WVU in China

Nothin' Like the Great Wall

2007-06-14T23:55:00.000+08:00

What a day. I think of all days, this was the day that I was looking forward to the most. Today we went to the Great Wall of China. But before we went there we went to another site called Ming's Tomb. This particular site was where they buried most of the emperor's from about the 1450s to the 1650s. But of all the burials that are there they've actually opened up this tomb for the public to walk through.

The neatest thing for me was to see just how far down in the ground the tomb actually was. It's amazing they were able to build such structure with minimal tools. We only spent about an hour here. The great wall and Ming's Tomb are quite a ways out of town so by the time we were done here it was lunch time (look at the picture's below to see a funny story about lunch time).

During the afternoon we finally made it to the great wall...and oh, what a site. I've never seen anything like before in my life. I mean, you have been told that the wall is 1500 miles long, but it's so hard to really understand just how amazing it is until you see the giant wall rolling over hill, after hill, after peak, after hill.

Only parts of the wall have been reconstructed and made safe enough to walk on. We climbed on the wall mostly as a group. Some made it all the way to the end (or as far as they let the public go) and some did not. But I am telling you, it is a heck of a climb. Parts of it are so steep that as you stand on the crest of the hill, you can't see the steps that are just below you. That's what I think was the most amazing thing is that they were able to build such a structure on such steep and rough landscape.

I think we all really like this day. It was so much fun to be on out own, out hiking together as a class. As you would walk along all of the sudden you would here this huge, "Let's Go..." And then from a completely different part of the mountain the reply, "Mountaineers." We took incredible pictures, and just had a really good time. We wish you all could have been there.

After 2 hours there we rushed to the bus and headed for the Silk Market one more time (as I have said before, they sell a lot more than just silk there.) We were given 20 minutes and we ran all over those 5 stories, buying last minute gifts.

For dinner we enjoyed a delicious Peking Duck Dinner. It's the tradition of this program to save that meal for the end, and I think it was a meal we all enjoyed. It was a great way to end out trip.

I'm really sad to say that this trip is all over. Although we are all excited to get back home to our families and friends, and back to a city where it's easy to get food we really like to eat, we will really miss China. I think I can speak for the whole group when I say this trip has changed our lives and opened our eyes, and all of this happened together. I think we will always feel a close kinship with one another. For these past 2 weeks we've kind of acted like one another's families, and it will be sad that, to an extent, that will be over. But I can promise you, we will never forget WVU's Chine Trip, '07. It's been a good one.
Here is a group of students outside of the gate that leads up to Ming's Tomb.
Here we are actually in the underground Tomb. Behind this group you can see the coffins (I guess they would be considered coffins) of the Emperor and the 2 Empresses.
Here is nearly everyone at the beginning of the Great Wall Journey.
I love this picture. This is where the funny lunch story comes in. Our Tour guide kept telling us about this great lunch place we were going to. Then when we got there she insisted on us staying there for 2 hours. In our minds we knew that was way to long, especially with all we wanted to accomplish on our last day in China. Well, it finally came out that the reason why she needed us there for 2 hours is her company had signed a contract with this restaurant/factory for making Chinese artifacts, that they will give them a discount on the food if we stay there for 2 hours. Well, that did not go over well. After we finished lunch (which took about 1 hour), we all went and stood in the front of the store because the driver wouldn't open the bus door. Finally after 1.5 hours the driver opened the bus door and we went and sat on the bus for 30 more minutes waiting for the tour guide (she was obviously no place to be found, aka hiding). So the picture above shows exactly how we felt about the whole situation, especially after we were left with only 20 minutes to shop at the Silk Market we were all wishing we could have gotten that hour back. I will have you know that when the tour guide actually got on the bus we were all very respectful to her and didn't say a word, just like good Mountaineer's would do.

Another group picture a little further up on the wall.
A few fellow climbers.
A few of the boys hanging out on the wall.
Here is the group of the students that conquered the wall. We went as far as they would let us go, and then had to turn around. A few others made it the whole way, but they went the opposite direction as us, so they aren't pictured.
Just a quick picture of our dinner. It was pretty good.

A Day of History...

2007-06-13T23:16:00.000+08:00

Today was a day we experienced Chinese History in Beijing. The main events were Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Even though we had a tour guide it's still difficult for me to explain what exactly it is, but from what I understand it could be somewhat compared to the monument mall in Washington, D.C. (you know, there are a few long standing monuments, wide open spaces, and government buildings everywhere). What this area is most famous for, of course, for many of us was the events some time ago when a long peaceful protest didn't end so peaceful (and I will leave it at that).

