New 10-Yuan Note

The People’s Bank of China issued a commemorative banknote with a value of 10 yuan last Tuesday to mark the Beijing Olympic Games. This is not a typical Chinese note which features Mao in front because Mao is nowhere to be seen and was replaced by the Bird’s Nest. On the other side of the note, is an ancient Greek marble statue of a discus thrower. The PBOC will only print 6 million notes which would be circulated in the market. Thus, people queued Monday midnight to get the chance to get hold on one of these special notes.  

It’s bound to be a collector’s item and from what I heard it’s already worth RMB 500. I didn’t know about it until I saw it or else I would have waited with the throng of people just to get hold of one to keep. I’ll try the bank tomorrow and ask if they have one. Hopefully, they do as that’s one souvenir that I’m willing to keep.

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Bringing Joy To Kids In Rural China

It was a warm Saturday afternoon when 6 foreign torchbearers with their friends and family set off to a town a 100 kms away from Lanzhou. These torchbearers were armed with bags, toys, notebooks, pens and all other school supplies to share with 206 primary school students and 21 teachers of Gaolan.

The trip was long and bumpy but the scenery was spectacular and amazing. I was hoping we could stop so that we can take some pictures but we weren’t that lucky. When we arrived our destination, the students were waiting for us, waving flags, playing their instruments and chanting “welcome to our school”. You can feel the warmth and the joy in their actions and faces as they welcome their guests to their humble but quaint learning place.