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Reflection of My Experience
“You have to recognize when the right place and the right time fuse and take advantage of that opportunity…”
-Ellen Metcalf
From The Great Wall of China and The Forbidden City to Tea Gardens and The Panda Reserve, three weeks in six cities of China was an opportunity to learn, explore, and experience! It is hard to pinpoint the most enjoyable moments on the study tour, as we crammed so much excitement into each city. With that said, I will break down my experiences, both pros and cons, by the various cities we visited, Beijing, Yingkou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.
Starting the study tour off in Beijing, the capital center for business was amazing! Once you stepped off the 14 hour airplane flight, you were instantly submerged into the hustle and bustle of the overwhelming 22,635,000 population. As we boarded a coach bus for the Huabin International Hotel, I remember thinking to myself how surprisingly clean Beijing was. The tour guide told us that street cleanliness and air cleanliness were very important to the people in Beijing. In efforts to help this Tier One City, the people of Beijing imported white base trees from Canada and placed them in rows as far as your eyes could see.
The next few days were intense. I was still very jetlagged, and we were over programmed with company visits, touring three companies per day! Lenovo and IBM were my personal two favorite companies. They not only shared information about their company and how it developed into the China market, but they also shared information about their personal background and how they came to live in Beijing, giving us students some helpful hints for career opportunities in China. Sunning Appliances was a close second for company visits I most enjoyed. However, we were so crunched for time, we were not able to have a formal lecture and a self-guided store tour. So we improvised and had a guided store tour, with an open-ended question and answer session as we moved about the store.
To balance out the intensity of the first few days, myself and a few other students ventured to find hidden treasures of Beijing in the evenings that we were free, one of those being The Night Market! I had seen it on the travel channel prior to departing the US, a woman named Samantha Brown had gone to a strange night market, filled with vendors selling the oddest of foods. I was feeling adventurous and muscled up the courage to try snake, starfish, scorpion, and a silk worm! It was truly an experience I will never forget, and neither will my stomach.
The last few days in Beijing were filled with touristy experiences like Tiananmen Square, The Foribidden City, and The Great Wall of China. A surprise twist that I was not expecting, but truly valued the most in Beijing, was the pedi-cab tour of a little village in Beijing. We were taken by their main mode of transportation, a bicycle, through the tight corridors of an old village, stopping at one house for a cultural lesson. You were able to observe a set of stone houses connected to each other by an open courtyard. I learned how they strategically place the men to the East side were the sun rises, and the Eldest family members at the head of the house out of respect, all of which was very interesting to me, something a text book could not have told me.
Our next adventure was about to begin-Yingkou was the destination! I will never forget that train ride from Beijing to Panjin. It took 26 students and faculty members 15 minutes to load themselves and their suitcases onto the train. As we departed, Dr. Kirn looks at me and says, “The train Stewart just informed me the doors to the train will only stay open for two minutes at our stop in Panjin.” My jaw dropped, how can we possible get all 26 of us and our belongings out the door in two minutes, when it took us 15 minutes to get on! Needless to say we were scheming the entire train ride, thought of a great “luggage throwing” plan, and much to our surprise it worked! We all got out successfully, as Dr. Kirn was counting the seconds out loud to encourage us to move faster!
If the train ride was not enough, the coach bus ride into Yingkou was on the next level. Since Yingkou is a Tier Three City, their road systems are not as structured. Meaning, the pavement was at least five lanes wide, however, there were no distinct lane markings, allowing the cars to weave in and out of traffic at their own speed! After 30 minutes of what felt like a scene from the movie Speed, one of our counselors requested our bus driver slow down for the safety of the students. Finally we reach our hotel, The Fortune Center Hotel.
My first thought of Yingkou was why. Why are we here? This city is obviously not meant for students, so how come we are spending three nights here? The following days I realized why. One of our faculty members, Dr. Fresh, had connections with the Government officials. It was such a unique experience to see how the Chinese culture presents themselves at a formal meeting. What I mean by that is the hosts sit in the center of the table facing the guests, with the most important guests sitting in the center of the table. Everyone that is with the host sits behind them, likewise, we all sat behind our three faculty members. You were introduced only after being “received,” and to promote “face” the company constantly had cameras and video recorders rolling. What was especially different was cell phones were permitted during the meetings for personal usage, and it was not seen as rude. In the US, if you were not attentive in a meeting, it would be frowned upon. The government meetings were followed by a delicious private government dinner. We “gombayed” with the government officials the entire night!
