Reflections on OELP- Day 5&6

For the fifth day of the trip, we went to Suzhou to visit the silk factory there. I felt that it was very interesting to see how silk was made such as the life cycle of the silkworm and the curing process of silk till the production of it. It was fun to see and touch the silkworm to feel that they are soft and squishy, which was totally not what I expected it to be, like tough and rigid. The tour guide also shared that it is very important to be careful not to touch the tip of its tail, as it is very dangerous for the silkworm and can even cause death. I feel that it was significant for us to visit the silk factory as Suzhou is the silk capital of China, thus with the silk factory, it can be preserved.

Next , we proceeded to Shanghai for some free time at a shopping mall which sells fake goods. I did not buy anything as I felt that it was not worth the money for goods that may have defects, or spoil within a few days. Later in the evening, we went to the oriental pearl TV tower where I am very excited about. It was a great place for sightseeing and there was a tallest level of 351m, however it was not the tallest tower in Shanghai. The weather was rainy when we went so there was mist and fog surrounding buildings, so we could not see the buildings very well. Nonetheless, the view was still spectacular from such a great height even with the fog.

On the sixth day, we went to Gongyi Xintiandi for a workshop to paint a face/mask. I learnt that we could not just use any colour to paint the mask. Colours to be avoided are blue and yellow, and the best colour to use is red, and the beard should be painted black in colour. Next, we visited the French concession to observe the design of the building, and it was all very English, unlike other buildings in China. The reason why is that the French had rented a patch of land from China, and it happens to be in Shanghai. Then we went to the book store and Nanjing road for some free time, and I must say I really enjoyed myself during this trip for the things I have learnt, and cleared any misconceptions I had about China before the trip.