Year 6 Visit to Tianjin

As part of an inquiry unit on settlements, the year 6 students took their learning out and about around Tianjin on Wednesday. The year 5 students had gone the day before, but unfortunately for them, the weather was not too good and they got a bit wet! The purpose of the trip was to compare different areas; to see how land used and how people live.

The first location was the area around the Astor and Ritz-Carlton hotels. This is a richer, greener area which was designed to look older than it probably is. The second area, Italian District, is quite different to the previous site in that it has more shops and restaurants. On the edge of this district is the city’s planning exhibition hall. Inside is an amazing 3D model map of Tianjin. It really gave a good idea of how big the city we all live in actually is. It took a while to locate Wellington College on it, but we found it eventually.

The final location was a very different one. It was one of the old hutongs near the West Station. This was a more run down part of Tianjin. Market stalls were set up along one street and under the bridge many residents sat chatting, eating or playing majong. It was an interesting area.

So what did we think of the trip?

“We all had fun learning about our topic. We saw how people live and work. None of us had ever noticed that Tianjin was so big and yet lots of people have not heard of it!” Lizzy

“The hutong was a very interesting place with all of the small stalls on the road. There was a sign saying ‘haircut 5Yuan’. My favourite place was the Italian District because it has lots of food!” Lani

“I believe that the trip was a great way to let us learn about different places. Most schools would probably show us pictures, but instead, we saw them for ourselves, with our own eyes. I enjoyed the trip a lot and hope that there will be further trips like this.” Crystal

“I liked the museum because I can see all of the buildings of Tianjin and I saw Wellington College.” Leo

“I liked the Tianjin model in the museum because I found my village.” Ian

“I also liked the Tianjin model because it felt like I was Godzilla for 5 minutes!” Alex E

“The first place we went to had a fancy, big, expensive hotel. The garden in front was very clean.” Mary

“It was a great experience to go around Tianjin and look at lots of different villages.” Rose