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Visit to Sichuan Province

Posted on 06/11/07
P. Klein

6th November 2007

Loughboroughs County Councillor and Chairman of Leicestershire County Council, Mike Jones, together with his wife Marj have just returned from a short nonstop trip to Sichuan Province in China. Our area has various links with this particular part of China and Mike has graciously allowed our readers a glimpse of his diary from the trip.

When I first became Chairman at the end of May, a visit to China was one of the furthest things from my mind although I was aware of the longstanding links with Sichuan Province. However it was only shortly afterwards that I was asked, and agreed, to represent the council on a short official visit to meet Sichuan dignitaries and generally foster good relations. It was, therefore a surprise to be told a few days before the flight date that these plans had been thwarted by the attendance of such officials at a National Congress in Beijing. Flights were already booked and arrangements made so the emphasis was changed quickly to one of supporting educational links " what a fantastic decision that turned out to be!

My wife Marj, myself and the Countys International Links Coordinator, Helen Trilling, left from Birmingham Airport on the Monday morning for Amsterdam with visions of comfortable trip to Beijing " wrong! The airliner was packed to the rafters, if it had any, with little leg room and very little in terms of inflight entertainment, a necessity for a nine hour flight. It got even worse when our row of four, with us stuck in the middle, was completed by the arrival next to Marj of a contender for the worlds largest man.

We arrived in Beijing absolutely shattered, spent three hours in a heat wave waiting for our flight to the Sichuan capital, Chengdu, with its 10,000,000 people, then a further three hours in the air before arriving at the Jinjaing Hotel at bedtime on Tuesday. We have never slept as we did that night!

The next morning, following breakfast, we went on our first visit, to Chengdu Railway Middle School, where we were received in great style by staff and students alike. This school has active links with our own Brookvale High School and it was great to meet again some of the Chinese children we had met on an earlier visit to Brookvale, and of course to dance with them. The school has some 5,000 students and class sizes approached 50. This did not appear to affect the students results which were first class. We left with many gifts and good wishes from the students and a very good impression of the traditional teaching methods used. Before leaving the site we were also met with representatives of the highly regarded Chengdu Jinniu District Education Bureau.

A short walk down the crowded road then took us to the Ren Min Road Primary School with a mere 2000 pupils. Having met the head and deputy, two charming children were appointed as our guides on a tour of the schools English Classes. Again we were impressed by the enthusiasm of the staff and the progress of the children. An added bonus was that a conference was taking place on the site for teachers from all over China. I was asked briefly to address the gathering , starting with my very limited Chinese vocabulary, and it seemed to be well appreciated. However the reporter for the snsuing TV interview seemed more interested in the historic meaning of the various elements of the County Crest on the Chairmans Chain. The day ended with a visit to an amazing Sichuan Folk Concert with traditional dancing culminating in an exciting Mask Dance where the participants changed their faces while dancing faster than the eye could see. A remarkable experience.

On Wednesday morning, as a slight relaxation, we visited the Giant Panda base in Chengdu. We found the Black and White Pandas very interesting although from their actions and expressions I am not sure that they shared that view about us. I had not seen Red Pandas before, but they were in residence.

Following lunch, with chopsticks of course, we checked out the hotel and headed in a car for the medium sized city of Luzou which has a mere 4,800,000 people. We checked into the Eton Hotel expecting to be greeted by the vice-mayor, but were honoured to find that the Mayour himself had returned from Beijing to give us a formal audience. We conversed via an interpreter and the provincial newspaper carried the story, with a colour photograph the next day. The evening concluded with a supper provided by the Government of Luzhou and hosted by the Vice-Mayor and his colleagues. This provided yet another pleasant surprise as someone had told the hotel that October 18th was my 65th Birthday.

I had almost forgotten due to the scope of our itinerary but when they wheeled out a huge cake with candles and then sang happy birthday, it made a birthday that I will never forget " suitably recorded on camera in true Chinese style.

Friday was a revelation! First we visited Luzhous Number Two High School which has formal links with Rawlins Community College in Quorn and where Rawlins teacher, Alison, is working for a year with her partner James. Staff and students greeted us warmly and took us on a full tour of the school which closely overlooks the huge Yangtse river. Progress in English was phenomenal and every student we met was able to converse with us in English without difficulty. Photographs of the links with Rawlins and visits to Leicestershire were in abundance and everyone was so proud of their links to the County.

When I had spoken to the Mayor the previous evening I had asked if we could visit a Luzhou Primary School which was not on our itinerary. This had been arranged at some 18 hours notice and we could hardly believe the welcome that we received. The children were all lined up outside flanking the drive and we were all presented with bouquets and red scarves, but most of all with beaming smiles.

We arrived back in Chengdu in good time to meet the vice director general of the Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office, Xin Tan, and enjoyed our final meal with him at the famous Shaokun restaurant together with Aries and Fei, who had been our guides and interpreters during our stay. Thanks to them all!

We checked out of the hotel on Saturday morning with many handshakes hugs and goodbyes and headed for the airport. The return flight was totally different, more space, excellent facilities and a wide choice of films to watch on the personal DVD players provided.

We left China with fond memories and a sense of achievement. It is likely that another school link will be set up as a direct result of our visit and the existing links strengthened. Some may say "but arent economic links more important? However to that I reply "the children of today are tomorrows business people " Ignore them at your peril!.

M. Jones