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Day 7 – Sightseeing in Hangzhou and Su Zho

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Today we took a bus hired by Sanda University that would take us to visit two different cities, Hangzhou and Su Zho. We left early and Sanda University packed our breakfast to go. We had two choices, and we had the breakfast sandwich with milk and sweet cake; it was very filling. On the bus, we met our tour guide that would take us around for the next three days, and Professor Li came with us. China was celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival which is on May 5 of the Lunar calendar. It is a national holiday, and Chinese people celebrate it for three days.

Photo of students

Our tour guide told us the stof Qu Yuan, a faithful advisor and poet of the emperor of the state of Chu, who committed suicide after the emperor was killed. To prevent the body from being eaten by fish the Chinese people would throw sticky rice into the river. The story also mentioned the dragon boats whose paddles were meant to ward off the fish. We learned that Hangzhou is known for its silk and Su Zhou is known for its famous dragon well tea. The legend says that Zhejiang was suffering from a drought. The people all prayed to the dragon who lived in a well and the town eventually got rain, which is where the tea gets its name from.

Photo of boat  

It seems that much of China’s history is tied to legends. Learning about China’s history made our bus drive very entertaining. We had a break stop after an hour to get a snack in a small mall next to a gas station. In the mall, they sold all kinds of food, and they had a big variety of fried animals, but due to the language barrier, we could not tell what type of animals they were. Most of our group grabbed a Starbucks coffee because of its familiarity. We were happy to find that there are a lot of Starbucks locations all over China. After that, we went to a fancy restaurant called Xin Bai Lu where we had lunch Hangzhou style. We had a variety of over 10 different, exotic dishes. We tried most of them, and they were delicious. The large variety of food included duck, chicken, fish, pork, beef, tofu, sticky rice, and much more. After lunch, our tour guide took us to West Lake where we took a boat ride. Our guide told us that we needed to be a “Sticky Rice Group” and stick together because there were a lot people at the place, and she used a pole with Peppa the Pig on top to guide us around. The lake was very nice and peaceful. We were in a very cute boat that looked like an old Chinese house. The little south lake next to the big lake was full of lily pads and lotus flowers. It was a nice place to relax before heading to our next destination.

Photo of mall Photo of students dressed in traditional attire

After hours of driving, we got to a theme park called “Time Travel Park.” Our tour guide told us that the phrase of the park was, “Give me one day and I will give you a thousand years.” This park is located in Hangzhou.  First, we stopped at the costume shop to change and get properly dressed for the festivities. Our whole group got to wear a traditional Chinese kimono, and it was very fun to be part of the celebration.

Photo of students in traditional attire Photo of students at time travel park

After we changed into our attire, we had another traditional Hangzhou feast; it was very good but our appetite was not as big after all the food we had eaten for lunch. After dinner, we had around an hour of free time, so we walked around the shops and took pictures of the place. We took pictures with the group and some of the locals even asked to take pictures with us. During this time, a few of the people in our group had the opportunity to take a ride on a traditional litter carried by a group of men. After our free time, we went to the Hangzhou Songcheng Show. It is a show about a romance of the Song Dynasty, and it was magnificent. It was performed in four acts, and it used elaborate costumes, laser lights, traditional ballet and Chinese dance. There was even a water scene where the audience was misted with water. It was very entertaining. After the show, it was late, and we went to return our costumes. Right after, we went to the Oriental Deluxe Hotel and we spent the night there.

Photo of students at the feast

Day 6 – Shanghai’s Financial District, Aquarium and the Maglev Train

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Friday, June 15, was an unusual day as most of the morning, the entire afternoon, and evening were open for students to do whatever they wanted. Seventeen of the twenty students decided to use this free time to visit Disney’s Shanghai theme park. They had a great time. The remaining three students, David Murillo, Hayden Warlick, and Ekene Akpati, decided instead to explore downtown Shanghai’s Financial District and improvise their itinerary for the day.

As usual, our first activity after breakfast began at 9:00am. This activity consisted of an open lecture delivered by Professor Li. The topic of the lecture was System and Operations Management. Throughout the lecture, the majority of students took notes, asked questions, and contributed to the discussion. Once the lecture was concluded, we all headed back to our dorms. The seventeen students prepared for their day at Disneyland while the three of us remaining decided to do laundry since the machines were now all available. There was a minor complication in setting up the laundry cycle so myself (Ekene) stayed behind with Professor Li to solve the issue while Hayden and David walked to the nearby bank to exchange US dollars for Chinese yuan. The clothes were successfully washed with the aid of one of the dorm assistants. She was extremely cheerful and glad to help.

