Shanghai International Youth Science and Technology Expo

From 11th July till the 18th, we 6 students from Dunraven went on a visit to China to take part in the 2010 Shanghai International Youth Science and Technology Expo. After a 3 hour flight to Finland, a 5 hour wait at Helsinki Airport and a 9 hour flight to Shanghai, we decided to get to our hotel the fastest way. We took the Maglev which is a train that achieves speeds of over 400km/hr by using magnets. 30km away and just over 7 minutes later we got off the train to be greeted by hoards of people crowding to take photos with us! In the next few days we learnt that we weren’t an average sight in Shanghai! For the first few days of our stay we did some sightseeing with our guide, Ting Ting, from Shanghai. We went to the old town which has many small shops and stalls. Just walking down a street was a whole new experience. We saw small cooked chickens on a stick being sold, rabbits on sale from a stall and beautiful traditional houses, bridges and boats. After that we went to a restaurant and all sat at a round table with a moveable section to share the food. The next day we visited a silk factory and the Jade Temple. Just behind the temple was a small pond packed with Koi fish, which you could feed by hand.

Feeding Koi fish by hand

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We went into a building near the temple where we rubbed the Buddha’s belly for good luck and see a monk hand painting. To get into the Oriental Pearl TV Tower we queued for three hours. People took pictures and even videos of us. We decided to get revenge by filming them, which almost worked but did draw even more attention our way! At the top of the tower we could see the spectacular views of Shanghai and on another level there was a glass floor. On Monday we went to Shanghai High School to start the Expo, where students and teachers from around 20 different countries were taking part. We looked around the school’s impressive grounds then set up our exhibition. Once our Bio-wall and animation were prepared all we had to do was wait until we could show the public our work. A grand opening ceremony took place the next day and then the doors opened. Reporters, interviewers, school children and other participants visited our stand, and we had to explain our idea to them. Ali and Ara took part in a DIY contest where they had to make a small vehicle about their country; they made a fantastic red bus that had all the London landmarks inside when you opened it up. We also took part in other activities such as the students’ forum, scientist’s forum, shopping at Yu Garden, visiting the Expo Park and watching many interesting performances. We also had two big dinners out of the school, with each group having a table with endless amounts of food and drink. There were also mini competitions for who could shout “Ganbei!” the loudest … we were winning until an Australian school sung their school chant. Our stay ended with a farewell dinner, where everyone was invited to go up on stage and entertain. We were taught ‘The Moose Game’, sung along to Lady GaGa and witnessed what seemed like a Thai version of ‘Follow the Leader’.

Tower

Overall I found that it was a fantastic experience that I will never forget.
Sian Gregory 9RS

China

My trip to China was an amazing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and miss Shanghai loads! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when going to China and still not quite sure of what to think of it now. But it was a very interesting and a new experience that I will never forget. Almost everything about Shanghai was different to London – the food, the people, the streets, the transport, everything! What I personally enjoyed and miss are the people I met and made friends with and the 4 star hotel! Whilst we were there each school was given a few guides to help them with there stay at Shanghai. Dunraven had the privilege of being appointed Ting Ting, Lucy and Amy. Ting Ting, Lucy and Amy were three of the nicest and most hospitable people I’ve ever met. They did everything for us and more! They answered all our questions, provided us with everything we needed from food to extra blankets! And on our departure after exchanging e-mails and lots of hugging, Ting Ting cried, summing up the strong friendship we had found in each other. I’d never really stayed in a 4star hotel before, and most certainly didn’t expect my first one to be a 4 star hotel in Shanghai! But it exceeded all the T.V and film expectations I had for an upmarket hotel. Starting with the revolving doors and the posh lobby with people in suits, a huge dining area serving one of the best breakfasts ever 4 gold lifts with over 20 floors! But none of this could beat the extremely cool phones that allowed you to call other rooms at the press of a button and the key cards you used to get inside your rooms! I have grown to love Shanghai despite its faults and would love to go back someday in the near future. Cheyanne Dawson 9RS

Shanghai International Youth Science and Technology Expo 2010

After a tiring 3 hour flight from London to Helsinki we arrived at our stop over for a 5 hour wait filled with monopoly, card games and trolley snakes and races before getting on another 12 hour flight to our final destination. SHANGHAI. Arriving 2 days before the start of the expo we took the time to see the amazing sights surrounding the city of Shanghai. We went to the world famous Oriental Pearl Tower, a TV broadcasting/tourism tower. After reaching the top we were able to look down and see the world below through a Glass floor but sadly the indoor rollercoaster was still in construction so we couldn’t ride it! At the start of the expo we got to watch some stunning performances and also to see the mascot for the event for the first time. After setting up our display stand and getting some practice by explaining our project to members of the public we were introduced to the judges. We were really pleased with our presentation and in the end we won an award for an Excellent Display Stand. All in all the trip was fantastic and we all really enjoyed the once in a lifetime experience. Even if the food didn’t taste very good and the humidity made us sweat buckets just walking down the streets! Thank you Ms Birbalsingh, Dr Crentsil and Mr Bajgar for all your help and organising!! Thomas Martin 9RS

Haibao!

I have discovered since returning to London that the Shanghai Expo mascot is called Haibao which means “sea jewel” – “sea” being a reference to the “hai” of “Shanghai”. Interestingly, Haibao was designed by a Taiwanese compatriot, not a mainlander.  Haibao is meant to represent a stylised version of the Chinese character ren2 人 – which means “person”.

