今天是8月1日，我们迎来新的一个月，也迎来新的一天，上午的行程是去参观标志性建筑-故宫，下午去王府井大街享受美食和shopping。一天的行程还没开始我们就已满怀期待，我相信今天一定会有很多火花的碰撞，语言的交谈！Have a nice day！
   当我很小的时候来过故宫，那时只觉得这里很壮观，但对它并没有更深刻地了解。如今我再一次来到故宫，以志愿者的身份作为国外友人的向导，我感到无比的自豪，自豪中国传统文化的博大精深，自豪我是中国人。

       从午门走到景山公园，我们向小伙伴们用英文介绍建筑的名称和意义。北京故宫是闻名于世的中式传统建筑皇宫，也是迄今保存最为完整的皇家宫殿。去北京游览的人大多要去这座深宫禁城里参观一番，以了解封建时代皇帝的生活环境及豪华建筑的容貌。这是最具有代表性的皇家建筑，同时展示了中国优秀的文化。

       从故宫出来，我们便向伙伴们展示了新型科技-共享单车，使用支付宝、微信、共享单车等App，体验骑行。我们穿越了北京大街小巷来到了王府井步行街，品尝北京美食饺子，体验街头艺术、街头小吃，帮助小伙伴们购买生活所需和纪念品。非常开心充实的一天！
而外国的小伙伴们更是兴奋，很多人都是第一次来到中国，一切对于他们来说都非常不同，非常惊喜。下面来听听我们的外国小伙伴们今天得感受如何？

   Isabel：
   Today was a really fun but tiring day. We were able to learn about the history of the forbidden city and see the amazing architecture. This revealed more about how long chinese culture dates back to and the different influences that made china what it is today. We were also able to experience the shopping culture in the more modern area of china Wangfujin where there were many local shops as well as popular western brands.

 In the food street it was also amazing to see the different and interesting delicacies that were being offered and enjoyed by both locals and foreigners.

   Catriona：
   Today we visited the 'Forbidden City' in the ancient part of the centre of Beijing, which is also called the Imperial Palace, but during the Chinese empire was only accessible for highly ranked officials and royalty; and thus commoners were not allowed inside (apart from servants) and it became called the forbidden city by locals.

  I was surprised to hear that along with the official queen, the emperor would also have more than 1,000 concubines (girls), who would also live in the palace, and without special permission from the emperor himself was not permitted to leave the premises. The palace itself is red, a lucky colour in China, and most of the roofs are played in gold, a colour that was only allowed to be worn and used by royalty. One of the first palaces you walk by from the main entrance (South Gate) was used as the "working" building, and it was interesting to observe that any building used by the emperor has to be elevated by a minimum of 3 stair levels.

          We also walked through the women's quarters, where they would spend their time painting, sewing and talking with each other. Afterwards we walked to the north gate through the emperors gardens, and headed towards the Wangfujing district to eat lunch using he innovative Mobike app, which allows users to unlock bikes through scanning a QR code that is connected to their credit card. The Wangfujing district is very modern and it's surprising to see how many luxury western brands have a presence on the Wangfujing street - everyone from Pravda and Tiffany & Co. and of course Apple. Probably one of the most surprising things for me was to witness how many people have access to technology, even street vendors are able to use mobile pay apps.


    我们一路欢歌，一路笑语，走过了这美好的一天，回瞬故宫建筑的雄伟，龙头下的飞跃，一张张崭新的脸颊，带给我们一份份青春的激情，我们在欢笑中学习，在陪伴中共同进步，王府井中共进晚餐的安逸，所以在此我们感谢学校和老师给我们带来共同进步的机会，感谢它们的支持，感谢这个特别的一天，感谢这份精彩，让我们共同演绎明日的辉煌。晚安。