History and Modern Studies Department

TRIP TO CHINA, EASTER 2009

For the first time, over the Easter break, a group of Dollar Academy pupils travelled to The People’s Republic of China and spent 10 days uncovering some of the mysteries wrapped up within the “middle kingdom”. From the ancient imperial majesty of the Forbidden City and Summer Palace in the nation’s capital, Beijing, to the dynamic vision and colour of Shanghai where over 16 million people and neon buildings crowd together in a city that epitomises the energy of 21st China, the different sides of this fascinating nation was introduced to a group of pupils from the History & Modern Studies Dept.

Thousands of kilometres were covered by plane, coach and train, with our wonderful guide Han always there to steer us gently through the sea of people clambering for train tickets, fighting for spare seats in waiting rooms or just simply making their way about their daily business; travelling any distance in a country of 1.4 billion people is no simple matter. Not one of the group will forget the achievement of clambering up the Great Wall, marvelling at the open space of Tiananmen Square, taking in the incredible sight of several thousand Terracotta Warriors in Xian or just simply facing three Chinese meals a day. It was, quite simply, the trip of a lifetime.

April 2009