Our last full day in Shanghai and China

Well, the end of our trip finally came today, and for the first time the weather was a little questionable. The periods of rain did change our plans a little, but we definitely made the most out of the day and did the majority of what we set out to do. We started today early because we had to make a long trip out of Shanghai to the Suzhou Province.

As our guide stated, the Suzhou Province is a small area of China, with only around 6 million to 8 million people. Clearly size is a relative matter when speaking about population in China. Our first stop in Suzhou was the Suzhou Museum. The visit was an incredible time for a few of us, or at least the few who were able to discover the full extent of the museum. What ended up happening was that the majority of the group walked through an area that would be a typical museum in the US, in the sense that it had displays of art and historical objects. However, many did not find another area that allowed you to walk through a site of stunning old buildings. Constructed in the classic Chinese architectural style, these buildings included an opera hall, a chapel, residences, and peaceful gardens. The rain even helped to give the area a unique mood of calmness. I found the area to be even more calming and enjoyable than the Yuyuan Gardens that we visited earlier in the week.

Our group then went to the number one silk manufacturing company in Shanghai. This experience was unique from other company visits because we were actually allowed to walk through the manufacturing floor and witness how the process of silk production was conducted from start to finish. We were allowed to take pictures and stand right next to the workers as they did their jobs. A few students even were allowed to help out in the manufacturing process. With the tour completed, we then were allowed to shop in a large store of all silk goods that were actually real and of high quality which was a nice change from our experience with fake markets.

After lunch at a nice restaurant that the group went to Zhu Jia Jiao village back in Shanghai. What is different about this village is that is considered to be a water village because of the vast network of canals, bridges, and waterways. For this reason, it is nicknamed the Venice of the Far East. We were able to squeeze in a boat ride around Zhu Jia Jiao before dark, and then we headed for the bus. With these experiences under our belts, we returned to the hotel before going to our farewell dinner. This last dinner was actually at a German restaurant on the water at the Bund. We knew we were still in China, however, and we shared or last moments together as a group for a full day in China.

Tomorrow we fly back to the US in time for Christmas. Wish us a safe journey, and I'll likely try to continue to blog for a bit until my thoughts are complete and pictures are posted. Be sure to check in periodically for any updates, and feel free to make comments or questions about anything you'd like to know.

This trip has proved to be an experience of a lifetime, and has been very successful in both expanding my understanding of a different culture and increasing my knowledge about how business is conducted in other countries. As I said in the beginning, I have had very limited travel experience, and this trip was a large accomplishment for me in expanding my horizons. I think the trip has also proven the success that can be achieved through taking students abroad. The experience gained on these trips can never be replicated in the classroom. I thank you for reading up on my perspective of the trip, and I hope I've been able to hold your interest throughout. We've certainly been busy, and to cover all my thoughts and experiences along the way was impossible, but I hope I've given you a big enough taste to keep you satisfied. I'll be in touch. I wish safe journeys for where ever life may take you, but don't pass up an opportunity to travel if you have one. Your eyes can always be opened wider.

Friday in Shanghai

Friday in Shanghai presented us with our last business visit of the trip, along with an excursion to the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. The business visit was held at the Shanghai Foreign Investment Service Center, and consisted of a brief tour of an informative floor, followed by a presentation and discussion. The presentation highlighted the economic circumstances of Shanghai, including how the city was broken down into sectors similar to how Beijing was planned. Northern Shanghai is where the majority of steel is produced in the, the majority of chemical industries are located in the southern part, the east has many micro electronic manufacturers, and the west is home to the automobile manufacturing plants. The northeast island of Shanghai is also where the shipbuilding industries of the city are located. The presentation also discussed the importance of a new deep water port in the southeast area of Shanghai, which was also discussed in our Kuehne and Nagel presentation. The information we received at this presentation also highlighted the tremendous growth that Shanghai has experienced in the past years. Currently, Shanghai is the largest trade port in the world with an import export volume of over 165 billion, and is home to 191 R&D centers, 154 holding companies, and 149 regional headquarters for multinational corporations. It's no wonder that Shanghai has experienced 10 billion dollars in investment growth in the last three years. The presentation also addressed how Shanghai, and China as a whole, seeks to find a balance between foreign investment and local development.

