Our school's Guzheng Ensemble organized an overseas exchange programme to Taipei. The main objectives are to let us know more about guzheng cultures from other country. Through this programme, we can share the joy of music and exchange ideas on how to improve our standards. For example, we had an exchange programme in Taipei Municipal Fu-Xing Senior High School. Their standards are far more superior than ours. I was deeply impressed by their performance, especially the one done by the solo. They were great and awesome. I hope I can be like them and perform a great performance for our school.

My performance in Taipei Municipal Fu-Xing Senior High School was quite bad as the school only provided three guzheng instruments for us. It was quite difficult and hard to perform in front of them. From the past I did not try to perform only with three people, so it was quite difficult for me to do it. However, I have overcome my fear.

After the exchange programme, we went to Toucheng leisure farm. The activity that I enjoyed most was lantern making. Although that was my first time learning how to make a lantern, I had a lot of fun with all my friends. It was wonderful to see that everyone was working together in unity to make a lantern. After which, everyone had an opportunity to write down her wishes on the lantern paper. I hope all our wishes will materialise. Through this activity, I have the opportunity to develop my interest in lantern. Most importantly, through this activity, we were able to create a long term relationship with our members and to form an incredibly close relationship. Eating breakfast together also had strengthened us as a unit and we were more emotionally stable and socially developed.

Besides that, this exchange programme also allowed us to make new friends, gain new experience and develop a globalised outlook. We also had an exchange programme with TANG Ming Guzheng Orchestra. Their standards were high and mighty. Their guzheng instruments are different from the ones we used to play in school. Their guzheng instrument is called zhuandiaozheng. It was quite interesting. Their performance was great and amazing. They used lots of ideas in making new songs using their instrument. For instance, they played songs such as like Jazz. It was really great! I was speechless at that moment. I really enjoyed and was very impressed by their performance. I hope I can get to learn Jazz one day as I love to learn new thing especially those I have never tried before. Their solo piece was nice and good. They seemed to be immersed into their own music while they were playing. I am sure they were also feeling nervous too but they did not show it and manage to conquer their fears. As a result, the solo piece went smoothly and without flaws. After which, we had a chat with the students. We also had an opportunity to try our hands on the zhuandiaozheng. It was really fun!!!! Honestly, I hope I could buy a zhuandiaozheng too. Although the zhuandiaozheng produces different sound compared to the normal guzheng, it sounds really nice. Those students were mostly older than us. Of course, they have been playing the guzheng longer than us. They also shared their experiences on how they got through. I realised playing guzheng is not only just for fun, it requires a great deal of determination.

Last day of the trip, we had an exchange programme with the Chinese Culture University Department. Through this programme, it helped to build our confidence and stage presence through learning and observation. Their performance was different from the other two schools which we visited. I was extremely shocked when their performance was over. They did not used only guzheng for performance, they also used other instruments such as cello, bass drum, kettle drum and others. Overall, the performance was awesome! They had great affinity that we do not have. When it was our turn to perform, everyone was very nervous and anxious. I think we did not have enough practice as a result our performance ended up in quite a mess. Some of us played wrong notes, which included me. I thought I could perform well, but I think I lack the confidence. If this is a real competition, I think we will definitely lose. However, the mostly important thing is that we learn from our mistakes and we ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes.

On the whole, I think team spirit is most important. If we lack this, we may lose in competitions. This exchange programme had provided lots of opportunities for bonding and team building amongst us. I hope to see our bonds and friendship flourish in the future. As teamwork is an essential element, I hope to see that everyone keeps the fire burning inside her heart and mind so that we can work together as a team to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. The team members should not be selfish and think about themselves only. We should be more prepared and work in unity for the challenges in 2011.