Today, we ate breakfast at the hotel and then got on a 26 mile bus journey to go see the Terracotta Warriors. The ride was a little over 1.5 hours, as the highways are under construction in Xi'an. However, because we had to use the city roads, and not the highways, we were able to see more of the residential city rather than just the landscape. Because Xi'an is really old, a lot of the building are not very tall. Flying into the city really depicted this; there were fields and grass everywhere. Not a tall building in sight (on my side of the plane). 
Once at the site of the Terracotta Warriors, we went inside all of the pits, watched a short movie, went in a museum, and went to the gift shop. In the gift shop, they sold mini warriors. In the pits, people were illegally selling poisonous (the paint is cheap) warriors. Also in the gift shop was the ORIGINAL WHO FIRST DISCOVERED THE WARRIORS!!! He was signing books and we took a group photo with him. 
We then went to lunch and had the famous Biang Biang Noodles. The character for Biang is the most complex in the Chinese language. The noodles are thick, fat, and sticky. They are also drenched in sauce. 
Then, we went to a local museum and practiced our calligraphy. We then went bike riding 8.6 miles around the Xi'an wall. Finally, we ventured to Muslim Street. In Xi'an, there is a high concentration of Chinese Muslims. We bargained for many items and got some really good deals. Tomorrow, we fly to Yangshuo. 

#dealcrewbysam

China

Hello from China,
Sorry for the late update. Internet issues😁 We arrived in Xi'an on Tuesday and hurried to lunch to eat Chinese hamburgers. Lunch was  sponsored by Toby's dad Mr Alderman. We all thank him for his generosity. Lunch was followed by a visit to The Pagoda where students viewed several statues of buddha. Some student actually went to the top of the Pagoda library. Thanks to Jamie and Phillip we will be able to view a video tape of their visit. Many of the students ended their day by attended China's premier cultural entertainment theatre restaurant. The show's performance was centered around The Tang Dynasty. What beauitful costumes!!! Students that didn't attend the show was able to enjoy an Mongolian pot dinner. I know we are a day behind, thanks for being patient. #dealcrew will update on Thurday, wait until you hear about the Terra cotta soldiers.  The kids are great!!! Finally we will try to post pictures

Ms Simpson

After a good nights sleep we were off to our 2nd day in China. We started off the day at 6 am to go to our sister school Yu Cai School. All of us met our pen pals and those who hosted go to see their friends for a second time. We exchanged gifts and then all talked for a while. We also got to experience the flag raising ceremony at Yu Cai school. After seeing our friends we went off to watch and taste a tea ceremony. We tried and learned how to make many different kinds of tea. We all had a nice relaxing moment learning and trying tea and then we got back on the bus to go to the Great Wall. We ate a Chinese delicacy buffet lunch. After we all had energy, we were on our way to the Great Wall of China. Once there, we had an option to go up an easier but crowded section or a very steep but much more vacant section. We had 2 hours to walk as far as we wanted and then we met back up at the bottom. We had a 1 and a half hour bus trip back to the hotel so we could go eat dinner. Later, we came back to the hotel and started to pack and get ready for our plane ride to Xi'an. We will blog tomorrow after the plane ride.




#chinasquad2k15

Beijing

What a  Fantastic day!!! We started our tours at Tiananmen Square, the largest urban square in the world. Taking a group picture in front of Chairman Mao's picture. Following with an extensive tour of The Forbidden City, the imperial palace used by the Ming and Qing dynasties.  Wow lunch was awesome, homemade noodles! Than on to The Summer Palace of the Qing Dynasty. Where we strolled through the famous royal gardens which contains Chinese classical architecture. During our visit to the Palace we receive a tai chi lesson. Not over yet, we continued our day by visiting the pandas, and actually witnessing a panda eating its lunch. Bamboo anyone?  We ended the day with a Peking roasted duck dinner. Well hope you enjoyed hearing about our day.  The kids are having a fun educational experience using their Chinese.

ms Simpson

We have safely arrived in China! After a good nights sleep, and a peaceful plane trip we are ready to go sightseeing. Today we will go to tian an men square, the forbidden city, and the zoo. We'll keep you posted on all events. Also, if you are having trouble reaching your children, the wifi is not the best, but I can assure you that as of now everyone is safe. #chinasquad2k15

Hello China Parents,

Three more days to go!  I will blog through the trip. Let's hope the internet is working!


Ms.Simpson