Paisley Students Head to China

 
Fourteen students and parents from Paisley IB Magnet School spent nine days exploring China. Don Lail, who coordinates the International Baccalaureate program at Paisley, organized the trip through EF Education Tours.

The group left North Carolina on June 18th. After a 14-hour flight, they landed in Beijing, where they joined other students and parents from across the United States. In the days that followed, they did such things as visit The Great Wall of China, take a rickshaw tour of an ancient neighborhood and eat with a family living there, and visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Museum of the Terra-Cotta Army.

When they went to Shanghai, they took a train from the airport to downtown that reached a top speed of 268 mph. In Shanghai, they visited the Jade Buddha Temple, a silk factory and the Nanjing Road, renowned for its shopping. After lunch on June 25th, their last full day in China, they went to the World Financial Center Tower, where they ascended to the 100th floor observation deck for a panoramic view of downtown Shanghai.

For Lail, the Great Wall was one of the highlights of the trip. In his journal of the trip, he wrote: “The wall snakes across mountains and valleys for more than 3,000 miles. Descriptive words seemed to escape me while climbing along the wall. This has always been a life-long dream, and living up to my expectations it was just an incredible experience! The Great Wall of China is a true wonder of the world and an absolute must-see for anyone visiting this wonderful country.”

On Tuesday, June 26th, it was time to head back to North Carolina. “With memories that will last a lifetime,” Lail wrote, “we began our long journey home. China is an incredible country and this was a fantastic journey.”

For June 2013, Lail is organizing a trip to Ireland.