CHINA DIARY • 2008 March 3 – 9th Graders, Teachers Arrive in ChinaA telephone call to the school by Deb Riding early Monday morning New Haven time reported that the travelers arrived safely in Hong Kong after a "calm and smooth flight." The plane was a few hours late, however, and the tired students were opting to forgo dinner and head directly to their hotel rooms. March 4 – Walking 5,000 Steps • Hong Kong island was the next stop, and everyone was a bit disappointed to find that the tram to Victoria Peak's summit was closed for maintenance. Shay made a great docent, explaining the origins of the area's development. • After dinner, the group took a bus to the Star Ferry, which they rode across to the Kowloon Peninsula. Jackson shared with the group how the ferry was used during the 1941 Japanese invasion for moving people and supplies. March 5 – A Warm Welcome at Yali • Our students each attended a different evening class at Yali – they have classes from 7 to 8 p.m., 8 to 9 p.m. and 9 to 10 p.m. – where they were intervied by their Yai hosts. The biggest surprise for the Chinese students was that 17 is the average size of a class at Foote. At Yali 60 is the norm. March 6 – Back to Changsha March 7 – History Lessons • Rain kept the group from walking in the park along the Xiang River, but they did visit a riverside pavillion, where docent Connor gave his presentation on how the river was an early obstacle to Mao Zedong's Long March. • A tour of the 1,000-year-old Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning was fabulous. Docent Danny told everyone that it is the oldest of the ancient Confusian schools in China still standing. Everyone listened to a live performance of four musicians playing ancient – and very ususual – Chinese instrunents. All agreed that the rain made the school seem more peaceful and "studious." • The highlight of the day came at the end when the group was interviewed by the local Changsha TV station. That was followed by a wonderful banquet at a nearby restaurant hosted by Yali. All report that they are overwhelmed by the friendlinesss and generosity of their hosts March 8 – On to Xi'an • There were many tearful goodbyes to e-pals and host families this morning as the group prepared to leave Changsha for Xi’an in Shaanxi province. • The travelers ran into lots of traffic on the way to the airport and got to their flight just in time, trotting to the gate and right onto the plane. • Flying into Xi’an – which has more then 3,100 years of history and was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road – at night was spectacular, with the city walls all lit up. Their hotel, the Bell Tower, looks out on the Tower itself (see photo at left), which they will visit tomorrow. Tonight they dined at a dumpling restaurant and then went to the Shaanxi Grand Opera House for a Tang Dynasty music and dance show. Tomorrow everyone assembles at 6:30 to visit sights in Xi'an. March 9 – Exploring the Xi'an city walls (see additions to yesterday's update) • The Museum of the Terra Cotta Soldiers, directly on the site of the excavation, was the next stop. Students were amazed when docent Amanda told them that each of the 7,000+ soldiers has distinctive facial features and hair stlyles. • The group then boarded an overnight train to Beijing. March 10 – Beijing • After a peaceful overnight train trip, the group arrived safely in Beijing early in the morning and had a relatively quiet day. They had breakfast on the way to their hotel and then changed some money, which "took forever!" March 11 – Tai Chi and echo chambers • Today day began with the first of three Tai Chi lessons. The group is learning eight moves vs the usual 24 ( a standard version for tourists) and is being taught in Mandrin by a woman who is a retired physics teacher. • Playing Tai Chi rouli ball in the park was the next new experience – the game is played with a ball and racket and most of the students now have rackets they are bringing home as souvenirs. • The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Hong Qiao market – a five-story building filled to capacity with tiny booths. The students have become most adept at bargaining and enjoyed using their new skill. They have lots of goodies for family and friends. • Dinner was at the famous Quanjude Peking Duck Restaurant. The corridors were filled with photos of dignitaries from all over the world who have dined there, including – to our students' great interest – Richard M. Nixon. After dinner the entire group went to the Kung Fu Show at the Red Theater. Deb Riding reports that it was "over the top and the kids loved it!" March 12 – The Great Wall of China • The trip from Beijing to the Great Wall of China took nearly two hours and on the way the travelers visited a cloisonné factory that had an excellent display area. They saw artisans at work using the ancient metalworking techniques, forming the wire into shapes the define the colored areas of the enamel object (from beads to bowls), and were amazed at the bright red hot kiln used to fire the pieces. (see photo) • The Great Wall did not disappoint. It is actually many, many walls with breaks in between. The day was beautiful, and after listening to a formal presentation the group broke into sub groups of two, three or four and spent more than an hour climbing up and down “all those steps” to enjoy the fantastic views. • After hiking the Great Wall, everyone took a bus to a rural grasslands area for horseback riding. Many just held on to the saddle and let their guide lead the horse by the reins. • Back in Beijing, the group met with a group of Renmin University students and their professor, Zhu Weifang. They are studying English and wanted to practice with the Foote group. Although our students were a bit nervous going into the dinner meeting, they had a wonderful time and were sorry to say goodbye. March 13 – • The day began with the second (and final) Tai Chi lesson and the group headed to Tiananmen Square, where Miles was docent. He said it is the largest public Square in the world– the size of 60 soccer fields! He continued his presentation in private, describing the 1989 student protests. • Derek was docent for the entrance to the Forbidden City (photo below), so named because it was off limits to most people for 500 years. • Once inside, Evan was docent and described it as largest palace in the world, with 900,000 rooms. It served as the Imperial Place until the reign of the last emperor ended. Since the students had all watched the film “The Last Emperor” they were able to relate well to the tour. • Lunch was followed by rides in pedicabs (rickshaws with bikes, shown in photo) through the hutongs, the ancient narrow alleys with tiny homes typical of old Beijing and very near the Forbidden City. • It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day and the group then enjoyed paddle boating at a nearby lake. • Dinner was followed by a phenomenal acrobatic show, with young boys and girls spinning plates and doing cartwheels that looked like continuous circles. The last site to be visited was the Yonghe Lamasery on March 14 with Grace as docent.
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PHOTO GALLERY PHOTO GALLERIES 2006
Spring 1999 Fall 1998 Chinese Exchange Participants: Foote Exchange
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, the group took a bus to the Yali Boarding School campus, where they met their e-pals and spent the rest of the day. They toured the campus, visited the dorms and played games with the Yali students – they even had a break dancing contest. The Yali students are really into this and our students were game to try. 
Several host families included members of last fall's delegation to Foote and were happy to meet the Foote students they had heard so much about.
The whole temple complex was rcently restored in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and is awesome. But the big hit was the Echo Wall. Students could stand 600 yards apart and hear each other's whispers as if they were shoulder to shoulder.
He stood at the gate where, he said, Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
Zoe was docent for the hutong visit and reported that the hutons had been past disappearing to development, but that the government now officially has a program to preserve this important part of old Beijing. 
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