The next couple days of our trip were a mix of sightseeing and swimming. In the morning, we saw some of the sights and then in the afternoon, we visit 2 of the main clubs in Hangzhou. The overall picture of swimming here in Hangzhou looks a little like this. Hangzhou is a city of about 6 million people and there are about 20 swimming "clubs" here. Here, the word club is somewhat different then it is at home. A club here is a swim program that is set up in one of the many sports schools here in the city. Some you can join, others you can be selected out of primary school, or out of the lessons run at the pool and invited to join the team. Of the 20 teams, only 4 of which are considered professional programs, which simply means that they produce the best swimmers and receive the most support from the government. At this "city" level program, swimmers work hard and train to reach the professional Provincial team. The Chinese national team is selected from the best of the 19 or so different provincial teams around the county. The Zhejiang Provincial team (which Hangzhou is part of), is the best in all of China and almost half of China's National team which represent the country during world competitions (like the Olympics) come from there.
Two of the Hangzhou "city-level" teams are the DaGuan School and the ChenJinglin Sports School. The two are separate clubs, but maintain a close link in friendship between each other in swimming because the coach of DaGuan (Wei Wei) used to coach under the coach from ChenJinglin (Coach Bia). It was coach Wei Wei that discovered 2012 Olympic superstar Ye Shiwen and recruited her to swim at ChenJinglin School in 2004. Coach Wei Wei gets "credit" for her discovery in the Chinese system. The other Chinese world record holder and swimming star Sun Yang also comes from the ChenJinglin school.
On day 4, we went two visit West Lake in Hangzhou in the morning and visited DaGuan in the afternoon and watched practice. On day 5, we went to a very old and famous Buddhist monastery in the morning and the ChenJinglin school in the afternoon and watched that practice. At some later point, when I have more time, I will get into the specifics of what I saw and experience. Today, we visit the Zhejiang Provincial Team and meet some of their superstars. That's all for now.
Coach Tim
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Day 2 & 3 - Zhejiang University
The last couple days has been kind of a whirlwind, so I've condensed both days into one post. We were pretty much in the same place, doing stuff all related to the same thing, so it makes sense.
The morning after our arrival, and because of severe jetlag, we work up ungodly early at 5 AM to a beautiful sunrise from out 19th floor hotel room onto the largest city in the world. It was still asleep, so it was very peaceful. Over the next few hours it slowly woke up (as did we) and we set out on the day after a traditional breakfast. Today, in the morning hours, we were setting out to the southwest, down towards the City of Hangzhou. The city itself it is about 2-2.5 hours (180 km) south of Shanghai. We were actually headed to the University Center, which is a large section of town that contains 7 full and separate universities all in one area. We arrived in time for lunch. After the traditional 1.5 hour lunch, we set out for the University of Zhejiang University of Economics and Finance to work with the swim team.
The system of swimming in China at the University level is MUCH different then in the United States. It's pretty complicated and to be quite honest, I'm not sure I understand it fully. However, this much I do know. Every fall, just at the start of the school year, they have something called the University Games of China. This is an Olympic games-style competition that is held for 10-days near Beijing. The team are organized not by college, but by provinces. So all of the best athletes in a particular province will train together for the summer, then travel to this competition and compete as one team. So the team that we got to work with was the team from the Zhejiang Province that is training at the university we worked stayed at. We spend several hours observing and actually working with them as they did dryland and swam a workout. Some spoke fairly good English and could possibly make fine additions to our college team someday :). It should be mentioned that some of these swimmers are QUITE good and could easily swim at the highest University levels in the United states.
That night, we had a very traditional Chinese dinner that went on well into the night. Our hosts were managers and administers within the college athletic program. After what seemed like a very short night sleep, we were up early again and off for the day. In the morning, we spend the day with several high level college administrators discussing our two colleges (Monroe Community College and their school) and the possibility of future opportunities that could involve brining our swimmers to train in China for a "training trip" or vice versa. We are all VERY optimistic about the making this happen. We then were taken to a very fancy restaurant and treat to a great traditional Chinese lunch with the same folks we met with. If you are getting the feeling that everything revolves out food and the good times that go along with it, you are quite correct. There is nothing to cement a good friendship and talk of future cooperation then a good meal, right?
Sticking with the theme of mixing business and pleasure, we then spend the afternoon about 1 hour north of Hangzhou in a historical Chinese village called Wuzhen. It's an actual small village that maintains the traditional ways of life from the Song Dynasty (200 years ago). It was very beautiful. Everything revolves around this small river (Dongshi River) and it was really an interesting learning experience. Also, the signs were written in both Chinese and English so that made things really helpful for us. I'll attach a few pictures, but they cannot capture the pure beauty of this place.
By the time we got back to town, it was getting late for dinner (it was 7:30 PM), so our Chinese hosts wanted us to taste China's version of western food, so they took us to a Pizza Hut (they are very popular here). It was different for sure, but it was not bad at all and we were very surprised. They have a much more expanded menu and they put some weird stuff on pizza, but we stuck with the classics and it was a good meal. We were done early and because we we have a few full days ahead, we went back to the hotel and turned in early. Sleep is something our bodies have to figure out here in China.
