Xi’an 西安 and the Summer English program at Xi’an Jiaotong University

(Clicking on any of the images will enlarge it. In many cases, clicking a second time will make it even bigger)

This year (2016), I once again went to China!

The “Summer English” program was well received last year, and Xi’an Jiaotong University decided to repeat it.

Back in China I was happy to see wonderful people I had met the previous year. This included a number of fellow teachers from 2015 as well as my friend and colleague Shirley, classroom support assistants Laura and Ruby and some students including Asteria, Sure, Gavin, and Jesen.

In the city of Xi’an, I stayed at the (very comfortable) Citadines Hotel again. Here was the view from my hotel window:

The “Drum Tower” in the old city center:

There were a few program adjustments from the previous year, and this time we had twice as many teachers- “Guest Speakers”. Most of us were from the United States, but our ranks were supplemented by some from other “English-speaking” countries. This year, our classroom helpers were Chinese students with English majors. The following photo was the official program staff photo taken by the University:

The students were great to work with, and they seemed to genuinely enjoy the classes. The summer program focused on listening and speaking skills. The format of the classes was very different than English classes taught by Chinese professors. We deliberately made the classes very interactive. A student written article (linked here) that appeared in an online school publication did a good job of explaining the difference. From a student’s perspective, the normal model was “You are teaching, we are listening.” In our summer program, this was replaced by a model where “We are communicating”.

 In my classes, I outline “rules” meant to encourage students to take risks, and learn by doing. One of my rules, “Mistakes are OK” was quoted in the student article. Mistakes are an important part of the language learning process! But the concept was a huge break from the Chinese norm.

Weekend excursions

This year, the university again offered Saturday excursions to the major sites near Xi’an to teachers in the program. As a returning teacher, I had already been to the chosen locations. So, along with some other teachers, we created our own week-end getaways.

Night train to Luoyang 洛阳

For our first weekend’s excursion we decided to go to the Longmen Grottos and Shaolin Temple. The trip started with a night-train ride from Xi’an to the city of Luoyang.

Four of us crammed into a sleeper compartment and from our midnight departure until our mid-morning arrival we dozed on the bunks.

In Louyang we eventually found a tour bus that would take us to our two selected destinations. As the bus raced around mountain curves and through small settlements, we passed all sorts of other vehicles

The Shaolin Temple/Monastery  (少林寺) is famous as the home of noble, selfless monks who used kung-fu skills to protect the populace from bandits, thugs, and repressive warlords. In recent years the site has become a major tourist draw, and it has taken on a bit of a theme park atmosphere. But it was still interesting.

This fierce, colorful statue at Shaolin is one of the “Temple Guardians”.

Our other destination were the “Longmen Grottos” (龙门石窟). This site is famed for its Buddhist artwork consisting of thousands of carvings and statues, ranging from tiny to huge. Alexandria, from our group, had studied the site during her graduate program. It was fascinating, and we really could have spent an entire day there.

Pingyao 平遥

The next weekend spawned several trips to different destinations. Along with my colleagues Megan and Marlene, I opted for an overnight stay in the beautiful, ancient, walled city of Pingyao. One notable thing about this city is that within the city walls, the traditional architecture has been conserved. (Quite a contrast to Xi’an where “within the walls,” tall modern buildings compete for space with historical structures.

In Pingyao, even our hotel was in a lovely building- The compound reminded me of scenes from the famous movie “Raise the Red Lantern”, which was filmed near Pingyao.

Scenes from Pingyao

 One of my students had recommended taking a morning walk outside the city walls. So bright and early Megan, Marlene, and I worked our way through quiet streets to the West Gate. Passing through the wall, we encountered a lot of activity.

People were jogging, or walking, or just slowly strolling. As we headed counter-clockwise along the wall, there were more and more people. In the extended area outside the South Gate, individual activities had coalesced into various forms of exercise by about a dozen different groups. There was a tai-chi group, a marching group, others danced with swords or large red fans, some danced. It was fascinating.

 

 

 

 

After watching for a while, we headed back into the walled city, where street vendors had begun to spread out their goods.

 

Huashan  华山

The following weekend, under Megan’s leadership, a group of about a dozen of us took the train to visit Huashan. This sacred peak is one of the “five great mountains” of China. Apart from its history as a religious retreat, it has gained a reputation among adventurers for a harrowing path along narrow hanging planks. Huashan can be enjoyed in many different ways. Some in our group were there for the daredevil trail. I was there to enjoy the mountain in a tame, peaceful way. We all began by a long, breathtaking ascent by cable car to the “West Peak”.

 

“Culture Night”

Before leaving Xi’an, we were treated to the 2016 edition of “culture night” at our hotel, with music, demonstrations of folk art, calligraphy, etc.

In the photo you can see a woman playing the Guzheng (古箏) a sort of Chinese harp that originated about 2,500 years ago!

 

Farewell Xi’an

Before I left Xi’an, My friend Shirley (Xie Liqun) and her husband invited me to a nice restaurant for dinner. Wonderful food, wonderful conversation, and wonderful company.

 

Go to Part Two: Touring China after the program-