It seems the current major source of development in Shanghai is the World Expo, which is coming to the city in 2010. This event seems to be as important to Shanghai as the coming Olympics are to Beijing. It's amazing how two such major events are coming to China in the coming 5 years that will attract a huge global spotlight. The conclusion of this business visit marked our last business site attendance, and I just want to comment on the high quality of these experiences. Not only were the presentations highly informative, but our group also always had questions that continued the discussion in a very productive and beneficial manner. In the majority of presentations our questions extended such business presentations by an average of half an hour, and it always remained interesting.

After our last business visit, our group then had lunch at a ethnic Muslim restaurant, and I found the food to be quite delicious--a good change from the food of Shanghai which I still have not become accustomed to. Luckily, the westernization of Shanghai has made it very easy to find fast food restaurants to satisfy a hungry stomach. With our stomachs full, the group then went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum, which has a complete 3D model of the inner ring of the city of Shanghai. A ring is simply a circle of highway that encircles the city. Shanghai has three rings, while Beijing has six (just to give you a comparison). Aside from the model of the city, the museum also has many exhibits of each element of the development plan, such as the highway, subway, railway, seaport, and airport development projects that are underway. A surprise came when a large group of soldiers from the military rushed into the room, and viewed a presentation on the 3D model of Shanghai. I have some pictures of this experience, but as you can probably notice, I haven't been able to post them. I'm no longer writing from the miserable internet cafe, but something doesn't seem to working at the moment. Don't worry though, the pictures are saved, and eventually you will see them.

To wrap up, after the museum the group did some more shopping at a well known fake market in the area. This was likely our last experience with the intense bargaining that takes place in these markets, and I definitely made the largest negotiations I had for the trip at this time. What a way to end my shopping experience. Tomorrow will be our last full day in Shanghai, and then the next day we'll be leaving for the US. I can't believe the end has nearl come, but I'll be glad to get home after such a consuming experience, no matter how much I've enjoyed it. I'll see if I can get those pictures up.

Another gap in time

Apologies for the unexplained gap in blogging, but four of us decided to take advantage of a rare clear night in Shanghai to take in some of the sights. Before I tell you about that experience, however, I have some catching up to do.

Our second day in Shanghai consisted of two planned business visits. The first was to Kuehne & Nagel, a well-established logistics company with a history in the city of over 40 years. K+N first started in Beijing forty years ago and has expanded into over 36 locations in China. It continues to grow: the company is number one in sea freight globally, forth in air transport, and number 3 in contract logistics globally. K+N is also number seven in Europe in overland transport. The presentation mainly overviewed the company as a whole. However, the presenter, Peter Dangel from Germany, also stressed the importance of studying the global environment through firsthand experience rather than from textbooks. The presentation also described the challenges that the company has faced in providing logistics to China, and what strategies the company has used to address these issues. Topics included the costs and benefits of various means of transport, infrastructure difficulties in regions of China, and meeting the rapidly expanding growth in staffing at the company.

After lunch, the second business visit was to the Coca Cola manufacturing plant in Shanghai, the second largest plant in all of China. The company visit consisted of a presentation, followed by a tour of the bottling plant. The presentation discussed Coca Cola's relationship with its three bottlers in China, how the company advertises in China, and how Coke seeks to maximize its potential in the Chinese market. The presentation also discussed how Coke segments the Chinese market into four different age groups, and how the company feels it is important to practice corporate citizenship in China and around the world. After the presentation, our group then toured the bottling plant by looking over the floor from a second story through a glass wall. What I should probably mention is that no pictures were allowed of the manufacturing floor, as is the case for any business we've seen. I think the group particularly enjoyed watching how this popular product is bottled and packaged from start to finish.

After the second business visit of the day, the majority of us attended a dinner at a hot pot style restaurant, which gives the customer a wide variety of food to throw into a hot pot of boiling water to cook. Unfortunately for us, we had no idea what the majority of this food was, and I also didn't want to experiment with how long it took to cook each item. Let's just say I didn't eat much at this meal. This wasn't a problem, however, as I went with three other students to McDonalds afterwards, and followed the fast food with a trip to an area of the city with the tallest buildings in the world.

