E03 – To China and back
Produced by David Ward on July 21, 2017
Tags - Chengdu - Interviewed by Trish Connery - Jack Butcher - Trinity College - Trish Connery - Tsinghua University
Jack Butcher is on his way to the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, China
From Trinity College to the world’s top engineering school – Tsinghua University – local export Jack Butcher is hoping to help China and Australia better understand each other.
At 16, Jack discovered he had a talent for languages, and, in particular, he was quick to pick up the difficult-for-western-tongues pronunciations of Chinese. His language skill helped him win the Confucius Institute Scholarship from University of Adelaide, and so Jack went to live in China for six months!
Based in Chengdu, and studying at s local university, Jack soaked up the Chinese way of life, their culture, and their food, and in our latest oral history instalment he tells GOHP host Trish Connery what it was like living in one of the world’s most populous and busiest countries.
Szechuan (Sichuan) Province within China
Szechuan (or Sichuan) is the 5th largest Chinese province in terms of area, and the 4th largest in population, as the home to over 81 million people.
(Image courtesy of mychinesenotebook.com)
Chengdu
Chengdu, where Jack went to study after winning the Confucius Institute Scholarship is home to nearly 15 million people, and is one of the most populous cities in western China.
(Image courtesy of the Skyscraper Centre)
High Speed Trains
China has a pretty extensive high speed train network, where the trains can reach speeds of over 400 km/h as they speed across the country.
(Image courtesy of quora.com)
The Great Wall
Thousands of kilometres long, and still standing after thousands of years, the Great Wall is possibly the most recognised Chinese symbol across the world.
(Image courtesy of wikipedia)
The Temple of Heaven
The more than 600 year old Temple of Heaven in Beijing was built by the Yongle Emperor of China – the same Emperor who built the famous Forbidden City.
(Image courtesy of Philip Larson via Wikimedia Commons)
Terracotta Warriors
After nearly 2000 years buried, the terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, were found in Shaanxi Province in 1974. So far over 8000 warriors and more than 130 chariots have been unearthed.
(Image courtesy of CEphoto via Wikimedia Commons)
Chengdu Panda Research Base
Begun in 1987 with 6 pandas, the Chengdu Panda Research Base has successfully delivered over 124 panda cubs, and its captive population has grown to more than 80 pandas.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com)
Wolong National Nature Reserve
Aside from its crucial population of wild pandas, Wolong National Nature Reserve in Szechuan (Sichuan) is also home to snow leopards, golden monkeys, and white-lipped deer.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com)
Huoguo
Jack’s favourite dish from China – Huoguo from Szechuan, with its mix of meat, vegetables and spices
(Image courtesy of chinasichuanfood.com)
Tsinghua University
The gates of the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, where Jack will be studying when he next heads back to China
(Image courtesy of Denn via Wikimedia Commons)
Jack’s experiences have given him a fascinating insight into the Chinese way of life, and he’s determined to help Chinese and Australian people understand each other better. Since returning to Australia Jack has continued studying a Bachelor of International Studies, and he recently won the 2017 Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Scholarship, which means he’s heading back to China to study at Tsinghua University, one of Beijing’s (and China’s) most renowned and respected schools.
Production Notes
Title: E03 – To China and Back
Guest: Jack Butcher
Host: Trish Connery
Editor: Ian McDonnell
Producer: Barry Neylon
Transcript: Trish Connery
GOHP E03 – To China and back by Gawler Oral History Project is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
