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CHINAA Survival Guide
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Beijing Urban Planning CenterThe planning center is a museum that is abso-
lutely unbelievable. You will not see anything
like this in the States. It contains a full room
scale model of Beijing and features a 3D movie
about the City along with models of numerous
structures you will see touring the country. Do
not be fooled by the outside of the building!
Tianamen Square & the Forbidden CitySeeing these landmarks feels like the your history
textbook is coming to life because you see places
you learned about in history class right in frontof you. As you walk through the Forbidden City,
you will see rooms that date back to 1420!*Bring a lot of water and be ready to do some walking.
Ping PongAlthough one of the more underrated spectacles
during the trip, you will have so much fun.
Learn from an Olympic coach and tune up yourping pong game. Watch out for stray ping pong
balls, as you play in your own game.
Hutongs/Chinese CalligraphyHutongs serve as homes to many people of Beijing
and utilize a great deal of Fung Shu in their design.After visiting one home and asking the homeowner
questions, you will watch a skilled artist in his home
and learn from him how to write a Chinese character
in calligraphy. You will be allowed to keep your
brush as a souvenir, just make sure you wash it off
and store it in a place that wont ruin anything!
Temple of Heaven and Tai ChiTai Chi, one of Chinas many wonders, is practiced
daily in the yard around the Temple. Tai Chi has
been practiced for years and you will have the privi-lege to learn from the masters. Also, at the Temple
of Heaven soak in the culture and enjoy walking
around. Make sure to visit the whispering wall and
send a message to someone on the other side of the
wall to see what happens.
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Silk MuseumThe silk museum is located very close to the hotel
and will serve as a nice, relaxing, activity. As
you walk through the museum enjoy watching
the evolution of silk from worm to scarf. Theshopping here is great and you will be able to get
many great souvenirs for friends and family*Make sure to bring money with you, items here are slightly
expensive (but still cheaper than American department stores).
Food Market and Cooking LessonsAfter eating authentic Chinese food for a few days
it is time to go ahead and cook it yourself. In the
morning you have an opportunity to go with achef to the local market to buy meat and veg-
etables and then travel to the restaurant where you
will gear up in a chefs outt and get to work in
the kitchen on making such delicacies as dump-
lings or a meat dish with a prized chef.
Bird Nest and Water CubeSeeing the Olympic Stadiums on TV is one thing,
but actually going into them is even better.
*Make sure you buy all of your Beijing 2008 souvenirs inthe Bird Nest as there will be no other place to buy these
items.
*Bring an extra set of clothes just in case you run through
the water show or take a lap around the Olympic track.
Dragon BoatsA dragon boat is long and narrow like a canoe
and is used as a team paddling sport of dragonboat racing. A drum is also used to indicate when
to row. Dragon Boat racing is so much fun and
can get pretty competitive. The key to winning is
making sure everyone is rowing at the same time.*Bring an extra pair of clothes or wear a bathing suit because
you will get wet
798 Chinese ContemporaryTake this time to relax and explore real
China on your own. Keep an eye outfor good bargains in the shops on unique
Chinese handicrafts. Feel free to bargain
with the merchants. Dinner in 798 will be
VERY enjoyable so savor it!
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Village near the Great Wall & Mongolian YurtThis village housed soldiers during the time of the
Great Walls use and is now home to people from
almost 20 nationalities. After exploring the village youwill have dinner in a Mongolian Yurt. This will give
you a great perspective on their culture, including great
food and entertainment.
Hike the Great WallThe Great Wall of China took over 1,000 years
and three dynasties to build. Today it spans over
30,000 miles and has been around for more than2,000 years. The wall is one of the seven wonders
of the world and seeing it is a great experience that
will you will never forget. The view from the tow-
ers are absolutely breathtaking! Hiking the wall is
a huge opportunity because the part of the wall you
will hike, only 5,000 people before have hiked.*Bring lots of water! Take at least 2-5 before starting.
*Bring nutrition bars with you! You will get hungry.