This journey was the reason I was unable to blog last night, but we had to take advantage of the clear night to see an amazing view of Shanghai. The building we went up had 88 floors, and we were allowed to go the 87th floor for free. This building is the fourth tallest in the world, and it's the tallest hotel in the world. It also provides a stunning view of the Bund district of Shanghai, which is known worldwide, and is a pretty sight to gaze upon at night all lit up. The building next to the one we went up will also be the tallest building in the world when the construction is completed. To be in a place with such massive buildings was amazing, and to say that I've seen the tallest building in the world is quite a statement. After getting back we got some rest to prepare for another day in Shanghai.

Day 1 in Shanghai

After getting off the train for our first day in Shanghai we didn't immediately check in to our hotel because our rooms weren't ready. Instead, we picked up a quick breakfast from a fast food restaurant. Just looking for a place to eat pointed out the first obvious difference between Beijing and Shanghai: Shanghai is much more westernized than Beijing. In addition to this difference, Shanghai is also about three times smaller than Beijing, which makes travel throughout the city much easier. Unfortunately, one similarity between the two cities is the quality of the air. The majority of our group has developed a nasty cough thanks to the pollution. It was laughable to view weather reports stating clear sunny days and then looking out the window to see fog, or more specifically smog. All of us had read of the pollution problems in China, but to experience it first hand is another matter completely.

With breakfast finished, our group then went to a Buddhist temple in downtown Shanghai. While this temple was a tradition temple, it was unique in that it was home to two of five large jade Buddha carvings, and the Chinese don't know what happened to the other three. From the Buddhist temple we then went to the famous Bund area of Shanghai for a quick walk to see the sights. We will return to this area in a day or two for dinner.

Soon after touring the Bund we were finally able to check into our hotel, and could take a much-needed shower and put on a change of clothes. Refreshed, the group then went to lunch where we were introduced to the food of Shanghai. To my surprise, there is actually a large difference between the food in Shanghai and Beijing, and I've found it much harder to acquire a taste for the food in Shanghai. Hopefully I'll be able to adapt and find a liking to the food before I leave. After lunch the group then toured Yuyuan Gardens which is an ancient garden of the south.

There is a difference between the gardens of Beijing and those of Shanghai: the imperial gardens of the north are much more open with limited water, while the gardens of southern China are much smaller and welcoming, with many areas of water. I found the Yuyuan Gardens to be exceptionally peaceful, and it was easy to forget you were in the bustling city of Shanghai with over 20 million people. After touring the gardens and a brief stint of shopping, the group then went to another dinner of questionable dishes and prepared for an acrobat show.

The acrobat show that we saw claims that "If you haven't seen it, you haven't seen Shanghai," and while I don't know how true this is, it was amazing. I don't know how to even begin to explain what we saw at the show, but it was definitely a feat of strength, timing, and talent. The variety of the acts performed were also exceptional. This show concluded day one in Shanghai.

Before my lungs collapse, I'm going to leave the cafe and return to the hotel for some rest before tomorrow. We're off to two business sites tomorrow, but I'll fill you in after our visits. Aren't you glad you're all caught up now? Wish us luck in Shanghai.

The lost day

I'm now writing from Shanghai, and more specifically an internet cafe a few blocks from our hotel. Our hotel in Shanghai charges too much for internet, and is currently closed. Finding this place was an issue. We were told by our new guide Raine that there was one in the area of our hotel, and myself and another student set off to find it. We didn't really know where it was, and asked random people, including a security guard and various business owners. No one spoke English to the extent we needed and we at first ended up at a hospital. At least now I can say I've been to a hospital in Shanghai and I wasn't even injured.

As I stated in my last blog, I was unable to blog yesterday because we took an overnight train to Shanghai that didn't have internet access. Before I write about my experience on the train, let me tell you what we did on our last day in Beijing. The day started with a trip to Lenovo, which is the leading computer manufacturer in China with about a 30% market share. HP and Dell combined make up only around 10% of the computer market in China, just to give you the closest competitors of Lenovo. The business visit started with a presentation that described the company. Lenovo mainly sold desktop computers, but is now switching more to laptops, and markets its products as the highest quality engineered computers. Lenovo mainly advertises globally through sports marketing, and advertisements for Lenovo can be seen in the US through the Redskins, F1 racing, and the NBA. Lenovo was also the first Chinese partner to sponsor the Olympic games.

