Written by Aurelia and Emma, Year 9
On Thursday 22nd February, the Year 9 Mandarin students were treated to a trip to London, specifically the British Museum and Chinatown! Our first stop was the British museum, where we visited the China Gallery. We were given sheets that highlighted the Silk Road and its importance in China’s growth throughout the years, while being given the opportunity to take a look at the exhibition. We spent an hour there and during that time we explored the area, filled the sheet in, gazed at the stunning artwork and read eagerly about facts that talked about China in 5000 BC up to the modern day.
We were ushered upstairs to view an interesting collection of Chinese ceramics – the paintings on them were exquisite and extremely beautiful. We were tasked with drawing our favourite and I believe most of us felt that our drawing skills were pale in comparison to the art that we were sketching! 30 minutes flew by; soon we had to make our way downstairs to meet the coach to head to Chinatown.
We sheltered under our umbrellas and coats as we headed to the New Loon Fung Restaurant (translated as the New Dragon Phoenix Restaurant), where we ate and experienced lots of different foods. There was an assortment of dumplings and buns filled with meat and vegetables, which were served alongside bowls of noodles and fried rice. The highlight of our meal was a generous portion of duck, which we shared and ate with pancakes – a thin wrap made of flour – but not before slathering the duck with sauce. Everything was really delicious and we were all very satisfied.
After our sumptuous lunch, we were given the opportunity to explore a section of Chinatown in small groups. Due to the Lunar New Year celebrations, there were lots of bright red lanterns hanging between the buildings, a colour associated with good luck and prosperity. Despite the rain, we managed to finish our sheets, writing about the assortment of shops we could find. Food was definitely one of the main themes for this trip: we spent most of our time looking through different types of treats at the food shops and drinking bubble tea, before gathering at the restaurant to head back home. Food, after all, is one of the love languages of Chinese culture. Overall, we had a fruitful trip and we certainly hopped on the coach feeling a bit full but otherwise perfectly delighted with our excursion!
