Saturday, April 19, 2008
This was the day to visit the birthplace of Confucius and to formally conclude our visit by having a final banquet with education officials in the providence of Shandong and the city of Jinan.
We began the day by boarding a bus at 8:00 AM for the two hour and thirty minute ride to the city of Qufu, south of Jinan. I enjoyed the bus ride through the countryside, at seeing low mountains and agricultural areas. We arrived at the historic city around 10:30 AM and immediately had a tour of the historic city. Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius more that 2,000 years ago. Much of the city has been preserved as a historical city. The Confucius Temple is where he first worshiped and originally contained three halls. After his death it was expanded into a huge complex of nine courtyards, fifty gates, and many impressive buildings. The Confucius philosophy was based on his pursuit of an ideal world of national prosperity, universal peace, and harmony. Confucius often referred to the five virtues of dignity, lenience, honesty, industriousness, and kindness. After our brief visit, I think the entire country has integrated these virtues into its culture.
We returned to Jinan at 4:30 PM and had to quickly get dressed for our last formal banquet which started at 6:00 PM. This banquet was hosted by Dan Gregg, Director of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership and employee of the Connecticut Department of Education. He was joined at the head table by the educational leadership of the Shandong Providence as well as educational leaders from the city of Jinan, a city of over nine million people where many of the sister schools are located. After several toasts to the success of our visitation as well as the past successful visitations of approximately 165 Connecticut administrators and teachers, the banquet ended. We returned to our rooms to pack for the return “high speed train” to Beijing which we are taking back tomorrow.
This was the day to visit the birthplace of Confucius and to formally conclude our visit by having a final banquet with education officials in the providence of Shandong and the city of Jinan.
We began the day by boarding a bus at 8:00 AM for the two hour and thirty minute ride to the city of Qufu, south of Jinan. I enjoyed the bus ride through the countryside, at seeing low mountains and agricultural areas. We arrived at the historic city around 10:30 AM and immediately had a tour of the historic city. Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius more that 2,000 years ago. Much of the city has been preserved as a historical city. The Confucius Temple is where he first worshiped and originally contained three halls. After his death it was expanded into a huge complex of nine courtyards, fifty gates, and many impressive buildings. The Confucius philosophy was based on his pursuit of an ideal world of national prosperity, universal peace, and harmony. Confucius often referred to the five virtues of dignity, lenience, honesty, industriousness, and kindness. After our brief visit, I think the entire country has integrated these virtues into its culture.
We returned to Jinan at 4:30 PM and had to quickly get dressed for our last formal banquet which started at 6:00 PM. This banquet was hosted by Dan Gregg, Director of the Connecticut-Shandong School Partnership and employee of the Connecticut Department of Education. He was joined at the head table by the educational leadership of the Shandong Providence as well as educational leaders from the city of Jinan, a city of over nine million people where many of the sister schools are located. After several toasts to the success of our visitation as well as the past successful visitations of approximately 165 Connecticut administrators and teachers, the banquet ended. We returned to our rooms to pack for the return “high speed train” to Beijing which we are taking back tomorrow.
1 comment:
Thanks for the wonderful travelogue. We are praying for a safe trip home for you and the entire delegation.
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