At the far end of Tienanmen Square is the entrance of the Forbidden City. It was built in the 1400 as the palace for the emperor. It's really difficult to explain exactly how it looked, but the pictures below will hopefully help you to visualize it. The whole grounds where forever long. There would be this huge building at the end of a wide open courtyard, that was also fenced in by surrounding houses, and then you would walk up to the big building and there would be doors that would open up to another huge courtyard with another big building at the end of it. Sometimes the courtyard would have bridges and rivers running through them. But this process went on for a very long time. Just as I thought, "This has to be the end" we would walk up to the next big building and their would be another courtyard. Our tour guide put it like this, "if you were to sleep in every room only once, it would take you 27 years to finish." It sounds a little excessive don't you think?

They whole sight was something else. It was all very beautiful. The only crappy thing was that many of the big building were covered with scaffolding and screens because they are trying to re-do them before the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

For lunch we went to the Cantonese restaurant which was good, but on the way in we walked right past a Dairy Queen that was in the same restaurant. So as soon as they brought us the watermelon (which has been the last dish at every meal we have had) we all went and got Blizzards...and let me tell you....they were delicious.

We made one more stop to the Summer palace which acted as the emperor's getaway home. I was talking to some of the others and we felt kind of bad here because we talked the tour guide into cutting this visit short so we could make it to the Pearl Market to shop, but this place seemed to be the coolest place to go. Of course, the forbidden city is a top tourist attraction, but the architecture at the Summer Palace was amazing, and the building there are surrounded by a huge lake, and we felt like we could have spent some more time there. So all I am saying, is if you go to China, consider spending a little more time here, and maybe a little less at the Forbidden city (but that is just my advice, and I'm not speaking for the group as a whole).

And finally, we made it to the Pearl Market. I think that besides visiting the great wall, this was the place we were most excited about visiting. It's a huge building that is completely full of purses and clothes, and silks, and jewelry, and most important....Pearls. And I can tell you, there were quite a few purchased today...so if you are lucky...maybe....just maybe....

Enjoy the pictures.
AJ, Alex, Janelle, Matt, Jason and Ryan posing for a picture in front of a Government building in Tienanmen Square.
Here is a group picture. Our tour guide hauled us over here and lined us up, and had a professional photographer take the picture, and I think we were all excited. And then she said, "For $12 you can buy this photo." So we laughed at her and I ran out there and snapped a photo for us, so we can print it off for $.15 at Wal-Mart.
What better to do when you are waiting in line to get into the Forbidden City that take a picture.
Another group of students snapping a pic in Tienanmen Square.
In one of the Courtyards there are 5 bridges that each represent a desired Characteristic (i.e. knowledge, righteousness, integrity) and tradition says you walk over what ever bridge describes what characteristic you would like to be blessed with. Dr. McIntyre made us all go over knowledge. So this picture is a group of students going over that bridge.

If I remember right, this is some students entering courtyard 3 or 4, and as you can see, there is the door in the background leading to another one (and they aren't small courtyards either).
Here is some of our class in front of one of the big buildings. I could be wrong but it seems like this was the Emperor's living quarters.
Ahhhhh....Dairy Queen. Jason, Lauren and Chris look to enjoy theirs real soon.
This is a picture of one of the buildings at the Summer Palace. It's pretty, huh? Just like I told you.
Some more students in the Forbidden City. You can tell from the buildings behind them that it was all really pretty.

This is a little bonus. As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we had a little mishap with the bus. Well, this is the video of us giving it a little help. As you can see, we were all quite pleased with our selves.

In Beijing...Safe and Sound

2007-06-12T21:34:00.000+08:00

WE arrived in our last city today...Beijing. Thankfully it was an uneventful flight. I think it would be safe to say, "I've had smoother flights, " but we made it all the same.

The flight was only about 2 hours or so. Once again, a big bus was there waiting for me, but the buses they bring are never big enough for all of our luggage. Especially as we go along and we buy more gifts, we run into bigger problems. So getting the luggage to the hotel is the first problem we have to solve. We did pretty good getting it into the bottom, but the rest if it we just stuffed in the isles.

Although we really like staying in the Hostel, we gladly traded it for the Marriott in Beijing (non-community showers, a bed with a full mattress, peace and quiet, a television). But I know we will miss the community feeling we felt at the Hostel. All you had to do was step out of your room in the Hostel to see a friendly face, and here I'm not even sure what floor the others are on. But we are really looking forward to the sites that are here in Beijing.