*Get in shape before the trip because it is a long 6 milehike uphill and on very uneven difcult ground.
*Take LOTS of pictures, the views are amazing!
*Wear a pair of light capris or athletic pants because
there will be thorns along the way
Paper Cutting MuseumIf you are looking for one authentic souvenir to
bring home, this is it. This studio has hundreds
of handmade paper cuttings of gorgeous Chinese
graphics. You will have the privilege of meeting
the artist and she will teach the trade and let you
take a shot at making your own paper cutting.*All items range from $8USD to $60USD and you can get
great gifts for around $15USD.
Summer Mountain Resort and PicnicThis resort, built in 1703, was used as the Em-
perors summer escape from the heat of Beijing.
Take in the beautiful views and be prepared to
greet some deer on your travels. Your tour will
end with a beautiful picnic in the elds.*You may be sore from the Great Wall, but, be prepared for a
bit of walking today around the resort.
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Mini Potala TempleThe temple is built to resemble the Potala Pal-
ace in Lhasa, and is the largest of the Summer
Resortss outer eight temples and features Tibetanreligious ornaments.
*There will be more walking and climbing involved today so
be prepared. As tempting as it is, the men that offer to carry
you to the top in rickshaw are not safe so do not do it.
Longmen GrottoCarved into the side of a mountain, this collec-
tion of over 2,000 caves and 100,000 statues are
absolutely remarkable. These carvings date as far
back as 385 AD and are incredibly well preserved
with the exception of numerous headless statues
destroyed during the anti-Buddhist periods in the
Tang dynasty.
Shaolin Temple and Kung Fu SchoolThe Shaolin Temple was built in the 5th century AD
and turned into a place of martial arts when Bodhidar-
ma, an Indian Monk, arrived there in 527. He deriveda system of exercises that evolved into Shaolin Box-
ing, the origin of Chinese martial art. The temple is
still in use today by Buddhist and Warrior Monks who
make pilgrimages to the temple to devote their lives to
develop skill. The Small Dragon Kung Fu School is home to over 4,000 students
who study Kung Fu daily and hope to one day become Warrior Monks at Shaolin
Temple. During your time here, you will tour both the temple and the school.
After touring, you will learn from both Kung Fu Mas-
ter Students and then Warrior Monks at the temple toimprove your techniques. At the end of your training
you will be tested and get a certication of Shaolin
Kung Fu training.*The Kung Fu lessons will be very physically demanding so
bring clothes you are comfortable to sweat and exercise in and
be very physically prepared to push your body to its limits.
Pagoda ForestThis forest is not like any other you will see in
life. The Pagoda Forest consists of almost 240
pagodas, or graves, where Buddhist and Warrior
Monks are buried. The pagodas date as far back
as 791AD and as recent as 2005AD. Count how
many tiers the pagodas have, it will denitely be
odd (1, 3, 5, or 7) because of superstitions.
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Gaocheng Astronomical ObservatoryThis observatory is the oldest surviving astro-
nomical observatory in China. The accuracy of
the Chinese discoveries is remarkable because
observations of the Earths rotation were only
about 25 minutes off a year from what NASA has
concluded today.
Grand Shaolin Zen Music ShowThis performance is an amazing combination
of kung fu and music in the beautiful Shaoshi
mountains. Not only do you get to watch greatmasters of kung fu but there are eye opening
light effects that leave you amazed.
Day in the life of a MonkYou will experience how the Monks live and go
through their daily routine. There will be morning
prayers and breakfast with the Monks along withKung Fu at the Shaolin Temple and then afternoon
cleaning of the temple.*Get a good nights sleep the night before!
Duck DinnerFor the last night, dinner will be a very special
treat. This will be your last time to enjoy eating
with your whole group and talk about the entire
trip over an amazing meal together. Make sure
to try eating everything! No one would feed you
something that could hurt you. Only in China will
you ever be able to try the food that are indig-
enous to the country.
