Our sister school in Jinan, Shandong Province, China

Information on Bolton High School’s sister school, the Jinan Steel Factory High School, was forwarded to the school by Mrs. Summer Spaderna (who is a Bolton resident and Assistant Director of the US-China Business Center at Central Connecticut State University).

The website of the school is: http://www.jggz.cn/. Even though it is in Chinese, it is still fun to peruse.

Located in the suburbs of Jinan, the Jinan Steel Factory High School is also known as Jigang Senior High School. The school was founded in 1997 and has 1,500 students. There are 140 teachers and 30 classes. Students are encouraged to live on campus in dormitories.

Founded by the Jinan Steel Factory, the focus of the school is English, Computers, Music and Physical Education. The school is supported well enough to be considered one that has money to invest in education and the needs of students. The school cooperates with the Australia International Education Resource Company to offer a special program to students by teaching some subjects bilingually, such as math and science.

The school is considered a high tech computerized campus and its teachers are considered highly educated; 30% have or are doing their masters. A high number of students do well on the national exams and enter college after graduation.

I hope to keep this site up to date while in China, April 8-21, if I can access the blog. The Internet is censored very heavily in China. If I cannot get to the site, I will post all the details and pictures of the trip when I return!

Bolton High School hosts visitors from the Shandong Province

Bolton High School was honored to host the following visitors on March 24: Ms. Cai Hongxia, professor at the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications in the TESOL program: Ms. Zhang Hong (Iris) - English major, Ms. Chen Chen - English major, Mr. Wang Meng (Sam) - biology major, from Shandong Normal University participating in the graduate program at Central Connecticut State University. Also, Ms. Summer L. Spaderna – Bolton resident and Assistant Director for the United States – China Business Center at Central Connecticut State University joined us. Bolton High School was thrilled to be able to host the guests from the Shandong Province as our "sister school" relationship has connected us with one of the schools from that province. Our friends from China spoke to all of the Sophomore World History classes and met for casual conversation with students and faculty members during lunch.

Bolton's "Sister School"

Bolton High School will be establishing a “sister school” with the Jinan Steel Factory High School. Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province (south of Beijing) on China’s east coast, is the province’s political, economic and cultural center.

Jinan has jurisdiction over five districts (Lixia, Licheng, Huaiyin, Tianqiao and Shizhong), four counties (Changqing, Pingyin, Shanghe and Jiyang) and Zhangqiu City, with a total area of 8,227 sq. km and a population of 5.49 million, including 2.54 million urban people. Located in the western part of the center of Shandong Province, Jinan is at the juncture of the Beijing-Shanghai and Qingdao-Jinan railways. Nearby to the south is Mount Tai, officially recognized by the United Nation as part of the world’s natural and cultural heritage. To the north is the Yellow River, which is called the “cradle of the Chinese nation.”

With a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate and clear-cut seasonal changes, Jinan has an average annual temperature of 14 C (58 F) and an annual mean precipitation of 650-700 mm (25-27 inches).Thanks to its long history, Jinan has been designated by the State Council as a famous historical and cultural city. As Jinan boasts a number of natural springs amid picturesque scenery, it is known as the “City of Springs.” The city tree of Jinan is the willow, and the city flower is the lotus.

The area was first inhabited during the Neolithic Period. Some 3,600 years ago, walls were built to enclose the town, which was then called Lu. The name was changed to Jinan 3,100 years ago because it was located to the south of the ancient Jishui River. In 1116, Jinan was established as a prefecture, and in 1368 it became the provincial capital.

For centuries, the city has been renowned for its lakes and springs, including Daming Lake, and “The First Spring under Heaven,” the Baotu Springs.

The most exciting sights on a trip to Jinan, however, are probably excursions to Qufu, the birthplace of the ancient philosopher, Confucius, and Mount Tai or Taishan, the best of the country’s “Five Sacred Mountains.”

Taishan, more than 345 miles in circumference, rises steeply and majestically in the middle of Shandong Province about 45 miles from Jinan. Massive and awesome, it has featured in many historic events throughout the ages, and has been a rich source of inspiration for countless maxims, poetic allusions, and literary works. To many people the mountain is a symbol of grandeur and stability as shown, for example, in the popular Chinese saying, “As solid as Mount Tai.”

Arriving in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, the first thing coming into sight is the spacious temple of Confucius, which dominates the town.

Confucius is the world-renowned Chinese philosopher born in Qufu more than 3,500 years ago. His influence on Chinese society culture lasts until the present day. Qufu has recently been restored to its former glory. It has become a tourist attraction rivaling the Great Wall.

In size and scale, the Confucius Temple ranks second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Construction of the Temple began in 478 B.C., the year after Confucius’s death. It was rebuilt many times throughout the ensuing 3,000 years.

This information has been taken from:

www.chinatour.com and www.chinats.com.