Following a 5 hour delay at the airport, we finally reached Chendu! My favorite day of the entire trip was in this city. It was the day we toured the Panda Reserve Center and The Local Tea House & Pavilion Park. The unique cultural experience to hold a baby panda, accompanied by the soothing tea garden, was just what was needed mid-trip to relax everyone and regain focus again. The next day of lectures were interesting, the IT Mall especially. There were so many floors filled with all the same electronic appliances. It was a bit overwhelming at first, I do not think I could be a Chinese consumer and shop with all the electronic appliances scattered throughout 7 different floors! Truly was a sight to see.
After two short nights in Chengdu, we jumped on another airplane and touched down in Shanghai, were we were greeted by the best tour guide on the entire trip-Vickie. She did a fabulous job directing us to all the touristy and cultural sites, like The Bund, The YuYuan Garden, Nanjing Lu, and my favorite, the Shanghai Acrobatic show! What was so wonderful in Shanghai, was the location of our hotel, so ideally centered in the middle of the city, no need for a taxi. Also, we received one full free day to tour on our own the city streets. It was nice to be able to explore on your own and truly submerge yourself with the local people. Looking back I wish we would have had at least one free day in each Tier One City that we had visited.
As far as the company visits are concerned, GAP and MarkFaiwhale were amazing to listen to. I think I enjoyed them because it was not another supermarket or government official lecture, it was truly an insightful retailing company. On that note, another company visit, such as a hotel, could have been added in this city. There were a lot of big name hotel brands in Shanghai, like JW Marriott, that would have added a different outlook on business in China.
Our next adventure was about to begin- Shenzhen. To my surprise we were not in the center of the city, rather on the boarder close to Hong Kong. The city was dirty and had an uncomfortable feeling on the streets, a feeling that you would not want to walk alone or even in small groups. I personally would have cut this city and spent a few more days in Hong Kong, however the company visits were incredible.
We had the privilege of meeting with Wal-Mart’s head quarters, as well as take a guided tour through a Sam’s Club store. It was interesting to note that Sam’s Club in China does a lot of deliveries, since the average customer arrives by bicycle to purchase in bulk! Also, Umbra was a company that produces numerous household products and distributes them through US stores like Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It was fascinating to see the manufacturing facility and how each worker lived their daily lives. The workers averages $1,000 per month and lived for free in a compound much like a college dormitory. I was counting my blessings for the opportunities I have been given in the US in comparison to some opportunities in China.
Leaving Shenzhen we had to cross two separate check points before entering Hong Kong. It was a hassle, loading and unloading all our luggage twice, but Hong Kong was worth it, the city was beautiful! I absolutely loved our hotel and our tours of Victoria Peak, Stanley Market, Star Ferry, and the farewell dinner cruise. The lack of company visits was refreshing at this point. It allowed us time to truly enjoy each other and the city one last time before our return home to the US. In my mind two full days was not long enough in this fascinating city. My roommate and I were very fortunate we chose to book an extra full day, otherwise we would not have been able to visit the Largest outdoor Buda or Hong Kong Disney!
All in all the study tour through six cities in China was a success. I would have enjoyed another few days of independent time in the Tier One Cities, and some company visits could have been cut out or replaced with other companies, but the overall learning curve I was expecting, the overall level of cultural experience I was hoping to gain, was right on par. Thank you again for this life changing opportunity!
Appendices
Appendix A, Ronald McDonald
Appendix B, KFC Store
Reference
1. China- Mcdonald's expands operations. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/300511/
china_mcdonalds_expand_operations.aspx
2. Cho, K. (2010). Insead knowledge. Retrieved from http://knowledge.insead.edu/KFCinChina090323.cfm?vid= 195
3. Griffith, W. (2008). Mcdonald's has a big appetite for china. CNBC, Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26226387/ns/
business-cnbc_tv/t/mcdonalds-has-big-appetite-china/
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