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Robin Dexter: Blogging from China, No. 4
Robin Dexter, assistant superintendent for the Grand Island writes about her first day in Xi'an, a large finance, banking, business and insurance city set in the middle of a large agricultural basin. After some e-mail glitches from China, Dexter's blogs are now coming fast and furious.
Greetings from China,
It is Friday in China and we are flying to Xi`an from Beijing. We arrive in Xi`an at 1:15pm and board the bus for our hotel.
On the bus ride we travel through an agricultural area. Our guide tells us that the Xi`an area produces three crops of wheat every two years and that they are one week away from the winter wheat harvest. Even thought they produce three crops every two years, China still needs to import wheat in order to feed all the people. Other crops include rice, corn, and sweet potatoes.
We also see orchards of pomegranate, apricot, peach, and cherry trees. The roadway is lined with venders selling their fruit. The guide reports that we are still in northern China, as we are north of a dividing mountain range. The area of Xi`an can reach temperatures of 115 degrees in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Xi`an is surrounded by 8 rivers and is considered an agricultural basin.
We drive into Xi`an, a city of 8.5 million people. Xi`an has three city rings compared to Beijing with six. My understanding is that the rings are like suburbs with each ring changing in purpose as you leave the city in any direction. We also see construction everywhere from building apartments to roads.
Xi'an's major industries are finance and banking, insurance, and technology, and also supports 56 universities. Xi`an is the oldest capital of China and is the birthplace of the silk road.
Our guide shares more about China's plan to control the population growth. Each couple can have one child with fines starting at $16,000 if a second child is born. Other penalties include loss of job and loss of career progression.
Sociologists are concerned that males outnumber females and that the population is aging with 12% of the population over 65 years of age. He also reaffirms that all land and housing belong to China. If you own a house, you must sell it to a family member or other person after 70 years.
We then arrive at our hotel, grab a quick lunch in our room, change clothes, and are back on the bus and headed to Xi`an Jiaotong University to meet with the Chairman. Once again this is a formal reception with John Gale, Secretary of State, and Roger Breed, Commissioner of Education, representing Nebraska well.
Introductions are made and gifts exchanged. UNL partners with Jiaotong University to support students attending UNL and some students from UNL attending Jiaotong. This partnership started out emphasizing business and engineering fields with a grant from Hanban to support visits to each of the universities by university staff and community members. This has now spread to include education. Students give us a tour of the campus. Our student guide is 21 years of age and will be graduating in July.
He reports that he had to pass 17 exams and has two remaining. He already has a job after he graduates. The campus is beautiful with well-kept gardens. We head back to the hotel to check in and prepare for the dinner reception with the university.
The reception is held on campus at a hotel. Once again we have a private room with two round tables. Food is served on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. A typical Chinese meal has six main dishes and the serving of fruit signals the end of the meal. Each guest makes a toast to good will and friendship between the two universities.
Another day ends back at our hotel. This hotel has a more British feel to it with excellent accommodations, as compared to the Americanized Double Tree Hotel in Beijing, with excellent accommodations as well. We have another tour guide named Jerry and a bus driver named Tom. Jerry is quite the comedian and he left us with this riddle, "Why can't a bicycle in China stand up? - Because it is two tired."
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Greetings from China,
It is Friday in China and we are flying to Xi`an from Beijing. We arrive in Xi`an at 1:15pm and board the bus for our hotel.
We also see orchards of pomegranate, apricot, peach, and cherry trees. The roadway is lined with venders selling their fruit. The guide reports that we are still in northern China, as we are north of a dividing mountain range. The area of Xi`an can reach temperatures of 115 degrees in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Xi`an is surrounded by 8 rivers and is considered an agricultural basin.
We drive into Xi`an, a city of 8.5 million people. Xi`an has three city rings compared to Beijing with six. My understanding is that the rings are like suburbs with each ring changing in purpose as you leave the city in any direction. We also see construction everywhere from building apartments to roads.
Xi'an's major industries are finance and banking, insurance, and technology, and also supports 56 universities. Xi`an is the oldest capital of China and is the birthplace of the silk road.
Our guide shares more about China's plan to control the population growth. Each couple can have one child with fines starting at $16,000 if a second child is born. Other penalties include loss of job and loss of career progression.
Sociologists are concerned that males outnumber females and that the population is aging with 12% of the population over 65 years of age. He also reaffirms that all land and housing belong to China. If you own a house, you must sell it to a family member or other person after 70 years.
We then arrive at our hotel, grab a quick lunch in our room, change clothes, and are back on the bus and headed to Xi`an Jiaotong University to meet with the Chairman. Once again this is a formal reception with John Gale, Secretary of State, and Roger Breed, Commissioner of Education, representing Nebraska well.
Introductions are made and gifts exchanged. UNL partners with Jiaotong University to support students attending UNL and some students from UNL attending Jiaotong. This partnership started out emphasizing business and engineering fields with a grant from Hanban to support visits to each of the universities by university staff and community members. This has now spread to include education. Students give us a tour of the campus. Our student guide is 21 years of age and will be graduating in July.
He reports that he had to pass 17 exams and has two remaining. He already has a job after he graduates. The campus is beautiful with well-kept gardens. We head back to the hotel to check in and prepare for the dinner reception with the university.
The reception is held on campus at a hotel. Once again we have a private room with two round tables. Food is served on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. A typical Chinese meal has six main dishes and the serving of fruit signals the end of the meal. Each guest makes a toast to good will and friendship between the two universities.
Another day ends back at our hotel. This hotel has a more British feel to it with excellent accommodations, as compared to the Americanized Double Tree Hotel in Beijing, with excellent accommodations as well. We have another tour guide named Jerry and a bus driver named Tom. Jerry is quite the comedian and he left us with this riddle, "Why can't a bicycle in China stand up? - Because it is two tired."
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| Robin Dexter: Blogging from China, No. 3 | Robin Dexter: Blogging from China, No. 5 |