After the presentation we took a tour of the manufacturing floor of Lenovo including the fully automated warehouse. It was very interesting to see the way the manufacturing process is conducted, and a few of us laughed over the fact that it took a trip to China to see a manufacturing floor before seeing one in the US. The business visit was then concluded with a visit to the product showcase area of Lenovo, where we saw its latest products. After visiting Lenovo, our group went to the well known Silk Market of Beijing for some more shopping. When I say the Silk Market is well known, I mean that it is well known for selling fake goods, but our group still enjoyed the experience for the pure enjoyment of bargaining. We were even given an assignment to find the most unique object we could get for ten yuan to test our negotiation skills. One student went so far as to bargain for a coat hanger which was actually more difficult than it sounds. At the conclusion of another round of bargaining we then returned to the hotel for one last dinner in Beijing, and a formal farewell to our guide Grace. Then we went to the train.

First of all, the train station in Beijing had the most commotion of any location I've ever been to, and I'm not talking about locomotion, but perhaps loco-motion. The main part that caused surprise, however, was the size of our train cars. Each car could fit three people lying flat in width, and there were two sets of bunk beds in these rooms. The difficulty was finding a way to store our luggage in these rooms and sleep in our beds at the same time. Some found it to be difficult, but others managed to adapt. Fortunately for me, I managed to sleep the entire night. When I woke up we were just outside of Shanghai.

That was the day I was unable to post about, and I won't be posting pictures yet as the internet cafe that I am in isn't so much a cafe as it is a room of rows of close computers and heavy cigarette smoke. Under these conditions I don't really want to hook up my camera, and I also can't see where to hook it up in the dim lighting of the "cafe." When I have the opportunity I'll catch you up with the pictures. Now on to Shanghai.

While I have time

I have a moment to point out a few other topics that are worth noting in relation to China. I'm also doing this now because I don't know if I'll be able to post tomorrow evening, because we are taking a 12 hour train ride to Shanghai. We will be sleeping overnight on the train, and I don't know if I'll be able to access a computer (or be able to sleep). What I wanted to point out now was the traffic situation in China, which became even more apparent today after taking a one and a half hour trip to the Great Wall. To put it simply, if you have high blood pressure, I wouldn't suggest traveling on the roads of Beijing. While there are traffic lights, and lines, there doesn't appear to be any rules on the road, but more of just guidelines. The term cutting someone off would be overused in China, as it is just a standard occurrence. It's also very typical to see bikers or pedestrians in the middle of the road waiting to make their move. What's scary is that these moves usually put them within inches of a vehicle. Our bus driver is particularly skilled at cutting things close, and that's not an insult, he's just good. What is amazing is that we haven't seen many accidents (knock on wood), and not only that, but the majority of cars do not even have a single mark of damage. Watching the dance of vehicles on the road is definitely a sight to behold, and is a great way to wake up the senses if you're feeling tired. The first picture below shows a typical intersection at a good time, and the next is rush hour, which isn't much different than other parts of the day.

The other topic I wanted to discuss was the obvious importance of the coming Olympic games in China. Above is the Olympic Stadium seen from the road. It is clearly an architectural marvel. Advertisements are also seen everywhere throughout Beijing, including at the Great Wall of China. I think that I'll gather examples of the presence of the Olympics throughout the trip, and make a post to illustrate in pictures exactly what I mean, but it may just be the case in Beijing. I suppose we'll see, but that's it for now. Tomorrow we're headed to Lenovo who happens to make the computer I'm currently using, which I have to get off of for tonight (why close at 11?).

The Great Wall

As I learned today, the Great Wall of China was constructed for three reasons. The first was to protect an area of China from Mongolian invasion, and this seems to be the most well-known reason. The second reason was at that time to stimulate the rural economy through providing jobs. The third reason was to protect the tea road that was important to Chinese trade. This road served the same function as the well known silk road, but was just in another location. I wonder what would happen if we had one road for only one good, but that's neither here nor there.

