargain hunting. 37 members of Forms IV, V and VI covered vast distances by plane, overnight train, bus and, at times, rickshaw, in pursuit of the truth about modern China. 8 days gave us only a small taste. To some of our pupils it was their first experience of real Chinese food – communal eating, lots of vegetables and soup at the end of the meal! ; to some it was the sheer excitement of spending 10 hours on the overnight bullet train from Shanghai to Beijing; for some it was the chance to see the wonderful terracotta warriors in the ancient former capital in Xian and, for some, it was the pleasure of being able to bargain with an agitated market vendor for that “priceless” Hermes handbag. It was clear, however, that for us all this would not be our last taste of China.

April 2011