Day 51: Shandan City

Our next stop was Shandan. It felt very much like home there -- a very agriculturally-oriented region that is overlooked by hills resembling our Port Hills and with the most friendly people, and it was a great honour to visit where Rewi Alley second home was.

We visited the Shandan Museum where it tells of the life of Rewi Alley and houses a great many items donated from the collection of Rewi Alley. There were all manner of historical artifacts, including: carvings, badges, pottery, tools and more!

Before departing Shandan, we visited Shandan Bailie School, a school that was set up by Rewi Alley and others in the 1940s. The purpose of these schools was to increase the technical knowledge of the local Chinese. To this day the technical focus remains: we saw students working lathes, putting together electrical circuits, and welding. Rewi Alley himself taught here for many years, and his former residence is under restoration.

Read more on Rewi Alley here

I was very excited to hear that my home-district, Selwyn, is entering a Sister City Relationship with Shandan in Gansu, China. I wish them well!