The Great Wall has five places that can be visited, and we went to the section at Badaling. I loved this experience in full. To actually be hiking on such a historical landmark was incredible. What added to the fun of the experience for me was the challenge that the Great Wall provided. As you might be able to gather from some of the picture below, the majority of the Great Wall is very steep. Some of the inclines and declines are slopes while some are stairs, but both aren't always a breeze to handle. You even have to be careful going down. I was one of three from the group who traveled to the highest point of the Badaling section of the wall, and I had to hustle back to the exit in order to make it back in time. At that point I was definitely feeling tired, and I won't be surprised if I'm sore tomorrow morning. Any pain is worth it though because I will never forget the sites I saw at the Great Wall today. I even made friends with a young woman from southern China along the way, whom I spoke to for a good fifteen minutes. Her English was surprisingly good, and we were both highly curious as to where our journeys have taken us in China. I was also surprised (although probably shouldn't have been) as to how many street vendors were on the Great Wall. I'm still undecided as to whether or not you would actually call them wall vendors in this case, but they were still ready to bargain. One man even followed me down a long flight of stairs attempting to sell me something without even looking where he was going. I'm sure he could make the journey blindfolded. Enjoy the pictures below, and I hope they capture to magnificence of the Great Wall, but I don't know if such a task could be accomplished.

Here's a picture of our group before climbing the Great Wall. I'm sure if this picture was taken after climbing the Wall you would have see many more tired faces, but the smiles would still be present.

Our second full day in Beijing

Our day began in Beijing with a business presentation this morning from Bill Wang, who is an associate of Dezan Shira & Associates in China. The presentation was entitled "How foreign investors start business in China," and mainly focused upon the legal environment of China that foreign investors are exposed to. The presentation was actually highly detailed, and discussed the different methods of entering China. For the US the most popular method seems to be the Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise (WFOE), but the modes of entering China through the equity joint venture (EJV) and cooperative joint venture (CJV) were also discussed in length. In addition to these modes of entering China, issues of labor laws and the concept of SSW were also touched upon. SSW is the Statuary Social Welfare that needs to be present in a company in China, and basically consists of the compensation and benefits package that companies give to employees.

It was interesting to be introduced to this concept as a specific term that held significance in the Chinese business environment. Following the presentation there was also a question and answer period that discussed issues of labor standards and intellectual property, and also cleared up some details about the subject matter. Seen below is a picture of Prof. Forray presenting Bill Wang with a gift after his presentation as a gesture of thanks.

After the business presentation we had lunch at the hotel. I thought that I'd take this time to show you a picture of what the table would typically look like after a meal. I know I've talked about how meals are conducted before, but the actual picture may make things more clear. As illustrated, the meal (whether it be breakfast, lunch, or dinner) is served in different dishes that come at various times, and is shared among the group by spinning the dishes around the table on the glass plate in the center. Almost all of us are using chopsticks for meals, and there haven't been any serious difficulties. Forks have been available at almost every meal, but there's really no challenge in that. Even I had only used chopsticks maybe five times before visiting China, and have done very well thankfully.

After eating lunch we went to the Great Wall. Rather than continue here I think I'll make a separate post with some pictures because I'm limited to five pictures per post. Just let me tell you right now though, it was amazing. Before I move on though, I think I'll tell you about something I found interesting that I learned about from our guide on our way to the Great Wall which would be useful to those traveling to Beijing. Grace (our guide) told us that Beijing is really divided into four parts. The northern part of Beijing is where the majority of the technology companies are located, and is also home to the majority of educational institutions. The eastern part of Beijing is considered to be the central business district of the city, and also happens to be the most expensive area to traverse. This area is also the location of many high rise apartment buildings with high rents. The southern part of the city is considered to be the industrial sector, and the western part is the financial district. Where we are staying is in the northern part of Beijing. Now to the Great Wall.

Forbidden City 12/16

First or all, I realize that this format for pictures isn't the greatest (although I can't see the posts), but this is the fastest way to get the pictures on and I am being charged 1 Yuan a minute so here you go. The first two pictures below attempt to illustrate the scope and scale of the Forbidden City. These buildings served as offices for the emperor and his officials. In the first picture you can also see that the building is being renovated. On any given day there is likely to be at least one building being renovated because there are so many to take care of.







