Enjoying the sites and cooler temperatures in Dalian

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Ni Hao from Dalian,
We arrived here late last night after a 6.5 hour bus ride from Shenyang through the pouring rain. Not to worry, we kept ourselves entertained with songs, games and conversation. Before we left Shenyang we went to the National Museum which features many cultural relics including jade, various stones, calligraphy and objects from Chinese rich past. We had a treat for lunch today at a Korean BBQ restaurant. I think that all the students have tried food this way before, but they really enjoyed it. We had beef, lamb, squid and egg plant as well as a myriad of different side dishes to accompany our meal.

As we headed south on the Shenda Highway, apparently the first major expressway in China, built in 2002, we were bombarded by heavy rains. We made it into Dalian at around 8:30p.m. just in time for a welcome seafood dinner and to see the city all lit up in lights.

Today the rains continued to pour down, but that didn’t hinder our exploration of Dalian. Dalian is one of the largest cities in Liaoning Province, with a population of 6 million people and a city that is 12,000 km2. It is also a major port with many beaches, beautiful mountains and views onto the Yellow Sea. Our tour guides here in the city are Brenda and BingBing and they have been very informative in introducing us to the various aspects of their city. We learned that Dalian is known for 4 major things: seafood, soccer (also known as the Soccer City), the international fashion festival and a well recognized modeling school.

Historically the city was established from a series of smaller settlements in 1898 and it was under Russian rule until the Russo-Japanese war wherein the Japanese took control of the city until the end of World War II.

In comparison with Beijing and Shenyang, Dalian is such a clean city with many large parks and waterfront boardwalks. There is very little industry in this city therefore little pollution. It was also a site for some of the Olympic events last year including: soccer.

Today our first stop was to the Natural History Museum which features over 500,000 different fossils, fish, plants and animal specimens. What is most impressive are the skeletons of the whales in the grand hall of the museum. For the students who particularly love nature and science this was a hit. Some of us went for a walk out on the boardwalk after our visit. There is a garden maze that we walked through and there were many fishermen trying to find some bait.
Some of the students got excited about sticking their feet into the Yellow Sea.

This afternoon we went to the Xinghai Square. It is the largest square in all of Asia with a huge skateboard ramp, huge boardwalk with sculptures and even some rides. The whole square is 45,000 km2. Some of us took photos mimicking the sculptures while others went on the swings and a few rides, even though they were a little bit pricey, during our free time.

We boarded the bus again and headed along the Seashore Road and saw the Tiger statue and all the kites flying in the winds above us. It is beautiful in Dalian which is why it was named the most beautiful city in China in 2006.

Tonight was a bit of a chance to relax after a lot of busy travel. Some students went for a swim in the pool at the hotel and others worked out in the gymnasium. Some even played pool!

We are definitely enjoying cooler temperatures in Dalian, even with a few raindrops.

Tomorrow we are off to Lushun to learn more about the Sino Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars at Port Arthur and in the afternoon we will visit the Seashell Museum and may get a bit of shopping time in too.

Hope you are all doing well!
Take care

The TDSB Chinese Heritage Campers and Supervisors

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Comments

[stella pang-ng]

RE: Sing-Yan Ng's Birthday on July 27
Dear supervisors: If it is not too much trouble or work, perhaps we can treat the whole group for a bite of a birthday cake (if it is easy to get one) and some potato chips just to wish Sing-Yan a "Happy 13th Birthday". We will pay for the expenses when you folks return to Toronto. But if it will create too much work, then just say Happy Birthday to Sing-Yan on behalf of us and send our love and best wishes to her please. Thank you very much. Stella and King Ng (Sing-Yan's parents)

[King-San Ng]

About the Rain
Sorry to hear about the rain, but in Chinese beliefs..water means wealth..may be it means that when you grow up ,some of you will be pretty, but some of you will be billionaires! :-) Prior to the trip, I know that all of you are going to see a great varieties of historical sites, scenery, great food, artifacts..etc. But I'm so glad that you can also has a chance to observe and experience China's society ,its environment, and history. To walk one thousand miles is better than to read ten thousand books. - "Chinese proverb"