So, Sian, Cheyanne, Thomas, Ali, Zubair and Jack – Now you know!

Uk Pavilion World Expo 2010

Ms Birbalsingh

EATING A SQUID!

Whilst going down a chinese street market we smelt loads of smells and saw loads of stuff. There were things like, small ducks, fried snalls, roasted crickets, battered fish and squeezed squids. So after looking at all of that we thought we would try eating a squid so me, Zubair. Jack and dr.crentzil decided to try a stick of squids fried in spicy sauces and sprinkled with spicy flavours. It tasted really different and the meat was squishy and very soft!

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Expo Preparation

Hey,

We finally started to set up our presentation today. We got to travel in a fancy coach to the expo hall where we were given a stand to decorate with all our research and our project. There was a slight problem when we arrived on our stand, we had a South African flag instead of an English one however a quick chat with the South African guys with a British flag and everything was perfect!

Portable Bio-Organic Wall up and ready at the Expo

We are now all set up with our Flash presentation and our Portable Bio-Organic Wall eagerly anticipating tomorrow when we get to present our work to the public and more importantly the judges!!

Once we were done we took a walk around looking at the other countries’ stands and the kind of projects which they have created. Some of them look amazing!!! Also, we got a sneaky peek at the opening ceremony and let me just tell you the chinese are absolute perfectionists. A minute of dance or song was followed by a minute of corrections to an already perfect routine!!

Thats all for now, we will keep you up dated with what goes on tomorrow!!

The Expo Gang

Oriental Pearl Tower

As soon as we got out of the metro (underground) we could see the tower. It was huge!!!!! But sadly it was not easy to get in. We had to queue for 2 hours until we finally went up…and it was worth it! We had views over the whole city – even though it was foggy – and went to a lower floor with transparent floor. To add to that we also had photos taken of us continously….especially with little kids. We were like celebrities. But sadly its all ended because we have moved to the Shanghai High School for our expo and we are mostly situated inside away from all the people.

We are all having a very interesting time.

I hope you have managed to take a look at the blog on the Dunraven website! We are all having a very interesting time. Students are coping with Chinese food and chopsticks. Even Zubair is managing it now. Thomas is trying with the food but tends to make a face at most things. Cheyanne eats everything! Jack and Thomas and Zubair have been the stars at talking at the exhibition show. Ali made this fantastic London red bus and entered it into the competition. Sian managed to speak to a few people at the show which was a real achievement for her and she is trying out every vegetable under the sun. Thomas remembers directions as if he has a satnav in his head and Zubair has a thing for balloons. Jack and Thomas got very involved in Rubix Cubes today – as one of the stands was all about them. Took me back to my childhood…

We saw the old city today which was lovely and took lots of photos. We also ate in this restaurant with the 300 other students! We have met lots of people from around the world. We are very well protected and tomorrow we go to the Expo. The exhibition is now done and our plants not only survived but managed to grow! People were generally impressed with the idea of a bio-organic wall and one woman wanted to know where she could buy one!

The beds are very hard – but the students don’t seem to mind. I think children can adapt to anything. We adults on the other hand are struggling… The school has beautiful grounds and the students enjoy exploring it. Last night we managed to get out to go on our river cruise which was exciting and Thomas in particular enjoyed the McDonalds we had afterwards! Sian and I both are vegetarians so the whole McDonalds experience in Shanghai is somewhat surreal for us. Cheyanne seems to be the main one who misses having a mirror in the mornings (yes, we don’t have mirrors!) and the boys are boys and their main concern tonight was that we shout (as a group) the loudest when clinking and saying Ganbei (cheers)! We nearly won. But then the New Zealanders I think got the better of us.

Oh… expect lots of blue presents – there is this mascot Haibao - this blue character which is everywhere, and the students are buying everything that has him on it! As for Dr Crentsil and I, we bought t-shirts today which had a kind of Chinese version of Obama on it and then in Chinese underneath was written ‘For the people’ which was a saying which used to go with pictures of Mao. I thought it was hilarious! I’m still not sure if the Chinese mean it as a compliment or an insult…

Hope all is well with you. Best wishes.

Working Late!

Dr Crentsil and Miss Birbalsingh are working late into the night, trying to get something up for all of you to read! Pictures are slow and videos are even slower! But… we are avoiding our hard beds, by working in the internet room while the students are fast asleep. I don’t know how we are going to get up for 5:30am!! Wish us luck…

Shanghai, Security and Squid

After staying up late to watch the world cup final (which started at half past 2 in the morning!), and then falling asleep at half time, most of us are very tired.  We got on a bus at 11 and drove to Shanghai High School.  It’s so big that you forget it’s a school; there’s a huge athletics track, two swimming pools, several lakes and a convenience store!  Also, there’s a lot of security at the school, we each have our own key card with a lanyard which we have to use everytime we enter or leave the building.  Additionally, the lights in our bedrooms are cut off at half past 9 and we can have breakfast from 7 till 8, no chance of a lie in!

I think that the food here is really good, on saturday we sat at a table with a section that spins to pass the food around the table.  At the school there’s lots of choice, today I had tofu, rice and pumkin.  There are loads of new food to try, on Saturday some of us ate squid on a stick, cooked infront of us and we didn’t like the vinegar drenched pork dumplings, in the evening. 

We seem to be coping quite well with this different culture, some of us, however, just can’t get the hang of using chop sticks!
Sian

Eating Squid from dunraven school on Vimeo.