Kunming according to Jona

how my partner describes the city
Kunming is also called "Spring city" because of the perpetual spring-like weather there. The temperatures are always quite high, it is never really cold, which is the perfect weather for many different plants. Those suitable conditions are probably the reason why Kunming has the biggest flower market in Asia.

The city also has an interesting historical background. During the second world war, Kunming was a military center. Nowadays, it is an important trade center in the region of this nation.

My partner Coco also described Kunming as "multicultural" because it is home to 26 minorities.

Furthermore it attracts a lot of tourists, who are the main economic resource of Kunming.

school life
classes

School classes in Kunming typically consist of 50-60 students, usually there's an equal number of boys and girls.

subjects

As in Germany, the Kunming students study mathematics, science subjects (biology, chemistry, physics), social studies (history, politics, geography) and also PE, art, music. But, another subject they have, is "psychics", which isn't taught at German schools. Also, they need to learn a foreign language, my partner for example chose English, but there are also other opportunities.

a typical school day

At my partner's school, the lessons start at 7:10 am, that's why she wakes up at 6:45 am. She shares her dormitory with 6 roommates, together they have to clean their apartment before the first courses start. In the morning they always have 5 classes, then, after a 2-hour-long lunch break the school continues with 4 more classes. After that the students have dinner in the dining hall. Later, they get some time ,3 hours to be precise, where they can do some self study and do their homework. The in comparison very long school day finally ends at 22:00 pm.

homework

Because the students usually get homework in each of the courses, they have to spend a lot of time doing them. Often it is so much, that it is not possible to get them all done. My partner told me, that they found a solution: Copying the homework from another student :)

options after graduation

After graduating high school, most students try to deepen their education and study at a good university. If their school achievements are not enough, or they don't get accepted at their university of choice, they study for another year to improve their skills. Another option is directly starting a job/ career, but this path is not that popular as well as going to a professional school.

tips for Göttingen students exchanging in Kunming


 * 1) School life in Kunming seems to be very stressful, I only want you to be aware of it. Maybe try to get as much sleep as possible, so that you are able to concentrate in the lessons.
 * 2) If your homework is way too much, just remember: Copying is the solution! (You are not the only one who does this there ;))
 * 3) Another useful tip is (don't get caught! : If you are at the same school as my partner and you don't like the food for some reason, you get yourself some food at the snack block of the university next to the school)

A one-day-excursion
The excursion starts with a dish, Kunming is popular for: The "Crossing-the-bridge-noodles", a big bowl of chicken soop with vegetables and rice noodles. Why? Because it is supposed to be delicious, and also it includes all the raw ingredients, so that the students are perfectly prepared for the tour through the city.

Firstly they visit the Green Lake, a beautiful lake centered in the middle of the city. The subsequent park is the perfect place to go for a walk, calm down and also watch and feed some black headed gulls.

Next stop of the tour is the "National Southwestern Associated University", a university known for some of its students, who later became famous. After that, the excursion continues with the UN Yunnan military academy, which was built during WW2. At this place, the revolts from the past started, which is why some old weapons from during that times are on exhibition. Also the architecture of this building is very interesting, because it inspired from French style.

Later, the students visit the Yunnan University, with its impressive architecture. Right there are some ancient examination rooms and also an avenue with beautiful Ginkgo trees, where they maybe (if they are lucky) see some squirrels.

Finishing the tour with a mushroom hot pot for lunch, the students would have seen the city from various sides and gotten a nice impression.

Because all the attractions are so close to each other, the students don't have to use any means of transportation. Instead they can just walk all the short distances which is advantageous, not only because they see more of the city, but also it is environmental-friendly :).

Some other tips to make the excursion greener:

-bring your own reusable bottle/ buy a new one

-> this way you can avoid using plastic bottles/ plastic cups which are usually directly thrown away after using them once

-please always clean up everything before leaving and don‘t leave your trash anywhere!

-if the planned meals are not enough for you and you are still hungry, make sure to buy regional (e.g. from a food market)

-> this way you support local businesses and avoid in addition buy seasonal food

-also before to get to our first attraction and also after finishing the excursion, use „green means of transportation“ (e.g. bikes/ trains)

festivals in China
One of the biggest festivals celebrated in Kunming is the "Torch Festival", which is considered a minorities festival. Because the festival follows the moon calendar, the date always changes, e.g. this year it happened on the 2nd August.

Center of the festival is the big ceremony in God's honor, consisting of the making of a torch (out of a bunch of trees and flowers to decorate it), which is lighted at nighttime. Some people see God in the fire, they hope that he'll bless them and take the unfortunate away.

Not only the torches itself are lighted at the festival, but also some strings of colorful rope, which are made another festival earlier. The kids in China also invented a game, which seems like a lot of fun, but also a bit dangerous. They try to jump over the torches without touching the fire.

My partner said that she always enjoys the festival because it brings the old culture (e.g. some clothes which are worn) back to normal life.

She also experienced the Christmas festival, which is very popular in Western Europe or North America but she herself thinks that in China it is a bit too commercial oriented).

Still she has the opinion that celebrating other festivals is (not definitely necessary but) a great way to have fun and get to know another culture.