Sunday 28 September 2008

Chinese National Day

The National Day of the People's Republic of China is held on October 1st each year. The PRC had its beginnings on October 1st, 1949 and is celebrated with a holiday of one week. Consequently our college is on holiday for this period. Many of the 8,000 or so students will go to their homes, but some will remain at the college.

Often this is a time for foreign teachers to travel too, but it is always so busy. People everywhere at all the transport hubs, and the tourist spots that many of us have decided to "rest" - stay at the college for the duration of the holidays.

Tomorrow some of us are going to Hangzhou - again to the Silk Markets and Foreign Bookshop, but we will go early in the morning and return late afternoon. We have our train tickets, so will not have to stand in line waitig to get tickets and should only have a short time getting onto the train.

National Day is celebrated throughout mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau with a number of government sponsored festivities. There willbe lots of fireworks!

Our college has given us little or no information about it - in fact have not even advised us this time what canteens are operating during this holiday period, but I am sure we will find plenty of places to eat during the holidays.

I still do quite a bit of cooking for myself - but do enjoy eating out at the college and restaurants around Shaoxing.

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