By Laura Zimmer and Selin Bürgis
Our second day in Lanzhou was another highlight. The day started with a delicious breakfast in the hotel followed by an interesting visit in the Gansu Provincial Museum, where we widened our knowledge about Chinese culture and history. What we especially liked about the museum was the mixture of interaction, information and art.
After that, we continued our journey to visit the Lanzhou Institute of Technology. Already at the entrance we could feel the students warm welcome. This impression lasted over the whole visit. After the welcome speech of Prof. Dr. Wang Huadong, President of Lanzhou Institute of Technology, Prof. Jiang Yufan spoke about our topic, the middle income trap in China. This introduction of our visit was followed by a joint lunch, where we could interact with local students and teachers. Regarding the food, there were various options we could choose from, such as typical noodles from Lanzhou.
After lunch we explored the museum of the university’s history and had memorable conversations with our “buddys”. Even though there was an existing language barrier, we could feel the students’ joy about our stay. After information was given, we could practice Chinese activities including paper cuts and calligraphy. In the late afternoon another spectacle was taking place when students performed various arts on stage. We could enjoy singing, dancing, magic and Kong Fu, where we were encouraged to participate. Later on we gave typical Swiss gifts to our “buddys” and discovered some of the schools promising technological inventions.
The day ended with another joint dinner and with many pictures. It was touching for us to see how the school appreciates our coming and the friendship to Switzerland. Furthermore, our whole stay in Lanzhou was organized by the local government, which we very much appreciated.
