GIEU Shanghai Trip 2006

June 7, 2006

This was no ordinary day. We’ve visited Johnson & Johnson Family Company. In terms of intercultural experience it was one of the most fruitful visit thus far. J&J organized the time well for us: we spent total of 6 hours talking to the staff members and visiting the plant and the research center. One of the workers, Gary Wang, was a University of Michigan alumnus and we have learned a great deal from him. He compared the living and working conditions in China, USA and Australia, taking into account the cultural differences and language obstacles. And so, China seems to be a communist country only by it’s official name. Other than that, capitalism is the country’s doctrine. Wang added: “It seems impossible to stop this trend. Even if the government wanted to close Chinese economy again, it simply does not have means to do that.”

The most enjoyable part of the visit was the research center, where J&J develops new devices for cardiovascular surgeries. Everyone got a chance to experience how difficult it is to perform such a surgery, by practicing on a high tech simulator. Some members of our group were so impressed, that they started thinking about a medical career J

We’ve spent the afternoon and evening relaxing and getting ready for tomorrow’s flight to Chongqing. You can almost feel the excitement in the air, as we start another chapter of our journey. (This cliché phrase is for Dipal).

June 6, 2006

There was no visit planned for today but Marissa managed to talk to her friend and plan a visit to the Shanghai Office of Perry Ellis. The office was well organized and had 24 members of staff in total who were mainly responsible for the merchandizing part of the business such as negotiating with the fabric sellers and the factories that actually manufacture the garment pieces for the company. We had an informal meeting with the chief representative of the company for about an hour wherein we touched on several topics ranging from the size of Perry Ellis’s operations in China to different world markets and how Perry Ellis was already pleasant in some and thinking of venturing into some. She explained to us why it was easier for the company to produce garments for the American market as compared to the European market and how Chinese factories were able to produce the goods at such low costs by practicing economies of scale. The meeting lasted for about an hour and was very informative. After the meeting we decided to explore the old town in Shanghai and visit the Yu Gardens. The Gardens were very well made and maintained. There was this traditional tea house which was really well made and where some of us had different flavors. We also spent some time roaming around old town shopping and observing the architectural beauty of the buildings. After that we went for dinner where we had some trouble ordering the food as the menu was in Chinese. It had been an eventful day and the group members were looking forward to visiting Johnson and Johnson

June 5, 2006

Unlike most of the company visits thus far, BAO Steel consisted mainly of a tour of the facilities and factories which make up this company. BAO Steel is among the 500 largest companies in the world. Our trip started at the location of the plant which lies on the Northeast part of Shanghai, near the Yellow Sea. During this trip we observed hot rolling, cold rolling, and the steel furnace which is the biggest in China. The most excited part of the visit occurred when went inside the plants and observed the steel being made. After our trip to BAO Steel we visited one of the most famous temples in Shanghai. After this we visited the Botanical Gardens. In the garden we walked around for a number of hours observing beautiful scenery. During this part of the trip we not only connected with nature we connected even more with our group. I feel we became much closer as a group through our diverse conversations. Once we finished walking through garden we went for dinner and called it a night.

June 3, 2006

Today was another early day. We grabbed some bread from the local campus store and then headed out for our day of sight-seeing. We had our first experience with the Shanghai subway system, which we took to the heart of Shanghai. Our first stop was at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, a popular landmark that defines the skyline of Shanghai. We rode an elevator up to the top and got a breathtaking view of a large portion of the city. We then took the metro once again to the Jin Mao Temple, a Buddhist temple. Next, we took a city bus back to the river along a popular tourist area called the Bund. The Bund includes a large stretch of boardwalk along the river, and provides a great view of the city. We walked a lot around the city and then headed back stopping at a local market. This was shopping heaven for all of us, as we were able to buy imitation and fake designer merchandise for very cheap! We definitely improved our bargaining skills towards the end of the shopping experience. For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant near our campus. The food was surprisingly similar to Italian food we eat back at home…but it was no Olive Garden. We are all getting along really well and having a great time. Today we had a good chance to see a lot of the major sights in Shanghai and hope to do the same tomorrow.

June 2, 2006

Toady we were able to have the pleasure of tasting authentic Chinese breakfast buns. Many of them contained delicious pork and sweet sugar pastes. In the afternoon, we visited the newer campus of Shanghai Jiao Tang University, which is the institution we are currently staying at. The campus was absolutely breathtaking; the buildings were characterized by both modern day forms of architecture as well as traditional Chinese décor. We were able to spend time with the graduate students of the University, and we had the opportunity to visit Intel with them. Amber, an American Intel employee who is temporarily working in Shanghai, was able to provide unique intercultural insights into Intel’s mode of operation in China. It was interesting to be able to learn about the different work attitudes and problem solving methods that are demonstrated cross culturally within this company. It was also fascinating to interact in a research environment with the Shanghai Jiao Tang students, who enriched our learning experience. Today, we also heard our very own Dr. Ye speak at Shanghai Jiao Tang University regarding the use of nano technology within the context of medicine. The graduate students at the University also attended this event with us. They were extremely passionate about Dr. Ye’s research, especially since many of them specialize in related fields. For dinner, we were able to experience authentic Shanghainese cuisine, such as duck soup. Later on that night, in light of Dipal’s birthday, we went out to sing Chinese karaoke songs. Dr. Ye is a talented singer. A personal favorite was music by popular Chinese icon Jay Chow.

June 1, 2006

Today was the first official day of the trip. We woke up at 8:30 am for breakfast, very early. After this we proceeded to go to visit with IBM where we were given some information and allowed a question and answer session with one of IBM’s team leaders/ sales representatives who provided us with information about IBM’s role in the Chinese and American market. He also explained and commented about the cultural differences between China and the US. After this we walked around the city for a while and around a mall. We ate lunch here at a Chinese restaurant (who would have thought). After lunch we walked around a little more and then were picked up by the bus to go to Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. This was a telecommunications company located at the tip of Pudong. They gave us a tour of their telecommunications equipment, including their 2G and 3G cellular phone technologies and explained the prevalence of their products in Asia, but not America. Later we came back and decided to have an American dinner, KFC. It is very interesting to see the difference between the Chinese KFC and its American counterpart. We got to bed early.