In this oversea trip, we went to Zhejiang university. We were brought to a conference room where a middle-aged teacher from Zhejiang introduced to us the history of the universities and also its speciality. We found out that this university provides the students with two major. One technology major and the other one can be the student's choice. The school also has two sports stadium which shows that Zhejiang also emphasizes on areas other the academics. After the talk, we took a bus ride around the school since the school was too big to walk around. However, I wanted to visit at least one of the buildings such as library, hostel or hospital because every one of them was at least around 4 levels high and grand. Overall, it was a great experience visiting the Zhejiang university in China.
Thursday, 17 July 2014
Ancient Qibao Town
Rating 3/5
In this overseas trip, we went to the Qibao ancient town. It has preserved the old culture of China. It was originally oldest and most famous water towns. Now, it is a popular shopping area which sells clothes, goods and finger-food. When we visited there, I could see old wells, and old bridges from the past. This made it unique and somehow I felt like I was in the old Qibao Ancient Town unlike the modern, air-conditioned and well-decorated shopping malls in Singapore. Furthermore, in the middle of the shopping area, there is a bridge. The bridge made the place more beautiful and grand. However, the shopping area is very crowded mainly because we move along the long and narrow roads in the ancient town. Everyone was sweating profusely and it was very irritating. But in overall, it was a great place to visit.
Qinghefang
Rating: 4/5
Qinghefang Ancient Street is a section of Hefang Street which is located at the northern foot of Wu Shan Hill in Hangzhou. It is just several hundreds meters away from the beautiful West Lake. With an area of 13 hectares, the street is the only well-preserved part of the ancient city. As a miniature of the city's long history, it is the best place to embody the historical and cultural character of Hangzhou. As I walk down the street, I can see many shops. (obviously :3) There's a shop sells rare medicines produced in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and I wasn't really interested in that, so I skipped that shop. Then there's a Taiji Teahouse. It was managed by the offspring of Zheng family which started teahouse business as early as late Emperor Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty. Taiji Teahouse pays great attention to water quality, tea quality and tea preparation skills. I tried it out and it was really good! 😁
The other shops I see are the Rongbaozhai Gallery, Wang Xing Ji Fan Store, Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors. There are still many shops there, but I didn't really wander off too much to explore due to time constrain. Even so, I learnt a lot just by looking at those shops' preserved culture.
Qinghefang Ancient Street is a section of Hefang Street which is located at the northern foot of Wu Shan Hill in Hangzhou. It is just several hundreds meters away from the beautiful West Lake. With an area of 13 hectares, the street is the only well-preserved part of the ancient city. As a miniature of the city's long history, it is the best place to embody the historical and cultural character of Hangzhou. As I walk down the street, I can see many shops. (obviously :3) There's a shop sells rare medicines produced in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and I wasn't really interested in that, so I skipped that shop. Then there's a Taiji Teahouse. It was managed by the offspring of Zheng family which started teahouse business as early as late Emperor Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty. Taiji Teahouse pays great attention to water quality, tea quality and tea preparation skills. I tried it out and it was really good! 😁
The other shops I see are the Rongbaozhai Gallery, Wang Xing Ji Fan Store, Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors. There are still many shops there, but I didn't really wander off too much to explore due to time constrain. Even so, I learnt a lot just by looking at those shops' preserved culture.
Tianzifang
Rating: 4/5
Tianzifang is known for small craft stores, coffee shops, trendy art studios and narrow alleys. It has become a popular tourist destination in Shanghai, and an example of preservation of local Shikumen architecture, with some similarities to Xintiandi. Of course, I had a very hard time squeezing through the alley, but it think it was all worth it. The alley may seem small, but actually the shops at the sides are very big. The things there are actually very modern too 😙 so I found many things that was entertaining over there. For example there was this craft store which had many fun things. The was a toy piggy and it gave out a sound that sounded like someone farting. 😂 I had a lot of fun there.
