As the evening of Friday the 22^nd of October arrived in Nanjing, so did some very tired Middle School students on their return from our residential trip to Xi’an! The trip started on Monday with an early flight to Xi’an and a pottery workshop in the afternoon. The students really got into throwing their pots and created some very interesting designs. We finished the first day with a swim in the pool in our hotel.

The second day started with a drive to Hu Country to learn how to paint and cut paper in traditional Chinese methods. This was followed by a visit to The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which we learnt is leaning to one side and stuck together with glutinous rice.  The afternoon also saw a few games of ten-pin bowling in which a ‘turkey’ was scored but not eaten.

On Wednesday we visited the Terracotta Warrior Museum and marveled at the size and craftsmanship of the ancient Chinese. We then continued our journey to a local cave dwelling and saw how a local family lived in the side of a hill. The house owner showed us how he cut his home from the rock and a few of our students helped him by making an extension for his newest grandchild. This day was not yet over as our students then had to learn how to make Terracotta Warriors for themselves.

The fourth day started with a warm welcome to a Martial Arts School. Our students were amazed by the flexibility and skills of some very young students of the school and tried their own hand at the ancient art of Kong Fu. We were trained by a master who shares his own master with Jet Lee, so we were in very good hands. I am sure the students will remember these moves for some time to come. The energetic day continued with a cycle around the city walls with a few minor bumps and crashes. The day was completed with a visit to the Tang Dynasty Show and a browse around the Muslim market to collect those Xi’an souvenirs.

Our final day started with a shadow puppet show and a very rousing song to send us on our way. We then travelled to the outskirts of the city to visit the Han Tombs and marvel again at the bewildering size and craftsmanship of the ancient Han people.  We then headed to the airport for our flight to Nanjing, with a sleepy but happy bus full of Middle School Students.

I would like to thank Mrs. Pinney, Miss Betty and Mr. Alex (our tour guide) for all their help and support through this historical and artistic week.

Gregor Polson

Middle School Coordinator