Coach Tim
Morning in Shanghai, China
The morning after our arrival, and because of severe jetlag, we work up ungodly early at 5 AM to a beautiful sunrise from out 19th floor hotel room onto the largest city in the world. It was still asleep, so it was very peaceful. Over the next few hours it slowly woke up (as did we) and we set out on the day after a traditional breakfast. Today, in the morning hours, we were setting out to the southwest, down towards the City of Hangzhou. The city itself it is about 2-2.5 hours (180 km) south of Shanghai. We were actually headed to the University Center, which is a large section of town that contains 7 full and separate universities all in one area. We arrived in time for lunch. After the traditional 1.5 hour lunch, we set out for the University of Zhejiang University of Economics and Finance to work with the swim team.
The system of swimming in China at the University level is MUCH different then in the United States. It's pretty complicated and to be quite honest, I'm not sure I understand it fully. However, this much I do know. Every fall, just at the start of the school year, they have something called the University Games of China. This is an Olympic games-style competition that is held for 10-days near Beijing. The team are organized not by college, but by provinces. So all of the best athletes in a particular province will train together for the summer, then travel to this competition and compete as one team. So the team that we got to work with was the team from the Zhejiang Province that is training at the university we worked stayed at. We spend several hours observing and actually working with them as they did dryland and swam a workout. Some spoke fairly good English and could possibly make fine additions to our college team someday :). It should be mentioned that some of these swimmers are QUITE good and could easily swim at the highest University levels in the United states.
Zhejiang Provincial University Team.
That night, we had a very traditional Chinese dinner that went on well into the night. Our hosts were managers and administers within the college athletic program. After what seemed like a very short night sleep, we were up early again and off for the day. In the morning, we spend the day with several high level college administrators discussing our two colleges (Monroe Community College and their school) and the possibility of future opportunities that could involve brining our swimmers to train in China for a "training trip" or vice versa. We are all VERY optimistic about the making this happen. We then were taken to a very fancy restaurant and treat to a great traditional Chinese lunch with the same folks we met with. If you are getting the feeling that everything revolves out food and the good times that go along with it, you are quite correct. There is nothing to cement a good friendship and talk of future cooperation then a good meal, right?
Us with the Athletic Director and her deputy at Lunch.
Sticking with the theme of mixing business and pleasure, we then spend the afternoon about 1 hour north of Hangzhou in a historical Chinese village called Wuzhen. It's an actual small village that maintains the traditional ways of life from the Song Dynasty (200 years ago). It was very beautiful. Everything revolves around this small river (Dongshi River) and it was really an interesting learning experience. Also, the signs were written in both Chinese and English so that made things really helpful for us. I'll attach a few pictures, but they cannot capture the pure beauty of this place.
Bridge over the Dongshi River (Wuzhen, China)
Some Traditional houses along the River. (Wuzhen, China)
By the time we got back to town, it was getting late for dinner (it was 7:30 PM), so our Chinese hosts wanted us to taste China's version of western food, so they took us to a Pizza Hut (they are very popular here). It was different for sure, but it was not bad at all and we were very surprised. They have a much more expanded menu and they put some weird stuff on pizza, but we stuck with the classics and it was a good meal. We were done early and because we we have a few full days ahead, we went back to the hotel and turned in early. Sleep is something our bodies have to figure out here in China.
Coach Tim
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Day 1 - Flight and arrival.
I had forgotten just how long that flight is. We took off from Rochester, as scheduled and after connections, we boarded a Delta 777-200ES (a big plane) for our 7300 mile Detroit to Shanghai flight. As expected, it was brutally long, and we couldn't have been happier to touchdown at the Shanghai-Pudong airport.
We arrived in Shanghai, China around 6:50 PM (China time) on Tuesday, August 29, 2012 and by the time we had made it through customs, it was almost 8 PM. The only snafu was that one of Coach Phil's bags did not make the flight over. A little hassle, but they assured us that the bags would reach us within a day. Sure enough, as expected, Jiang and Wei (our 2 friends and hosts), and Sandy (our interpreter) were waiting for us on the other side of customs. After a 20-hour day, we were pretty beat but we certainly were hungry too. They whisked us away in our Mercedes caravan and we were off to Shanghai City Center (Pudong) for some dinner and a few night time sites. We dined at a very famous (did not catch the name) Shanghai restaurant with our group (Jiang, Wei, Sandy, Coach Tim, Coach Phil and my brother Coach Dan - who is the head coach at Monroe Community College and who took the trip with us).
Dinner was great. We spent about 2 hours catching up with our friends and meeting new ones. One of Jiang's friends in Shanghai hosted us and his name is Claude (Chinese typically will offer American names to themselves to make it easy for us). Turns out that Claude is an executive at a wine company here in Shanghai and along with dinner, we shared several VERY expensive bottles of wine (one was a tasty Red from 1997 that costs about 6000 RMP - or $500 USD). It was quite a special time to reconnect with our old friends. I forgot just how Welcoming the Chinese People are.