The picture below is from the roof of one of the buildings in the Forbidden City. The small animals on the roofs of the buildings were used to denote the rank and importance of the building. The more animals on your roof, the more important your position. The most I counted on one building was 11, and the smallest was three, which were on a residential building. The higher a building was on the grounds of the Forbidden City, the more important that position was as well. In general, the higher buildings with more animals on the roofs were at the entrance of the Forbidden City, while the lesser buildings were in the back, which as I mentioned mainly consisted of residences.







Here's a picture of the WNEC students in front of one of the buildings in the garden of the Forbidden City. This wasn't your typical garden of flowers, however, and was mainly a garden of unique trees.

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square's seemingly signature building (above). Surrounding the square are official buildings including Mao's Temple (below). Aside from the vast space, the group needed to become acquainted with street vendors that would approach you at any moment trying to sell you goods at bargained prices. This was apparently illegal at the Square because vendors would say "police, police, police" and walk away when there was an authority present, but they would quickly be back with the group. It seemed that the police at the Square had very limited vision or did not strictly enforce the restriction of street vendors, and many of us bought some goods. My favorite was a Mao Zedong watch with a waving hand.






Here's the group at Tiananmen Square. I'll post more pictures hopefully this evening, but I have to go to a business presentation in a few minutes as I'm writing this the morning of the 17th. After the business presentation we are going to the Great Wall of China, which all of us are looking forward to. I should have more time to write this evening, but you never know what adventures are in store.

Culture Exposure in Beijing

I don't have much time to write tonight because the internet cafe closes in ten minutes so I'll do my best to type quickly. To put it simply, today was amazing. After a good night's rest and a shower I was ready to go, and it was a good thing, considering the amount of walking we did today to see the sites of Beijing. We started off going to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, where we walked the historical landmarks in full. The vast space and scale of the surroundings were impressive, and it was easy to feel the significance of each. After walking through the Forbidden City we had a group lunch at a popular restaurant near the Temple of Heaven. Each meal is served in dishes that are to be shared by spinning a dish in the center of the table. The food continued to be delicious, and I was surprised how much I was able to eat. After lunch the majority of us decided to go to the Temple of Heaven because it was so close to the restaurant, and none were disappointed. We were allowed to walk through the ancient grounds, and witness where the emperors of the past had prayed. We then had some free time after visiting the Temple of Heaven so we went to Pearl Market.

Pearl Market is quite the experience, and so is every purchase, as everything available to buy does not have a set price and can be bargained or bartered for. While street vendors are typically easy to bargain with, Pearl Market has some particularly aggressive sales people. Some of the vendors even physically grab you to show you their products. Bargains can be tough, but the majority of the group were able to achieve some incredible deals. There are approximately 7 Yuan to every US dollar, so everything is very inexpensive, which makes for a fairly low risk environment to bargain. The interesting part is you don't know how well you've done bargaining until you compare your purchase with another person. Overall, it seemed that the majority of people broke even. Some people were overcharged for some items, but made a great deal on another. In all, it was extremely exciting and very rewarding in the end. The bargaining skills we picked up from Pearl Market will hopefully translate well to when we visit the Silk Market for a similar experience.

After the Pearl Market we had another delicious group dinner, where I ate probably the most food I've ever had in my life, and I didn't even know what the majority of it was. No worries, however, as everything was cooked. I wish I could write more but I'm being kicked out of the internet cafe right now, and apparently I can't bargain my way into staying. I apologize for the short length, and I'll post pictures later. There's a lot of good ones!!!

Our arrival 12/15

We like flying in style
(left)



Our tour guide Grace
(below)













Our hotel and bus
(left)



Our first authentic meal
(below)




















The picture posting is proving difficult and time consuming on this setup, but I'll continue to do my best.

We've landed... and in style!!!

I am now officially writing from Beijing as we have landed. I hope these posts appear without a problem because although I can not view my post on this computer, I can apparently create one. In any case, the trip so far has gone quite well with a few pleasant surprises along the way. We all arrived at the airport on time at Bradley and were able to speedily make our way through the checkpoints. When we met our friends from UE in Chicago about 2 hours later we arrived at our gate only to find out that all of us had been upgraded to business class. We don't really know why, but you don't ask questions in those circumstances considering the upgrade was free. On our 13-14 hour flight to Beijing we ended up with more spacious seats that adjusted in five different ways, and a meal plan that was comparable to a restaurant. I started off with a salad followed by filet mignon and a chocolate cheesecake for desert. All was very good in quality, and best of all compliments of United Airlines. The service throughout the flight was also amazing.

