KS2 Geography: A child-led tour of Chan'gou in the Yunnan Province of China

TRANSLATION:

My name is Wei Qing.I am 10 years old.I live in a mountain valleyin a small village.It's called Chan'gou village.It's in the north westof Yunnan province.All around you, you see mountainsand green terraced fields.

Here, we only have mountains, so wehave to grow our crops on the slopes.Most of our cropsare planted on terraces.Lots of crops are grown this wayin China.

TRANSLATION:

Like rice and tea.You have to take a winding,narrow mountain road,to get to Chan'gou village.We have two buses a day,between our village and Lijiang.

TRANSLATION:

It takes three hoursto get here.There are lots ofsmall rivers around my house.So you always hearthe sound of flowing water.The most famous river is calledthe Jinsha River.This means Golden Sands River,because people have found goldon the shore of the river.

The ferry boat is always very busyon market days.People cross the riverto buy and sell products.Many people have mules and horsesto help carry their goods.

I've never been to play bythe Jinsha River,becauseit's very deep, and very cold.Also, the river has strong currents,so it's dangerous for usto swim there.In summer,the water level is pretty high.You can see the water markson the rocks.

My school is Jinjian Primary School,it's the only one in Chan'gou.It has 78 pupils.Children come here from the ageof five, until the age of 11.Our school motto is:"Education achieves your future.Knowledge changes your fate."

Some kids sleep at school, like me.And some go home.There are six people in my class.The motto above the blackboard says:"Respect the teacher,and observe discipline."

Today is the day of our maths exam.I find maths quite hard.I prefer Chinese.

METAL CLANGS

We are breaking upfor our winter holiday.And it's also our Spring Festival.

CHILDREN RESPOND TO THEIR TEACHER

At assembly, our teachers remind usto do some homework,and to be careful of fire.Also, to respect our elders,look after the younger ones,and write a diary every day.

CHILDREN RESPOND IN UNISON

This is my dormitory.There are eight of us living here.The younger ones sleepon the bottom beds.And the older girls on the top.My dad is fetching me,and my little cousin.We all take our bedding homeso it gets washed.My little cousin is called Wang Fei.She is seven years old.

There are two routes to getto my house.One is a road, one is a small path.Whichever way you go,you can see the beautiful views,and all the vegetables and cropsthat local people grow.You can see my house in the distance.We're almost home.

THEY SPEAK IN CHINESE

I'm really happy to be homebecause I can be with my mum,my little sister and my dad again.

This is a radish.We'll cook it for lunch.When I'm home, I help my parentswith the cooking.All our water is spring waterfrom the mountains.And all our food is home grown.My mum often teaches me how to cook.We're cooking home-made bacon,rice and lots of differentvegetables.I love eating at home,because Mum and Dad's cookingis really delicious.

THEY SPEAK IN CHINESE

This is my baby sister.Her name is Shu Qi.She's only five months old.It will be nice to play with herin my break.

My mum and dad are both farmers,so we don't have to buyany meat or vegetables.Here we grow potatoes, potatoes,potatoes and barley.My parents aren't too busy now,because they only start plantingin the spring.Then they work without a breakuntil the autumn harvest.

Now we have to weed often, so thatthe wheat can grow tall and healthy.I really love it when the cropsand the scenery are all green.I'm sure you'd really like it here.