Mr. Wood and Mr. Crawford will be parting ways today and head to Binzhou and Heze, respectively, till Friday. Once in Binzhou and Heze, Mr. Wood and Mr. Crawford will have the opportunity to visit our sister schools and spend time with Chinese students, educators, and administrators. Along with learning about our sister schools and the Chinese education system, we will be learning about Chinese culture and more about our host cities.
Archive for the ‘China’ Category
This week’s schedule 4/13-4/17
Sunday, April 12th, 2009Answering Questions about the Great Wall
Sunday, April 12th, 2009So I found out you can’t really see the Great Wall from outerspace. It seems that the myth about seeing it from space has been around for quite a long time. According to Wikipedia the first reference to being able to see the wall from space was made back in 1754 by William Stukeley. The myth was repeated again in the 1930’s by the Ripley’s Believe it or not cartoons. Some astronauts have even claimed to see it, but that is still debatable.
The Great Wall of China is over 4,000 miles long from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west. It was built between 500 B.C. and 1600 A.D. Though it was not consistently worked on during that time. There were many years that no work was done on the wall. The wall was used for many different things but it was mainly used as protection from invaders from the north. It is said that during the Ming Dynasty more that one million soldiers were stationed on the wall!
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
When Pigs Fly
Sunday, April 12th, 2009I thought I would see pigs fly before I ever saw the Yellow river with my own eyes. I came to find out the Chinese have a similar saying to “when pigs fly” and it is “when the Yellow River flows clear.” Well it seems to be that unless pigs start flying tonight, my prediction won’t come true. As early as tomorrow I might see the river in person as I travel to our sister school. The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the sixth-longest in the world at 3,010 mi.
Do you think you can name the five longest rivers? (Answer will come tomorrow)
Starting in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, the yellow river flows through nine provinces of China and empties into the Bohai Sea, northeast of Binzhou. The name “Yellow River” describes the yellow color of the muddy water in the lower course of the river. The river flows by Binzhou, where I hope to see it with my own eyes. One class also asked me to do a special favor for them if I am able to get close to the river.
The Yellow River
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia)
Connecticut & Shandong
Saturday, April 11th, 2009Connecticut is one of the fifty states of the United States. Shandong is one of the 22 provinces of China. Let’s compare the two.
Connecticut:
- 5,544 square miles
- 3,502,309 people
Shandong:
- 60,500 square miles
- 91,800,000 people
And let’s compare the cities (towns).
Woodbridge, Connecticut:
- 19.2 square miles (49.7 km2)
- 9,264 people
Heze, Shandong:
- 4,725 square miles (12,238 km²)
- 8,810,000 people
Binzhou, Shandong:
- 3,646 square miles (9,444 km²)
- 3,661,500 people
- [116,573 people in the main city]
Observations:
- Connecticut (the state) is only slightly larger in land area than Heze (the city).
- The population of Connecticut (the state) is about the same as Binzhou (the city).
- Cities in China are made up of many towns and townships, like boroughs in New York.
How big are some of the places where you travel?
Mr. Wood
Today’s Schedule 4/12
Saturday, April 11th, 2009Today we will be traveling to Jinan. Once we reach Jinan, we will visit the Shandong Provincial Department of Education and attend a welcome banquet in the evening.
Getting Ready to visit the Great Wall of China
Friday, April 10th, 2009In preparation of our visit to the Great Wall of China, I thought I would share some links and history about the Great Wall.
In researching about the Great Wall, I came across a website that seem to answer many questions I had about it. The first thing I wanted to know was if the Great Wall was really big enough to see from space? I think it is a myth but I’ll follow up with you in a later post to share the answers. Look at this site to see if you can find the answer. Also see if you can find out how long it is and how old.
Teachers, you can use the activities on the website Enchanted Learning with your class to learn more about the Great Wall.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Today’s Schedule 4/11
Friday, April 10th, 2009Today’s scheduled events are a visit to the Antique Market, the Great Wall of China, and watching the Beijing acrobats.
What is a Hutong?
Friday, April 10th, 2009Hutongs are narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China. Hutongs were formed by lines of traditional courtyard residences. Many hutongs were formed by joining one courtyard to another and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such combinations of neighborhoods.
The number of hutongs has decreased rapidly recently because of the expansion of new roads and buildings in Beijing. Recently many hutongs have become protected as national landmarks to protect and preserve them.
“‘Real people’ transition in China’s old hutongs,” USA Today, August 14, 2008
Sights and Sounds of Beijing From USA Today - Scroll down the slides to find an interesting feature on Hutongs entitled “Progress threatens traditional Chinese lifestyle.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Tiananmen Square History
Friday, April 10th, 2009As seen from the Google Earth Video, Tiananmen Square is a very large open plaza. It is extremely flat with only lampposts breaking up the long streches of concrete. The square itself is 880 meters by 500 meters, almost 100 acres large! It was originally designed and built in Beijing in 1651. It was expanded to current size, fourtimes the original size, in 1958. In 1958, the Monument to the People’s Heroes was also added to the square.
The square itself has been used for many different purposes over the last few centuries. Occupying armies have used it to station their troops specifically the English and the French in the 1860’s and the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Tiananmen Square has also been a location to showcase national pride and strength. It has frequently been the site used for parades and speeches. This includes the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
The Forbidden City
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Today we should be traveling to the Forbidden City which got me thinking how it got it’s name and how big it really is because it looks massive on Google Earth. I found a map of the Forbidden City online with a description of many of almost 1,000 buildings inside of the 26 foot tall walls that surround the city. The Forbidden City is also surrounded by a moat that is 18 feet deep and 170 feet wide. Those seem like formidable defenses to protect the city.
The Forbidden City, also known as the Forbidden Palace, was home to the rulers of the China from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It took over fourteen years to build, starting in 1406. The Forbidden City covers almost 7,800,000 square feet. For a comparison a football field covers about 48,000 square feet. The Forbidden City is almost 163 football fields large! It is a rectangle 3,150 ft from north to south and 2,470 ft from east to west.
When you get a chance read about the symbolism in the colors and architecture of the Forbidden City. Find out why most of the buildings have yellows roofs, except for the library at the Pavilion of Literary Profundity and the Crown Prince’s residences.
Zaijian,
Mr. Crawford
Today’s Schedule 4/10
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Today we have a very busy schedule. We start off at the Ministry of Education and the Department of Basic Education. We will be seeing a presentation on the Chinese Education System. We will be heading back to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. After that we will continue on to see a Hutong and experience the Silk Market.