Nat Krause/ Public Domain

"Nihao!"
Welcome to Hangzhou, China -- you found us! We are the Grade 5 students from Hangzhou International School ("HIS" on our shirts). Our grade is made up of two classes. Because of the small sizes of both the classes, we often do our learning together. Both classes are multi cultural with students from Argentina, Ireland, India, United States of America, The United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Canada, Syria, Iraq and China. Our home teachers, Ms. Mcguire and Mr. Cheevers, are from New Zealand and Canada.

We all enjoy coming to school except on those days when the air quality is so poor that we need to stay inside. Luckily, that doesn’t happen too often! We hope that you will have the opportunity to visit Hangzhou one day. It is a beautiful place.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Hangzhou International School: Who We Are
Hangzhou International School has some rich history with respect to everyone and everything.  HIS was founded about 14 years ago and has changed a lot over the years, both in and out of the building. We are a part of a school system that includes three other campuses in Shanghai. HIS has many competitions against the three other schools for all the sports. Our biggest competition is A.C.A.M.A.S in which we go to different parts of China to compete. Hangzhou International School uses several different curriculums including IPC, IMYPC and IB. We have a whole shelf full of trophies in the office, which makes our office look rich.

HIS -- A Joyful Place to Learn
HIS is a modern, positive, beautiful, and AMAZING place to learn! Here there are no bullies, the teachers are kind and supportive, and everybody is energetic, helpful and like-able. The school is tremendously clean and modern. It is an excellent place to learn because it is an IB school, so no matter where else you go in the world, the way they teach is going to be the same. Here teachers teach in a way that even if you don’t speak English, you will understand what they are teaching you. HIS is a joyful learning place.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Ride a Bike!
Another favorite activity here is riding one of the bikes from the Hangzhou Bicycle System. The first hour is free, and there are over 66,000 bikes located at 2,700 stations around the city.

Favorite Foods - Duck Soup
We really like the local restaurants which have a lot of tasty local foods. Here are a few of the most fabulous local foods we like to enjoy. First, one of the favorite foods of Hangzhou is duck soup, shown in the picture below. It is one of our most favorite meals too. It is a duck put into a pot and then you add cooking oil, dried bamboo shoots, bones, soup, ham, water and salt and then boil it altogether. Most Hangzhou citizens like to eat duck as their main diet, and duck is also a very popular food all around China.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Another Favorite Food
Another popular food in Hangzhou is duck’s tongue. It is cooked with oil, soy sauce, and sugar. Cooking with lots of oil is a traditional Chinese way of cooking.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Traditional Foods
Throughout China, the traditional main foods that people eat are noodles, rice, buns and dumplings. And of course, we love traditional dumplings too!

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Our City
"In heaven there is paradise and on earth there is Hangzhou", or so the ancient Chinese saying goes. Hangzhou is known as "China’s most picturesque city" and is often near the top of the lists of places you should visit in the world. It is located about 180km from Shanghai. Hangzhou will be hosting the G20 summit this summer. We are sure that all the delegates will enjoy their time here as much as we do.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

West Lake
Hangzhou owes its status as a tourist hotspot both to its prestige as a major ancient city and to the presence right in the city center of West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed location in an unforgettable woodland setting. Embraced by hills on three sides and covering an area of about 6 square kilometers, this water wonderland has for centuries served as a source of inspiration for China’s cultural elite

CC BY-SA 3.0 /  Vmenkov

Our Grand Canal and Rivers
Hangzhou is also famous for its section of the mammoth Grand Canal – which links the city to Beijing over a distance of nearly 1,800km. Along the canal, there are countless heritage sites such as Linyin Temple and Six Harmonies Pagoda and celebrated cultural goods such as its silks and Longjing tea. We are also known for our location along the Qiantang River, which flows through our city to Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea. This photo shows the newest of five bridges that cross the river.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Hi Rise Living
Many of the students and families here at HIS live in hi rise apartments in Hangzhou.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Shopping Streets in Hangzhou
This is a typical shopping street in Hangzhou, and so if you needed to go shopping you would go to an area like this.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

Fish Market
People eat a lot of fish here in Hangzhou, and it's always fresh because we are located along the eastern coast of China. In this photo, several of us are visiting the fish market.

Photo: Hangzhou International School

CC BY-SA 2.0 / Damon Woo

China
And, of course, we are located in the People's Republic of China, the most populous nation on Earth with over 1.3 Billion people, and one of largest countries in area as well. One of the most iconic images of our country is the Great Wall of China.