For tonight, we were given money and told to go find our dinner. We found an outback Steak House in the phone book and we knew it was destiny. Most of us jumped into a cab and headed for familiar food. I had the biggest, juiciest burger you have ever seen and enjoyed every last bite of it, and oh....the fries....I can't even explain. We were just all really glad to be there.

I'm not sure what everyone did with our time this evening but half of us what to the silk market which was 5 floors of some of the cheapest products you have ever seen...jewelry, silk, and pearls everywhere....at ridiculously low prices. The first thing we learned here is that the people are much more aggressive. In five minutes, a friend of mine has her hand and her backpack yanked on, and another person slapped me in the back to get my attention...it was crazy.

Anyway, now we are relaxing because we have a big day tomorrow.
There aren't a lot of pictures today, but should have some good ones tomorrow.
This isn't a great picture, but I had limited material to work with today. This is a picture of the pub in the bottom of the Hostel. It's where we ate our breakfast in the morning, which is what we are doing here.
Here is our entire group right before we got onto the bus. It was sad to say goodbye to Xi'an.
Here is a group of us at the Outback. Have I told you it was soooo good....it was soooo good!
Here is another group it outback.

Free time and a Show...

2007-06-11T23:54:00.000+08:00

Today was a very relaxing day, and we were all given exactly what we wanted...Free time.

The morning we did all attend the Xi'an museum of history. As many of you know, China in infamous for their rich history, so the exhibit dated back 6000 years. Much of it was pottery and artifacts that had been buried with people many years ago, but are still in excellent pictures.
The afternoon was left up to us...which meant 2 things...Shopping and Naps. All I can see is that there are a lot of you out there that should be really excited because after we get home you will be getting some pretty cool things. I would tell you what they are, but then I would ruin the surprise.

In the evening we went to something really neat. It was a dinner/show. The dinner was a dumpling dinner. Dumplings are kind like stuffed pasta (typically stuffed with some kind of meat of veggie). I think we counted well over 20 different entrees. And they would shape the dumpling to look just like the animal or vegetable it was stuffed with (i.e. fish, pig, pumpkin, cabbage...) It was all really neat.

And then the show started. The best way I can describe it is that it was kind of a huge collection of the Chinese performing arts through out it's history. Some of the performances were with drums, fifes, symbols, bells etc. Some of them were strictly dancing, some of them were dancing...and others were all of them mixed together. All I can say is that we were all really impressed, and it provided the perfect farewell to such a great historical city.

One funny moment for the day. We walked out from the show to get on the bus, and the bus was broken. They ordered a new bus for us, but while we were all standing around from out of no where about 10 Chinese guys went to the front of the bus and started to push it out toward the road...of course, being Mountaineers, the guys jumped in and within a matter of seconds the bus was jump started and we were headed home. It was hilarious, and a good time.

Just to keep you updated on our schedule...tomorrow morning at 8 we will leave for the airport again and fly to Beijing for our final days in China. I'll let you know when we make it there.
Here we are standing outside of the bus watching the driver to try to fix it. As you can see by our smiling faces there is nothing in the world that can damper our faces. Not in China...

Here is one table during the Dinner/Show

Allen, Emily, Jason, Joe, and Eric in front of some statues in the history museum. You can really see Joe and Eric are trying to be tough, but I'm not sure it's working.

For lunch we ate at a buffet on the 22 floor of a Hotel. The restaurant is circular and spins at night, but was stationary during lunch. The food here was a little closer to what we are used to in the U.S.A. Lots of people liked this one, plus the atmosphere was great.

Here we all are gathered after our Museum tour...picking up a little R&R.

"The Eighth Wonder of the World" and it wasn't the Veggie Meat

2007-06-10T23:20:00.000+08:00

Today we had the opportunity to see what many consider the 8th wonder of the world: The Terra Cotta Soldiers. Now, if you are not familiar with them, about 200 years B.C. an emperor decided that when he died he wanted to make sure he had an army to defend him in the after life, so he commanded his people to make him an 8000 person army out of clay to be buried with him. The entire project (including the building of his tomb that has never been opened) began when he was in his teens and wasn't finished until he had been dead for 3 years (which ended up being over 40 years).

For me, this was one of the neatest things we have done on this trip because it was an example of just how rich and ancient Chinese history really is. The detail that was given to each soldier was amazing, and there was just rows and rows of them. The park that they are in is completely massive. Many of them are still covered, but they have 3 huge pavilions that people can go into to see what has been uncovered and what yet needs to be uncovered.

