Heilongjiang Province and the City of Harbin

We arrived this afternoon after a short flight from Beijing. Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang Province is the home to more than 38 million people. Harbin has a population of almost 10 million people. To provide perspective the population of Massachusetts is approximately 6.5 million. The population of the US is approximately 307 million. Harbin is in the northeast of China and a 12 hour train ride from Moscow. Harbin is colder than Massachusetts at this time of year.

We attended a welcoming reception and meeting with education officials from the province as well as principals from schools throughout the province. During the welcoming reception, a number of people spoke to share their impressions and purpose of the trip. I was proud that our superintendent, Dr. Evans, spoke on behalf of our delegation of 61 American educators. In her remarks she shared our belief that helping our students develop global skills is critical in today's world. She represented the delegation and the Medway Schools very well.

After the welcoming reception we had the opportunity to talk with Chinese principals and administrators. We shared our goals for this trip. I was able to connect with two schools that I believe may be great partners with Medway Middle School. I will be in further communication with the principals of these schools in the coming weeks.

Finally, we were treated to a dinner of traditional Chinese cuisine. Dishes are served in the middle of the table for all to wshare. The delicacies included sea cucumber, shark fin, grubs, and roasted duck. The shark fin was very good. The grubs were spicy. It was truly an amazing show of hospitality.

We returned to our hotel, which faces the Songhua River and got some rest before our visit to schools tomorrow.