Photo of Professor Li Lecturing

While the batch of laundry was in the dryer, we joined Professor Li on the sixth floor and received our choice of Sanda University t-shirts. The majority of our fellow students were at Disneyland so we had first priority in selecting our shirt color and size. After receiving and trying on our shirts we ate a quick lunch, provided by the dorm cafeteria. By then our laundry was done. We packed our clothes away and prepared for our subway trip to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. After mapping out where we needed to go and getting off the subway, we headed up onto the street. We walked several blocks behind apartment buildings and a construction site.

These apartments were our first exposure to lower income housing in China. Very nearby was Shanghai’s financial district. There was a sharp contrast in the quality of the buildings as we transitioned to the main street to see banks and other financial institutions. Eventually, we arrived at the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

  

Unfortunately, we could not see much of the exchange once inside. We saw trading boards, statues and the building’s architecture. But the trading floor was not open to the public. Next, we decided to go to the Shanghai Aquarium. After a 35 minute walk, we entered the aquarium and saw some exotic fish exhibits. While many of the fish were similar (as China shares the Pacific coasts with the US) there were some breeds we had never seen before. The soft-shell turtle stood out the most. The most interesting exhibit at the aquarium was the underwater tunnel. At 509 feet, it is the world’s longest underwater aquarium tunnel. The tank was filled with tiger sharks, hammerheads, stingrays, sea turtles, and countless smaller fish.

After we finished with the aquarium, we took the subway to the entrance of Shanghai’s Maglev Train. It took us a very long time to find the entrance to the Maglev because we walked the wrong way out of the subway. We did not have any phone signal and very few signs were in English. After a long time, we found the entrance and bought tickets to the train. It turned out to be well worth the wait, as the train ride was pretty interesting. Even at a max speed of 430kph, the Maglev train feels quite smooth and is surprisingly stable. It was only when another Maglev passed us, and a very loud sound broke out, that we realized how fast we were going. The speed of the train was illustrated by the difference between our train ride and the subway home. It took us 8 minutes to get to the airport from the Maglev entrance. It took 55 minutes to travel the same distance back by subway. All in all, we had a very full day and were glad to get home and rest. I think all three of us were glad we chose to spend our day traveling around the city.

Day 5 – A Day of Sightseeing & Learning

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  1. People’s Square Park

The People’s Square Park is located nearby the Shanghai Museum. As a group, we walked around the park and fed the doves who resided there alongside many locals. It was an exciting and thrilling experience for many students because it was their first time feeding birds out in the open. Although I have fed doves before, I had a great time seeing the other students enjoying themselves.

Photo of People's Square Photo of Student with Dove

Photo of Student Feeding Dove

  1. Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum is a large museum that showcases a variety of historical sculptures, porcelain, jewelry, artifacts, and artwork. The museum had four levels with a small shop on each floor. What was surprising was the availability of English, Japanese, and Chinese pamphlets and English descriptions of all artifacts and artwork in the museum. This made the experience much more worthwhile for all the students.

Photo of Students at Shanghai Museum Photo of Student at Shanghai Museum

Photo of Students at Shanghai Museum Photo of Exhibit Piece at Shanghai Museum

  1. Yu Garden

The Yu Garden was exceptionally beautiful. Although it was a highly populated attraction, I was extremely impressed by the amount of tour guides who spoke in different languages. I was amazed by one Chinese tour guide who spoke fluent Spanish.

Photo of Yu Garden Photo of Students at Yu Garden

  1. Yuyuan Bazaar

After exploring the Yu Garden, all the students went to the Yuyuan Bazaar which was nearby. The bazaar was a large outdoor shopping center where many of the students bought souvenirs. We all had the choice of eating lunch on our own, however the majority of us went to eat at a local Chinese restaurant. I was amazed by how open the students were to trying new types of foods such as chicken feet. I also found it interesting how we had to pay for our meal beforehand rather than after.