Farewell PartyThe nal evening is a great night which starts
with a dinner with your kung fu teachers and
warrior monks. After dinner, you will all journeyback to the Shaolin Temple for a talent show
with both American and Chinese routines.*Prior to this night, prepare a dance or song to preform for
everyone!
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Shopping in ChinaNothing by far can compare to shopping in China. You will be
able to get the most beautiful souve-
nirs to bring back to everyone. Our
dollar is very strong there so you can
get so much for so little. The best
places to shop are denitely at mar-
kets or in hotel shops because you can
bargain with shop owner and get greatauthentic Chinese souvenirs for inex-
pensively. Also if you love silk de-
nitely take full advantage of the silk museums shop because there are
beautiful scarves, clothes, and ties for mom, dad and your friends. Chi-
na uses beautiful designs in their
jewelry tea pots, and fans. It would
be a great idea to purchase one of
those three things because they arebeautiful souvenirs to bring back
home. Two notable shopping stops
will be the paper cutting studio and
the Bird Nest where you can get
very unique items that are awe-
some. The Shaolin Temple also
had great souvenirs like beautiful bracelets
and T-shirts. The Great Wall is denitely a
place to buy a T-shirt or something to re-
mind you of your journey because you will
want to remember your experience forever.
If you feel like you missed out on a chance
to buy something, dont worry! There will
be PLENTY of shopprotunities along
the way. Please note that you cannot buyswords or numb chucks but dont worry,
there will be hundreds of other things to
buy and your only real problem may be
nding somewhere to pack all your newly
acquired gifts.
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Useful PhrasesThroughout the entire trip you will be accompanied by yourtravel managers who will also serve as your translators. Nonetheless,it is helpful to know a few phrases on your own so here are some to
try out:
Yes: SHR
No: BOO SHR
Hello: NEE HOWHow are you?: NEE HOW MA?
(Very) good: (DING) HOW
Goodbye: DZAI JIEN
Please: CHING
Thank you: SHYEH SHYEH
Youre welcome: BOOKACHI
Im sorry: DUEYBOOCHI
I dont understand: WO FINGBUDONG
I am from the United States WO LAI ZI MEI GUODo you speak English? NI SHUO YING YU MA?
Good morning ZAO SHANG HOW
Good afternoon SHYEH WU HOW
Good evening/night WAN SHANG HOW
Where is the bathroom?: TSE SWOH DZAI NA LEE
How much does this cost?: DWOH SHOW CHIEN
Help!: JYO MING AH
Doctor: YEE SHENG
Police: JING CHABeef: NYO RO
Chicken: JEE
Lamb: YANG RO
Fish: YOO
Pork: JOO RO
Veal: NYO RO
Ham: HWO TWAY
Vegetable: SHOO TSAI
Rice: MEEPuried Water: KWANG CHWAN SHWAY
1: YI 2: ER 3: SAN
4: SI 5: WU 6: LIU
7: CHI 8: BA 9: JIU
10: SHI
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FoodsWell, one word to describe au-thentic Chinese food is different. It tastesabsolutely nothing like the Americanized
Chinese food we eat today. It is a very
spicy array of cooking. There is a lot of
pork, beef, chicken,lamb and vegetables, but you will always
see rice. There is nothing like a good
bowl of rice for breakfast, lunch, or din-
ner. All in all, it may be different but you
will denitely nd
dishes you like.
Some common meals you willencounter include dishes of Tianjin cab-
bage, sh (almost always with the head
still attached), noodles, tofu, meat, and
poultry. Some notable meals will include the Mongolian Hot
Pot which is served with sliced lamb, vegetables, and noodles
dipped in boiling water and an ar-
ray of sauces. Of course, the duckdinner will be unforgettable and the
cooking lesson will be remarkable
as well.
If you are afraid that you
will miss American food, try not to
worry. You will have two or more opportunities to get some
Golden Arch burgers, but take advan-tage of the different food opportunities
and be ready for something like Duck
Brain, Shrimp with their heads in tack,
or Scorpions at any moment.
