BEIJING OLYMPIC PARK: The Venue of the 2008 BEIJING Olympic Games

Another wonderful dream came true!!!

Who would not dream of visiting a place which became the venue of the greatest games on earth?

Although the OLYMPIC GAMES happened 7 years ago when I first visited the place in October 2015, the adrenaline rush was as high as when you were watching the actual games. 

This is one of the places that I visited more than once during my 10 months stay in China. 

I actually visited the BEIJING OLYMPIC PARK for 5 times!!!

The National Stadium or the "BIRD'S NEST"

The Beijing Olympic Park has an sprawling area of 4.47 square miles or 11.59 square kilometers.

The northern part or the Olympic Forest Park covers an area of 2.63 square miles (6.8 square kilometers).

The central section covers an area of 1.22 square miles (3.15 miles)

The southern section covers an area of 0.63 square miles (1.64 square kilometers) which is also the venue for the Asian Games in 1990. 

The entrance gate

To explore and enjoy the whole OLYMPIC PARK, you have to allot one whole day from your schedule.

Taken during my first visit. It was only my first weekend in China, however, I was already determined to locate this place. Fortunately, the place is just about 20 minutes subway train ride from the Air Force Command College.
It was a superb exhilarating feeling when I arrived and finally saw the "BIRD'S NEST"

HOW TO GET THERE WHEN YOU ARE IN BEIJING?

By SUBWAY TRAIN 

      Look for SUBWAY LINE 8 and you alight in any of the 3 stations:
                1. Forest Park station - if you want to visit the northern portion or the Forest Park.
                2. Olympic Park - midway into the whole park
                3. Olympic Sports Center - the main gate of the whole park

One of the beautiful landmarks inside the mark

How much?

Entrance fee 
         for NATIONAL STADIUM - RMB 50
         for THE BIRD'S NEST - RMB 30
         for OLYMPIC FOREST PARK - free
         for National Indoor Stadium - RMB 20
         for China Science and Technology Museum - RMB 30

Please take note that the exchange rate is RMB 1 is about 7.20 Philippine pesos.

If you have a student ID - you will only pay for 50% of the entrance fee. (For future AFCC students - always bring your RED ID or Student ID when exploring China to avail of the discounts. There are even establishments where students are 100% free of charge)

The BEIJING OLYMPIC PARK is open everyday from 9am to 7:30 pm (April to October) and from 9am to 5:30pm (November to March) 

One of the characters of the 2008 Olympic Games

The bird's eye view of the large park

Just one of the remarkable landmarks

During my last and 5th visit at the OLYMPIC PARK together with classmates from NAMIBIA and UGANDA. Their first time.

It is wonderful to visit this tourist spot at night because of the creative light effects

Closer look at the OLYMPIC WATER STADIUM
or "THE CUBE"

At the OLYMPIC FOREST PARK

at the FOREST PARK SUBWAY STATION

TERRACOTA MUSEUM: Greatest Archeological Discovery in the World

The TERRACOTA soldiers and horses MUSEUM in Xian City in Southwest China Region is considered the most significant and most sensational Archaeological  discovery of all time. 

It has an area of 16,300 square meters with 3 sections. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor in China.

It has 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons.

We, the participants of the 17th Command and Staff Course at the Air Force Command College, were once again on our educational tour. It was our 3rd and last educational tour during our 10 months stay in China. The visit to the Terracota Museum in Xian City was one of the highlights of the educational tour in the Southwest China Region. 

However, only now that I was able to write and publish this blog.

TERRACOTA literally means "COOKED EARTH".

It is fired clay, typically of a brownish-red colour.

Thank you LORD for another remarkable journey!

It was discovered when farmers were digging a well in 1974.

The farmers notified the Chinese authority who dispatched government archaeologist to the site. They found not one, but thousands of clay soldiers, each with unique facial expressions and positioned according to rank. Although largely gray today, patches of paint hint at once brightly colored clothes. Further, excavations have revealed swords, arrow tips, and other weapons.

The Terracota Army was constructed to accompany the tomb of China's first Emperor as an afterlife guard. The thousands of detailed life-size models represent the army that united China at the end of the warring sate period (476 - 221 BC). They were molded in parts, fired, then assembled and painted.

What is amazing about the museum is that the warriors and horses all were built without advanced tools but by hands.

The discovery placed XIAN in the map of interesting places in China.

The largest of the three PITS at the TERRACOTA MUSEUM

The soldiers are in trenchlike, underground corridors. In some of the corridors, clay horses are aligned, behind them are wooden chariots.

Just another remarkable moment for me...