Photo of Student at Yuyuan Bazaar

  1. Jin Mao Tower/Skywalk

Once we finished eating, all the students had the option either to go to the Bund or the Jin Mao Tower. About half of the students went to each destination. At the Jin Mao Tower, a few of the students went on the famous Skywalk. It was interesting to see the process. Additionally, while inside the tower, we got the opportunity to look down 88 floors; it was not as scary as I had imagined. While we were waiting for the Skywalk, we interacted with Chinese children who sat next to us. It was nice to know that despite the obvious differences between our cultures, the children were still open to interacting with us. There was absolutely no discomfort between us. I feel as if this is incredibly important to note because as these children grow up, they will be more open-minded towards foreigners making it easier to build lasting business connections and friendships.

Photo of Students at Skywalk Photo of student looking through a telescope

  1. Oriental Pearl Tower/The Bund

Although I was part of the group who did not walk to the Bund, I still had the opportunity to see the Pearl Tower from the Jin Mao Tower. The view was undoubtedly breathtaking. We later ate dinner near the Metro station and enjoyed the sights of Shanghai from the outside patio.

Photo of student at Oriental Pearl Tower Photo of view of the Bund

Day 4 – A Visit to the Shanghai Supercomputer Center and Learning from Sanda’s Students

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This morning, we started by visiting the Shanghai Supercomputer Center. We had a tour of the facility and the museum they have inside the company building. At some point, the guide who gave us the tour showed us real time videos of the Bund, shot by cameras they have on site. She then said that on average around 800,000 tourists visit the Bund per day. That statement confused me, as I thought to myself, how can they tell whether the person visiting the Bund is a tourist or a local? So I asked her and she said their cameras have facial recognition features so they know exactly who’s a tourist and who’s a local. I found that to be impressive yet somewhat intrusive and concerning at the same time. Then we had a walk around the Hi-Tech park area where the supercomputer center was located. It was massive!

Photo of CapitalLand Building in Shanghai  

After lunch at the university, we met some Chinese students from Sanda. We had two different activities: the women went to play ping-pong, the national sport, and the men went to have a basketball match with the university’s team. I was a little nervous about playing ping pong because I didn’t feel like I had enough hand-eye coordination, but once I opened up to it, and with the help of Dr. Li, I actually found it to be enjoyable (and difficult too! I was sweating from just running to pick up the ball when I missed, which happened quite often). We saw students from the university’s ping-pong team play and it was really impressive. They were so fast that it was almost impossible to see the ball. Then we went on to watch the guys play basketball. It looked like they had fun and I must say that our guys represented CSUN very well. Even though we lost, it was a close call, and I think that’s impressive considering the fact our guys are not part of a basketball team. Then again, the Chinese students might have taken it easy on them, which I won’t find surprising as they are such incredible hosts.

  

After the match ended we went on to meet more Chinese students, which was organized by Sanda’s student union. We were given some topics of discussion, one of them being the current trade war happening between the US and China. I could tell the students were nervous to bring it up thinking we may support the president and his actions and were surprised and relieved to hear we didn’t, along with many other Americans. It was an experience I was really looking forward to, as I wanted to see if and what were the differences between us. I learned there are many differences between the American and Chinese student experience. For example, the Chinese students don’t get to pick their classes, their schedules or professors. They have classes for 12 hours a day sometimes! They have absolutely no time to do anything other than studying, and they were surprised to hear most of us work while attending school. We also met them during finals, which take over a period of a few weeks, and they were under a lot of stress. They were shocked we had all our finals in just one week. I feel that having those meetings with the Chinese students are going to be something I am going to remember for a long time, as it had a big impact on me. One of the reasons I wanted to go on this trip was to have a cultural exchange experience and meeting the students definitely fulfilled that. I wish we had more time with them, maybe an organized outing or taking classes together.

Day 3 – Case Studies, Culture and the French Concession

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I woke up today still in awe that I had the opportunity to participate in the study tour and visit China. There are no words that can explain the gratitude I feel to all those who made this possible for us at CSUN. We’ve been here two days and I am learning a lot from the daily interactions I have with Chinese students and people. Today, we started out by having breakfast together at the usual time at 7:45am. I had a hard time sleeping due to the jet lag and kept waking up throughout the night, but it’s all part of the experience and I’m soaking it in. After breakfast, we started our day by going to class and listening to Dr. Degravel’s lecture on management consulting. Dr. Degravel’s lecture was my first time being introduced to management consulting and I found the topic/lecture to be very interesting. The lecture gave us insight into what management consulting is all about and I feel that any of us, regardless of what major we are studying, can get into this field. Management consulting allows individuals to be entrepreneurial and to build their own brand and reputation. Following the lecture, I gained much interest in management consulting and will be doing my own research so that I can possibly engage in this field in the future. After the lecture we had lunch back at the foreign exchange student dorms and then had a lecture that introduced us to our case studies.