After dinner, Claude had arranged for a couple drivers for us and we drove around to a few cool locations in the city and took some pictures. Shanghai is HUGE. With a population in the city proper at 23 Million people, it is considered the LARGEST CITY in the world. We spent our night in the Pudong section of the town, which is right alongside the Huangpu River. Pudong is the heart of Shanghai's Finance District. We drove to the Oriental Pearl Tower (a Shanghai landmark) and took pictures for about an hour before calling it a night.
During dinner, Jiang gave us a little bit of what we'd be doing for the week, and who we'd be seeing. I won't ruin any surprises here, but suffice it to say........... This trip is going to be SPECTACULAR. More to come later......
Thats all for now. More to come later......
Coach Tim
We arrived in Shanghai, China around 6:50 PM (China time) on Tuesday, August 29, 2012 and by the time we had made it through customs, it was almost 8 PM. The only snafu was that one of Coach Phil's bags did not make the flight over. A little hassle, but they assured us that the bags would reach us within a day. Sure enough, as expected, Jiang and Wei (our 2 friends and hosts), and Sandy (our interpreter) were waiting for us on the other side of customs. After a 20-hour day, we were pretty beat but we certainly were hungry too. They whisked us away in our Mercedes caravan and we were off to Shanghai City Center (Pudong) for some dinner and a few night time sites. We dined at a very famous (did not catch the name) Shanghai restaurant with our group (Jiang, Wei, Sandy, Coach Tim, Coach Phil and my brother Coach Dan - who is the head coach at Monroe Community College and who took the trip with us).
Dinner was great. We spent about 2 hours catching up with our friends and meeting new ones. One of Jiang's friends in Shanghai hosted us and his name is Claude (Chinese typically will offer American names to themselves to make it easy for us). Turns out that Claude is an executive at a wine company here in Shanghai and along with dinner, we shared several VERY expensive bottles of wine (one was a tasty Red from 1997 that costs about 6000 RMP - or $500 USD). It was quite a special time to reconnect with our old friends. I forgot just how Welcoming the Chinese People are.
Coach Dan, Jiang, Coaches Tim, Wei, Phil and Claude
After dinner, Claude had arranged for a couple drivers for us and we drove around to a few cool locations in the city and took some pictures. Shanghai is HUGE. With a population in the city proper at 23 Million people, it is considered the LARGEST CITY in the world. We spent our night in the Pudong section of the town, which is right alongside the Huangpu River. Pudong is the heart of Shanghai's Finance District. We drove to the Oriental Pearl Tower (a Shanghai landmark) and took pictures for about an hour before calling it a night.
During dinner, Jiang gave us a little bit of what we'd be doing for the week, and who we'd be seeing. I won't ruin any surprises here, but suffice it to say........... This trip is going to be SPECTACULAR. More to come later......
Downtown Pudong, Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China
Coach Tim
Monday, August 27, 2012
Headed Out
Just a quick note as we head out to the airport. It's a dreadfully long flight to get to China and depending on connections can take anywhere from 20-24 hours. Our flight today will take us from Rochester, to NY (LaGuardia), and then from NY to Shanghai (with a stop in Detroit to get on a larger plane for the final leg). It's about an 8000 mile trip and the Detroit to Shanghai flight alone is scheduled at 14:55.
Our anticipated arrival in China is 6:40 PM Tuesday. The time difference between Rochester and Shanghai is 13 hours (they are ahead of us). Hopefully I will get an opportunity to blog every day to keep you all informed on how the trip is going. I hope that the next entry will be sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Coach Tim & Coach Phil
Our anticipated arrival in China is 6:40 PM Tuesday. The time difference between Rochester and Shanghai is 13 hours (they are ahead of us). Hopefully I will get an opportunity to blog every day to keep you all informed on how the trip is going. I hope that the next entry will be sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Coach Tim & Coach Phil
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
China Trip Itinerary
08/28 Reception (we arrive at Shanghai-Pudong airport at 6 PM local time).
08/29 Shanghai touring in the morning and drive back to Hangzhou, CoachZuo’s site; (Zhejiang University of Finance, Hangzhou)
08/30 Visiting Coach Zuo’s college, Zhejiang province university selected
swimming team practice;
08/31- 09/01 Touring Hangzhou in the morning and visit DaGuan Swimming
Center (This is the club that Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder Ye Shiwen is from. Her Coach - Coach Wei Wei is one of our hosts).
9/02 Touring Hangzhou in the morning and visit ChenJinglun Sports School, (this is where Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder Sun Yang is from, Vice Pricipal is Mr. Bai who Coach Tim had a dinner with last time her was here).
9/03 Visiting Zhejiang Swimming Team (This is the Provincial Team that is putting out China's best swimmers)
09/05 Leave for USA in the morning.
09/04 Wuxi (Where I went last year. Will be Visiting the Wuxi Sports School again).
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