By Valerie Can
Our on site-trip has finally started. The whole delegation of about 30 students as well as several university lectures is visiting China. The study trip mainly focuses on transferring knowledge between senior executives, government officials, Chinese universities and FHNW students. This will be achieved by visits of companies, public institutions and universities. Regarded as an outstanding journey, it is a must for everybody who seeks to broaden one’s horizon in a unique manner and who would like to discover how Chinese do business in real.
After a long and quite exhausting journey, we arrived in the afternoon at our first destination Beijing. Right after a short power nap, we have gathered together for eating some famous Chinese dishes like the Beijing duck in a traditional Chinese restaurant. After the dinner, we rounded off the evening with some drinks in a student’s bar.
Cultural tour and local experience
The day started with a filling breakfast – from more typical European food to Chinese, everyone could find something to his taste. After that, we could start our cultural tour fully motivated. The first stop was the Temple of Heaven: An impressive imperial complex of religious buildings. It really is a masterpiece among China’s ancient sacrificial buildings. To get our daily meditation activities done, we had a Tai Chi lesson with a master. What a great practise.
What’s more, during lunch time we crossed a traditional food market with a lot of fried insects, scorpions and other creatures, which was a pretty special experience for us Swiss students. A perfect chance to bargain to get some fluffy pandas.
Then the tour continued with a visit in the Forbidden City. Closed to the world for over 500 years, and home to emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Forbidden City is a truly fascinating place. A remarkable, huge and crowdy building complex in the heart of the city. The architecture and history of the city provided us a detailed insight into the curious lives and customs of the past emperors.
The last stop of our cultural tour was the Hutong square, the oldest part of Beijing. A hutong is a small area of old buildings in Beijing centred around one or more narrow streets or alleys. This very special place in the rich history and culture of Beijing we discovered by rickshaw.
Finally, we had the chance to eat “real Chinese fondue” called hotpot. It’s a great dish for a group as you can share food together in a boiling soup by enjoying a noodle and mask show. While eating, we had great entertainment and fun.
The end of our second day, we closed the evening all together in a bar and later on we went dancing in a night club with local people. It was an unforgettable night. So far, we have gained a lot of experiences and good impressions. We’re looking forward to explore the next destinations.