On 15 April, I set off on a three week exchange trip to China to take part in the 2018 Chinese Study Camp with the Confucius Institute at Canterbury University.

I travelled with students from Columba College, Waitaki Girls' High School, Lincoln High School, St Kevins College and Christchurch Boys' High School, and together, we had the most amazing experience of our lives.

Our first stop was Wuhan, where we stayed at HUST (Huazhong University of Science and Technology) for one week attending Chinese language lessons. The campus was a sprawling 1153 acres and had everything from a supermarket, bakery and sports ground to a McDonalds and even it's very own lake!

We attended school at Xishui No 1 Middle School in Wuhan, which was very different to school in New Zealand. The co-ed class we joined had over 70 students, ranging in age from 13 to 17. The students were taught very differently compared to students in New Zealand. Each morning, the students would run around a sprint track for ten minutes, chanting “we must work harder, we must get a good education, we must create a future”.

Their school day started at 5:00am, and finished at 7:00pm. At lunch time, they were sent home to eat lunch, and have a short nap before returning back to school for another six hours. After school, they had hours of homework to complete, and many of their parents had enrolled them in extra tutoring lessons, or made them learn an instrument and play a sport. Their day often did not finish until 10pm!

Next, we took the bullet train to Beijing, China’s capital city. The air quality was very poor, and the amount of people and traffic was very different to Dunedin! In Beijing, we visited many historic sites including the Great Wall of China, Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, Beijing Zoo, and the Olympic Village. These activities were such an awesome experience, especially walking the Great Wall of China. It was amazing to think that the man-made structure had been around for 2,700 years and was still standing to this very day.

We were privileged to take part in the ANZAC service at the Australian Embassy. We represented New Zealand along with soldiers from many different countries, and together remembered the Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in wars and conflicts. We were also lucky to meet the New Zealand Ambassador based in Beijing.

Our last week in China was spent in Shanghai. Sightseeing on the Pu river was one of many highlights. It was incredible to see all of the cities lights and just how vast and busy Shanghai is. We visited the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and took in the amazing views of Shanghai. We visited many museums and learnt a lot about the history of China.

After exploring some of Shanghai’s busiest shopping malls (eg Nanjing Rd with over a million visitors per day!) I was lucky enough to attend school at Columba's sister school in Datong. Finally, after having a blast at Disneyland, we headed back to New Zealand on the 12 hour flight.

This trip has been the best experience of my life, and it has taught me so much. I am forever grateful to have been a participant on this amazing trip, and I hope to visit China again soon!