We have all arrived safety at our hotel at Kunming. All room numbers of students are the same as the first time we stayed here except for Rong Tan W and Bill Zong J. Their room number is now 1304. Please refer to previous blog for room numbers of remaining students. The last 2 days, we have visited a few sites. Please see below information of each site: Tropical Rainforest Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) (中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园), of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), was founded in 1959 is located in Xishuangbanna at 21º55' N, 101º15'E, covering an area of 900 ha. Over 10 thousand species of tropical plants are preserved in its 34 living collections. Pottery Making Many Dai villages in Xishuangbanna preserve the traditional method of pottery-marking which is originated in remote antiquity and all ... read more

Good morning. Yesterday (July 20), we visited the World Horti-Expo GardenThe World Horti-Expo Garden is a botanical garden center in Kunming. It played host to the October 1999 Kunming International Horticulture Exposition. As an international botanical garden, the Expo Garden has become a significant Kunming landmark. The World Horti-Expo Garden covers an area of 218 hectares and is consisted of 5 indoor exhibition halls (China Hall, the Man and Nature Hall, the Green House, the Science and Technology Hall, and the International Hall), 6 theme gardens (the Tree Garden, the Tea Garden, the Bonsai Garden, the Medicinal Herb Garden, the Bamboo Garden, and the Vegetable and Fruit Garden) and 34 outdoor gardens of domestic participants, 34 outdoor gardens for foreign countries and international organizational and 9 outdoor exhibition area for the enterprise participants. The World-expo Ga ... read more

The Kunming Xinghua International Resort is spread over a great many acres. At it’s centre is a man made lake, over which is built a meandering bridge for after-dinner strolls. At the centre of the lake is a beautiful gold trimmed pagoda. Around the perimeter of the lake are water lilies and smaller ponds of fish and turtles. The centre piece of the lake is a massive mirror imaged gilded dragon. This centre piece sets the stage for a very tranquil ambience. For those wanting to meditate or just have quiet conversation, the many trails which meander throughout the gardened grounds offer just that. At intervals along the path are both marble benches, which encourage quiet contemplation, and outdoor aerobic machines designed to test one’s physical endurance. We often cross paths with other students from other ... read more

After a fulfilling breakfast at about 7:30 in the morning and some getting ready, we went out of the hotel to visit a community centre. That centre was just celebrating China’s 90 year anniversary of the People’s Republic of China. There were lots of models of planes, tanks and weapons used during historical times and a wide range of visual arts of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphies. We also saw some children doing some arts and crafts with beads and a fitness room. We were introduced to a Chinese instrument called the Er Hu and the teacher even performed some of the most famous songs for us. There was also another teacher that showed us the paper cutting of a bird on a tree and a dragon. In the short time, we were very amazed at ... read more

Today, we were broken up into groups and enjoyed visiting and spending the day with a local student family and had the opportunity to be a Shanghai citizen for one day...and what a day it was. For many it was their favourite day so far. ... read more