Photo of Students Having Breakfast Photo of Professors Degravel and Li with Sanda U Host

The case study lecture was informative and broke down how we should analyze our cases. Dr. Degravel clearly stated how the cases should be analyzed and gave us frameworks to follow. Once the lecture was over we had free time for activities. We all headed back to the dorms to relax and freshen up before heading out on an adventure to the French Quarter, also known as the French Concession in the city. To get to the French Concession we took the metro subway which takes you throughout the city. The metro subway infrastructure that China built for Shanghai is highly advanced and practical, as all the lines are connected to each other and travel relatively fast. Upon seeing and using the metro system in Shanghai I realized that we had much to catch up on back in Los Angeles regarding infrastructure. When we arrived to the French Concession the first thing I noticed was how  beautiful the streets looked lined with trees. Walking through the Concession was surreal as I still couldn’t believe how lucky I was to be able to travel to China. As a group we explored and walked around the area before finding a place to eat. Some of us broke up into smaller groups and went to different restaurants. My group went to get Pho and the food was very delicious. One thing that as difficult was the language barrier, but that made the experience even better as we had to resort to other means to understand one another. After eating we explored some more and went back to the dorms around 10:30pm, as the last metro line that we needed to take stopped running at 11pm.

Photo of Students in Classroom Photo of Professor DeGravel Teaching

The moment we arrived in China I realized that I couldn’t read, write, or speak the native language so in every interaction I had I tried to learn little key words here and there. Communicating with people was a great experience as I was able to communicate through other means, I attempted to speak Chinese, and the people I tried to speak to would laugh with me as we realized through trial and error what we meant. As I walked through the streets of China and interacted with people and the environment I pictured myself in my parents’ shoes and realized how they must have felt when they arrived to America. My parents immigrated to the United States due to the civil war in El Salvador, and when they arrived they didn’t know how to speak, write, or read in English. Being able to experience what my parents went through opened up my eyes up more to the sacrifices they made in the pursuit of a better life.  Through it all, my parents were able to adapt and create their new life. This experience is a clear example of what we are capable of as humans, and that no matter what obstacle is in front of us we can get through it. It’s humbling to be put in that situation where one can’t read, write or speak, and I believe that gaining experiences such as this can help bridge the divide we see occurring today. One thing that I’ve always known and that the trip to China reinforced is that regardless of the differences in cultures, practices, ethnicities, and skin tone, at the end of the day we are all the same just humans trying to better ourselves and live and maintain.

Day 2 – Welcome to Sanda University & Shanghai

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Today was our first real day in China after hours of traveling the day before. We woke up early as breakfast would be waiting for us daily at 7:30am. Our meals were always authentically Chinese, served in orange Bento boxes, with rice being the main staple of every meal. Breakfast included soup dumplings, which was delicious but quite a different breakfast food than we are used to having.

After breakfast we had a welcome orientation with Lily, the international department coordinator and the dean from the business school. She has very kind and sweet and went over a PowerPoint presentation telling us about the school and what we could expect in the next coming days. After her presentation we went on a tour of the campus. We toured the business/media building, the medical building, and the gym. We were lucky to see some ancient artifacts in the gym, they were holding a mini exhibition with ancient Chinese tools. After walking through campus, we had lunch.

Photo of student at mini exhibition   

After lunch, we all decided to go for a walk around the surrounding area, where they had a small shopping center. The center was aligned with various restaurants, little shops, and our favorite grocery store: Carrefour. That night we had a welcome dinner where we met the university dean and had a lovely dinner in their banquet hall. Everyone was very welcoming to us and made us feel at home right away.

Photo of shopping center in China  

Later that evening, a group of us decided to go into the city and visit the Bund, a truly magnificent view to behold light up against the night sky.

It was great to have a welcome orientation and tour of the campus. It really helped us feel more at home and comfortable with the new surrounding environment. For the welcome dinner the even made us chicken nuggets so we would feel more at home. It was a simple gesture, but it showed to me that they really wanted to make us feel at ease. The campus itself is also very inviting. It was a great location too, next to a subway station that connected us to all of Shanghai. I was surprised at how clean and efficient the metro system is in Shanghai, much better than here in LA. The railway even has doors that close until the train comes to a complete stop to prevent people from falling in front of a moving train.

