Arriving in Shanghai

 

Here I am finally in Shanghai! I ached all over after the 14 hour non stop flight. I couldn't wait to get out of the airport and catch my first glimpse of the city.

Shanghai Airport at Pudong is a busy modern place. Upon departing from the plane prominent signs point out different lines for Chinese Nationals (Zhongguo gongming) and Foreigners (waiguoren) to present their arrival documents.

 

Convenient ATM machines at the airport will dispense yuan when you insert your credit card. The current rate of exchange is about 6.6 yuan to one U.S. dollar. 

Jeff Wang from Asia Society was there to greet the teachers arriving from the United States. There were altogether 38 teachers and leaders coming from 14 different states and the district of Washington. 

Welcoming sign in the lobby of the Jinsha Hotel where we stayed

Our meeting is called the Confucius Classrooms Teachers and Leaders summit.  The goal of the summit is to promote a greater understanding of Chinese education, learn about best practices in Chinese language instruction and to foster exchanges between students at  schools in the United States and partners schools in China.