Tianzifang is known for small craft stores, coffee shops, trendy art studios and narrow alleys. It has become a popular tourist destination in Shanghai, and an example of preservation of local Shikumen architecture, with some similarities to Xintiandi. Of course, I had a very hard time squeezing through the alley, but it think it was all worth it. The alley may seem small, but actually the shops at the sides are very big. The things there are actually very modern too 😙 so I found many things that was entertaining over there. For example there was this craft store which had many fun things. The was a toy piggy and it gave out a sound that sounded like someone farting. 😂 I had a lot of fun there.
Yue Fei Temple
Rating: 4/5
The Yue Fei Temple or commonly known in Chinese as Yuewang Temple (simplified Chinese: 岳王庙; traditional Chinese: 岳王廟) is a temple built in honor of Yue Fei, a general of the Southern Song dynasty who fought against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty during the Jin–Song wars, after the capital of China moved south to Hangzhou. The temple ground is located near the West Lake, in central Hangzhou.
The temple was first constructed in the during the Song Dynasty in 1221 to commemorate Yue Fei. The site includes Yue Fei's Temple, Loyalty Temple and Yue Fei’s Mausoleum inside. The temple was reconstructed several times in later date. The tombs and the tomb sculptures in the temple all dates from the 12th century, and have been meticulously restored. Iron statues of Qin Hui, Lady Wang, and two of Qin's subordinates, Moqi Xie (万俟軼) and Zhang Jun (張俊), were made to kneel before Yue Fei's tomb (located by the West Lake, Hangzhou) because they framed Yue Fei and caused his death. For centuries, these statues have been cursed, spat and urinated upon by people. The original castings in bronze were damaged, but later were replaced by images cast in iron, but these were similarly damaged. However now, in modern times, these statues are protected as historical relics.
The Yue Fei Temple or commonly known in Chinese as Yuewang Temple (simplified Chinese: 岳王庙; traditional Chinese: 岳王廟) is a temple built in honor of Yue Fei, a general of the Southern Song dynasty who fought against the Jurchen Jin Dynasty during the Jin–Song wars, after the capital of China moved south to Hangzhou. The temple ground is located near the West Lake, in central Hangzhou.
The temple was first constructed in the during the Song Dynasty in 1221 to commemorate Yue Fei. The site includes Yue Fei's Temple, Loyalty Temple and Yue Fei’s Mausoleum inside. The temple was reconstructed several times in later date. The tombs and the tomb sculptures in the temple all dates from the 12th century, and have been meticulously restored. Iron statues of Qin Hui, Lady Wang, and two of Qin's subordinates, Moqi Xie (万俟軼) and Zhang Jun (張俊), were made to kneel before Yue Fei's tomb (located by the West Lake, Hangzhou) because they framed Yue Fei and caused his death. For centuries, these statues have been cursed, spat and urinated upon by people. The original castings in bronze were damaged, but later were replaced by images cast in iron, but these were similarly damaged. However now, in modern times, these statues are protected as historical relics.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
City God Temple of Shanghai
Rating: 4/5
Even though it looks just like an ordinary temple from the
outside, inside was filled with interesting shops selling many souvenirs filled with the cultural of China. From, little panda key chains to traditional Chinese paper fans, there wasn't a single place where we did not "wow" at. Besides the statues of the City God himself, there were many other statues and interesting illustrations on the walls of each room of a temple.We were delighted when we were given some free time to walk around and shop for the first time in Shanghai. Many of us loved the concept of having new inside old, which is the concept of this temple as even though it looks old on the outside, inside was still fairly modern and bustling with people. The items were priced reasonably and everyone left the place feeling happy and satisfied.
Fudan University
Rating: 5/5
Our trip to Fudan university wasn't off to a good start as
our seniors studying there did not arrive on time and we had to wait there for
quite a while. However, once they arrived they started to show us around. The
school had a homey and serene feeling to it. In front of the campus, there was a
magnificent Mao Ze Dong statue. The buildings and classroom in the university
were all very old except for a building named 光华楼
Which looks very modern and new. The seniors talked to us a lot of the subjects
and stress level in the school and advised us about which path we should take.
It was definitely a enriching experience.
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