Photo of students with metro cards  Photo of the Bund in the evening

It was truly an unforgettable experience. It exposed us all to an unknown world in which we were able to adapt to the new culture and appreciate its rich history and customs. It also gave us greater appreciation for home and all the little comforts we take for granted that not everyone gets to have. It really had a profound impact on my personal life, seeing as it was the first time I was ever away from my daughter overnight, let alone for a couple of weeks. I learned about the importance to make time for myself and have a social life outside of my mommy circle and I also realized that she is a resilient little girl who is growing up and can handle being independent away from mom for a little while. I also definitely made a great group of new friends whom I hope to call friends forever.

Day 1 – Arrival in China

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We were all very tired particularly from our 14-hour flight. I know for most of us it was the longest flight we have ever taken, which made 4-hour long flights seem like nothing! While boarding our second plane a couple asked us if we were from a group or if it was a school thing, because we all had matching CSUN shirts. I quickly responded yes, we’re from CSUN – I didn’t finish my sentence when it hit me we were almost 7,300 miles away from home and I had to explain that CSUN meant California State University, Northridge. That alone made it feel more exciting – It meant we were in China!

Photo of Students in the Airport in China  

Upon arrival you could immediately feel (besides the humidity) the eagerness and some tiredness from the group and myself. Although I have traveled before to Mexico about 6 years ago, it felt nothing like this. I am no stranger to the feeling of culture shock, but this time it was extreme. As soon as we got off the plane I hoped that my ability to play “Charades” would come in handy because I didn’t hear a word of English that came from anyone else but our CSUN group.

Photo of Students on the Train in China  

A few hours later we were ready to go on the train and it turned out to be quite a challenge.  Who would have guessed getting a simple token would require the building of a human wall! We quickly found out that when it came to line formation this was not a common concept in China, everyone is in hurry and trying to get to their destinations as quickly as possible. Besides that, the language displaying on the screen was of course Chinese. This is where I got a sense that this trip would build camaraderie among us, because as soon as one of us figured out the process we helped each other out. We only had one native speaker in our group, Professor Li. Putting this experience behind a career spectrum, it is very important to have a proactive team mentality when dealing with new tasks. Especially if something as foreign as finding your way in a new country with such a strong language barrier that there is no one you can ask for help but each other.

Welcome to the International Study Tour Blog!

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Photo of Students Arriving in China

Welcome to the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics’ International Study Tour blog.

This year’s study tour hosted 20 students from all majors in the Nazarian College and took place in China with university partner, Sanda University in Shanghai from June 9 through June 21. Follow the blog to see what students learned and experienced during each day of the International Study Tour.

What is the International Study Tour?

The International Study Tour was created to provide extraordinary opportunities for our students to discover other countries and cultures, and to venture outside their comfort zone. It prepares our students for the reality of a globalized business world, where the United States is part of a large network of international business connections.

It is important for our students to learn how to become globalization-savvy and be prepared for international careers. Even if they do not choose to work abroad, it is likely that at one point in their career, their company or organization will have international business operations or ties. In addition the professional benefits, the personal enrichment generated by the International Study Tour is also extremely valuable. It builds confidence, improves communication, broadens horizons and is an opportunity for our students to experience independence and responsibility. Furthermore, our students are able to connect with students from the local area and understand their culture and life.

The International Study Tour’s length is generally between 10 days and two weeks. It is organized by the Nazarian College, and financed in part by the students, but mostly by donations and grants. These trips encompass lectures about one or several disciplines, the opportunity to apply these disciplines to the context of the visited country, and cultural visits to places of interest. Students also go on business visits, which enable them to discover places that connect with the studied disciplines and illustrate the concepts. Case studies also contribute to the construction of knowledge about the country or about local companies or organizations. Free time is provided to the students for their own discovery of the country, under the supervision of faculty members from the Nazarian College.

The Nazarian College relies on partner universities to build these study tours where students can be hosted and benefit from the connection of these universities in the business world and their knowledge of cultural realities. Partners can also develop strong relationships with CSUN and the Nazarian College to collaborate on other activities and better accommodate visiting students.