After arriving in Beijing we breezed through customs and stepped out of the airport to find a large crowd of people waiting behind small barriers for incoming travelers. There were so many people I couldn't help but feel like a celebrity. After walking around the barriers we met up with our tour guide in Beijing whose English name is Grace. On the bus ride to our hotel Grace informed us of some of the history of Beijing and gave us some pointers about traveling in China. Beijing is loosely translated to mean "North Capital", and has an estimated population of 17 million people making it the third largest city in China. As we drove to our hotel it was amazing to see how many cars were on the road, and how many were brand new. Grace said that 60% of the population in Beijing now owns a car after they became less expensive to purchase in 1998 after China joined the World Trade Organization. Despite this fact, it was also very clear how popular public transportation was in the city because there were taxis and crowded buses everywhere. Grace said there are 80,000 taxis that operate in Beijing all under the control of the government. The benefit of the government control is that the cab fare is the same regardless of where you take a taxi in the city. Similarly, the government control of the money makes the exchange rate the same in any location which is good because its difficult to be cheated out of money. Another interesting part of the bus ride was just seeing the city lit up at night as everything seemed to be highlighted by neon including many of the skyscrapers.

I'm looking forward to touring Beijing tomorrow. The flight over here was very long and was a little taxing on me especially considering I'm not accustomed to travel, but I'm already glad I came. After getting settled into the hotel some of us even went out for our first authentic meal, and I can tell you personally that it was delicious. Let's hope that theme continues throughout the trip. I'm going to try to post pictures, but will do it separately than the text as I'm still trying to work with the equipment I have here. It is also difficult considering I seem to have limited access to what I can view in regards to this site. I hope all works out and you continue to enjoy the posts. Now for some much needed rest.

What to know before we leave.

The trip is only a few days away now, and before I started to make posts in China I thought that I'd share with you a little about myself, and what has taken place in order to prepare us for the trip so far.

In terms of preparing for the trip, we have held three meetings this semester that have connected WNEC and UE students using the services of Skype. At these meetings we've been introduced to the cultural practices present in China, and what we can expect to encounter in a business environment. Students have also studied the social, political, environmental, historical, religious, and economic circumstances of China through enrolling in a preparation course for the trip. The course syllabus for the trip states, "The major goal of the International Practicum is to allow undergraduate students opportunities to enhance their understanding of cross-cultural differences and the globalization of the work environment". This goal will no doubt be fulfilled through our trip to Beijing and Shanghai. Not only will we be visiting five business locations on our trip to expose ourselves to the challenges of conducting business in China, but we will also experience various cultural attractions that are of great significance to the region of China. The educational journey will also be recorded by each student in a personal journal along the way and reflected upon in a final essay so as to capture the unique experience of each student.

As for myself, I am a student from Western New England College who has limited travel experience at best. I'm from Massachusetts, and while I have managed to travel to most of New England, I've only been to New York, Virginia, and Florida in the United States. I did travel to Montreal once in high school though, so I suppose I can say that I have traveled internationally. I'm currently a senior business management major here at WNEC with an international business minor, and when the opportunity arose to travel to China I couldn't pass it up. Interestingly enough, I had applied for and received my passport this past summer just in case I was to travel anywhere eventually. I had always had the desire to travel, but rarely the means. Little did I know that I would soon be traveling to China of all places. I quickly applied for my visa, got the necessary immunizations, and read up on all that I could about China. It's easy to understand why many people are interested in China today. A rapidly developing nation of over 1.3 billion people is hard to ignore, and the international spotlight will soon be shining directly over the region for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The world is watching as China seeks to sustain itself in a tremendously important period of growth that will undoubtedly have a far reaching global impact. What better way to understand what's taking place now in China then to travel to the region itself? I can't wait, and I invite you to join me along the way.

Greetings!!!

My name is Dane Martin, and I am a senior majoring in business management and minoring in international business. This blog will give the perspective of one Western New England College student on such an amazing journey. I hope you enjoy these posts as I share my thoughts and experiences with you along the way. Be sure to check updates daily, and feel free to comment in response to any of the posts.