The TERRACOTA MUSEUM has been recognized as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1987.

The souvenir shop inside the compound of the Museum

How to reach TERRACOTA MUSEUM?

By PLANE:

        From Beijing to Xian Xianyang International Airport  is 2 hours
        From Shanghai to Xian is 3 hours
        From Gaungzhou to Xian is 2.5 hours
        From Chengdu to Xian is 1.5 hours
        From Guilin to Xian is 2 hours

BY HIGH SPEED TRAIN

        From Beijing West Railway Station to Xian North Railway Station is 6 hours
        From Shanhai Hongqiao to Xian is 6 to 7 hours
        From Giangzhou South Railway Station to Xian is 9 hours

Xiexie nin Air Force Command College for this JOURNEY!!!

Exploring the large compound of the TERRACOTA MUSEUM

Message from the Parents: SHC - Selfless Service, Heart, and Character

MESSAGE ON BEHALF OF THE PARENTS

DURING THE CLINICAL GRADUATION OF SACRED HEART COLLEGE 

BSN BATCH 2017

Greetings…

First, allow me to convey my sincerest appreciation for giving me this great privilege to deliver a message on behalf of the parents. I believe that every parent has significant and special message to tell to their graduating son or daughter. I just do hope that I can rightfully represent and give justice to the messages that we all want to express.

For you to easily remember my message for today, I will be using 2 acronyms.

The first acronym that I am going to use is something that you are all familiar with, that acronym is SHC, basically the acronym for your beloved school, the Sacred Heart College. But for today, may I have the pleasure of borrowing this acronym to encapsulate my message, advice, guidance, and pointers that might serve as your compass as you begin another journey in life.

The first letter is S, for Selfless Service or Service above self. Serving selflessly is the true essence of our existence in whatever capacity or profession we are in, especially you as a nurse and me as a soldier. Doing something for our organization, for the community, or for someone not just for money, without expecting for any recognition, an award and a reward is what we call selfless service or service above self.

For the second letter which is H, I will not change the original meaning which is Heart. Heart means courage, love, passion, and compassion. The heart represents courage, not necessarily physical courage, but the moral courage to do the right things and do things right. Heart significantly means love, our unconditional love for others. Heart also symbolizes passion, the willingness to perform and accomplish our duties and responsibilities with all our heart, in tagalog “MAY MALASAKIT”. Heart also notably means compassion for people who are in need of our help and support.

The third and last letter is C, for Character. Character is the best attribute of a person. Character means noble intention in everything that we do. If we can consistently display good character amidst pressures, temptations, challenging situations, we are on the right track and direction. Knowledge and skills are significant factors to move forward and go up, but having a good character will propel us towards rewarding and remarkable success.

The second acronym is something that I am very much familiar with and maybe some of you are also familiar with. That acronym is PMA. PMA basically stands for Philippine Military Academy. For this afternoon, I will utilize PMA as an acronym for Positive Mental Attitude. Our mental capacity to think positive has an amazing power that can outdo our physical and emotional limitations.  Just like how I survived 4 years at PMA. I utilized the amazing power of Positive Mental Attitude. Whenever quitting crossed my minds due to unimaginable hardships of training at PMA, I think of beautiful memories, inspiring moments, happy days, and wonderful tomorrows. Whenever I am in difficult situations even until today, I travel using my mind to the beautiful places that I visited and to the remarkable moments of my existence. Our mind is amazingly powerful. The adage “What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve” is absolutely true. In your capacity as future nurse, you will be experiencing trying moments, and disappointing circumstances, but with the proper mindset of positive mental attitude, you will triumphantly hurdle all challenges not just in your noble profession but more importantly in life. 

Before I end, on a personal note, allow me to especially recognize important persons in my life. My wife NASH, a nurse, my eldest daughter, NYNA, a future nurse and YNNA, my youngest daughter, probably also a future nurse. They are my best examples of selfless service, heart, and character. They are the reasons why I have Positive Mental Attitude. They are my inspiration to always pursue to do the right things and to do things right. 

To the graduates, on behalf of the proud parents, Congratulations! Continue your journey in life by rendering Selfless Service, always doing things from the heart reinforced with good character. Always imbibe positive mental attitude.

To the SACRED HEART COLLEGE, especially to the faculty, thank you for molding our children into individuals ready to serve selflessly, with caring heart, and right character, well-prepared for the challenges in life and for paving the way for a hopeful and bright future because I believe that Sacred Heart College has deeply indoctrinated to the graduates all the virtues and values that I mentioned.

Again, thank you and wonderful afternoon to everyone.