Written by Julia & Runya, Year 9
On 12th February, during the Lantern Festival, Year 9 Mandarin students went on a day-long trip to London, visiting two main locations: the British Museum and Chinatown.
In the morning, we caught a coach and travelled for about an hour and a half to the British Museum. There, we explored the fascinating exhibition on Ancient China, which included paintings, incredible artifacts and rich historical and cultural information. We completed activities that deepened our understanding of the topic while also being incredibly fun.
We also had the chance to view a wide range of Chinese art, primarily porcelain pottery with intricate, breathtaking designs. Porcelain was historically transported via the famous Silk Roads – a vast network of trade routes stretching across Asia, used for centuries to transport various materials. It was fascinating to see the hand-crafted details on these art pieces, and we even took pictures and held a drawing competition!
On our way to Chinatown, we were unexpectedly surprised to see the King! He was surrounded by police in his car – which was understandable, given his importance – yet most students managed to catch a decent glimpse of him through the windows.
Once in Chinatown, everyone was eagerly anticipating lunch after the exciting morning. After just a few minutes of waiting once seated, we were served green tea and sweet and sour pork with a massive portion of rice. From there, the food just kept coming: prawn dim sum, pork soup dumplings (which got messy when some of us didn’t realise they contained soup!), spring rolls, vegetable salad, a variety of noodles, sesame chicken, beef and vegetable rice noodles, Peking crispy duck with pancakes, and much more – too much to list! One student at our table even drank 12 cups of tea! For dessert, we had sweet rice balls with red bean paste, which were delicious. By the end of the meal, most students left with two or three containers filled with leftovers!
After lunch, we had time to explore Chinatown. We split into groups and walked along Gerrard Street, where most of the shops were restaurants (though none of us wanted more food after such a feast!). However, we did come across two supermarkets and a bubble tea shop. We also completed an activity sheet while exploring. After about thirty minutes, we all gathered at the head of the street before walking back to our coach.
We arrived back at school around 5:20 PM after an incredibly fun and informative day. We would like to thank Ms. Dong and Mrs. Wang for organising the trip, as well as our coach driver, Ian, for getting us there safely.