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Packing TipsPacking for this trip is no easy feat; hopefully these tips will help you
make the most of the 44 pounds you are allowed to bring!*The temperature is permanently muggy, it is not sunny and the sky is usually
overcast. It is always humid so carry around a travel size deodorant in your
backpack.
*Everyday you will be doing physical activities, always wear something that
you are not afraid to move around in. We suggest Under Armor or Nike Dry
Fit.
*Make sure to bring at least one conservative outt for days with the Monks;bring a short sleeve shirt and a pair of light athletic pants/capris (not jeans or
warm pants).
*Bring enough socks for each day; at the end of some days you will end up
throwing them away.
*At some hotels there will be a laundry room or service so do not stress about
rewearing clothes.
*Bring 1 or 2 pairs of sneakers and a cheap pair of ip ops to wear on the
train, in the hotel, and during free time.
*Bring 1 sweat jacket, a pair of sweat pants, and 1 long sleeve shirt for layer-
ing.
*Pack a light dufe bag in your suitcase; this will be used to carry home souve-
nirs that could make your luggage overweight!
*The plane ride is long, dress comfy and layer! Keep an extra pair of clothes
with you.
*What should always be in your backpack:
- Camera (with a BIG memory card)
- Chap stick, sunscreen, bug spray (wear it every day)- Travel size deodorant
- Sunglasses
- Travel toilet paper, tissue, wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Bottled water (it will be provided, but always have a few with you)
- Power bars
*Bring food with you! Make sure to pack nutrition bars to boost your energy in
case you do not want to eat one of the meals provided. Bring 15-20 bars and
other food including trail mix, pretzels, and goldsh are great snacks that are
easy to pack.
*Bring one dressy outt for the last night because you will be dining in a fancy
restaurant!
*You should pack at least 2 outts you would wear out. You will need these
when you see the Zen Music Show, go to the farewell dinner, and at least two
other times for dinners.
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Teachers OverviewMrs. Sullivans two centsSo, youre going to China- Can you believe it? Congratulations and Good
Luck on your amazing journey! I tried to think of a single, best piece of
advice for traveling in China with DSA, but I couldnt settle on just one
single thing! So, instead, Ive put together a short list that I think will help
keep you on track during your travels:
ALWAYS BE:
*Open-minded*Quiet (i.e be sure to stop & smell the roses)
*Respectful
*Grateful
*Considerate
*Inquisitive
*Adventurous (but safe!)
*Humble
*A good ambassador of the USAEXPECT:
*The unexpected
*To be constantly amazed
*To sweat!
*To receive kindness
*To experience interesting bathrooms :)
*To become a chopstick expert!
NEVER FORGET TO:
*Reect on each day of your journey
*Talk to a local wherever you go
*Write in your journal
*Try something new (food, language...you name it)
*Embrace a different culture
*Help your fellow travelers
*Drink as much water as possible
*Eat fruits & vegetables (sorry- thats the Mom in me!)
If nothing else, remember to fully embrace your experience and all of the
incredible opportunities it brings. You didnt come to China to try some-
thing new. You came to do something new. Do, or, do not. There is no
try.
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Be kind whenever
possible. It is always
possible.- The Dalai Lama
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Photos courtesy of Cory Key
The DSA China 2009 Manalapan Delegation
(L to R) Mrs. Sullivan, Cory Bolotsky, Cait-lyn Silk, Kim Genero, Drew Regino
This survival guide was compiled by the Manala-
pan High School, NJ Discovery Student Adventure
China 2009 Pilot Trip. Participants included CoryBolotsky, Kim Genero, Drew Regino, Caitlyn Silk,
and Mrs. Heather Sullivan. We all absolutely loved
our China experiences and hope that you are excited
for your upcoming trip as well. This booklet should
help you with questions you may have regarding
packing, eating, accommodations, shopping, andoverall what you will be doing. We cant cover the
whole trip in this space but we tried, so hopefully it
will help. We hope you have an amazing trip and
that we help prepare you!