We did two other things today. Next we went to a site were bones that are over 6000 years old were found. The bodies are still in the ground but have been uncovered enough to see them along with the outlines of their homes, pottery and other artifacts.

Last, we visited a massive monument that is called the Wild Goose Pagoda. It's difficult to explain so you will have to look at the picture of it below. It was built for a man who walked to India to learn about Buddhism and brought the teachings back to the Chinese people. The tower is now surrounded by beautiful gardens. Most of us walked to the top of the tower (all 238 steps) to see the view from the top.

Dinner tonight was interesting. We went to a Buddhist restaurant, and if you didn't know, Buddhists are vegetarians...but that doesn't mean we didn't have meat. Not meat...meat. But tofu meats. Surprisingly they have done a very good job in making it look and taste like meat. I know must of us were leery about what was coming, but ended up being quite pleased.

We were given the rest of the evening off. Most of us hit up the markets again...if we weren't there then we were hanging out at the Hostel. It's been really fun there because it's so communal and really does provide the atmosphere that college kids are looking for.

Once again...we are all doing well...we are all safe...and we are all having fun. Have a good one.
Two of us Standing in front of the Terra Cotta Soldiers

A picture of the Wild Goose Pagoda in the background and the Buddah in the front.

A picture of the Terra Cotta Soldiers. This really was really neat. Each one of their faces was made to look like a specific soldiers (aka...each one is unique).

3 of us standing in front of what our guide called the ambulance section. It's where they try to piece back the broken ones that were destroyed shortly after the emporer died. They people weren't too impressed with what he required the people to do (build his tomb and the Great Wall).

More of us looking at the Soldiers.

The statue we are posing around is the a statue of the guy that made the journey.

There is a story behind this picture. At dinner tonight they gave us the most delicious Sushi. Our table had one extra and we couldn't decide who should get it. Since our food was on a lazy susan we spun the lazy susan and who ever it stopped on got the sushi. Thus, Chris was the victor. We then changed the rules by picking a food that nobody wanted to eat and then spun then LS again and whoever that food stopped on had to take a nice sized portion. We were laughing so hard, and had such a good time with it...it even got some of us to eat good we never would have done other wise.

Some of the boys posing with our Sponsor. He is one of the men that has made out trip possible and has treated us very well since we arrived in Xi'an.

New Students and Old Alum.

2007-06-10T00:26:00.000+08:00

After we were provided with breakfast by the Hostel (toast, eggs, sausage and bacon) we headed for Xi'an Jiantong University where we met with many of their MBA students. It's so amazing because everywhere we go there are big banners welcoming us. and everyone seems so excited to see us. The students especially enjoy being with us, it's very rare that they get to use their English on someone other than their teacher or classmates.

Although they had gone to effort of providing us with a few short movies on the history of Xi'an and their campus, the highlight of this trip was the chance to go on a campus tour and have the Chinese MBA students as our guides. Most of us broke off into groups of 2 to 4 and just walked at out own pace talking about life in China compared to that of the United States.

It's funny because they all LOVE "Hollywood movies" which is great, but is scared me when one girl said she like to watch them because it helps her to understand our culture. I think I broke her heart when I told her that Americans aren't truly much like what you see in the movies. As with many other things on this trip it was an eye opener to realize just how similar many of us are, despite living in different parts of the world.

At the end, we of course exchanged email addressed and will hopefully write one another after we get home. After this trip we returned back to the Hostel and were given the afternoon to do as we pleased. I can tell you that what most of us did was sleep. I think it was the first afternoon nap I have personally had since I've been here and it was wonderful. Others took the opportunity to explore the city, do some shopping, and see some of the historic sites that are close to us. I'm not sure I mentioned this but our Hostel is close to the downtown area where there is upscale shopping, Starbucks and a McDonald's, so much of us are doing okay!

This evening we attended the Alumni Banquet. The whole reason why we are able to do such a great trip is that our professors have developed wonderful relationships with the city officials in Xi'an and other cities in China, so it was nice to be able to see who has made this all possible. It was a traditional and very formal dinner (14+ dishes, some dishes that still had their heads attached, warm coke and fried rice at the end). But it was good food. I don't want you all to think we are starving. With 14 dishes there is almost always something for us to eat, and if not, both McDonald's and KFC are just down the street.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Everyone is doing really well and having a good time. Bye
Here is a Chinese student hanging out with Jessica and Sarah. He was much more eccentric than the other other students, and fun to be around. He said he loves American movies. His favorite is Titanic, and he cries every time he watches. Oh, and he wants to marry an American woman. (Don't worry Moms, any girl that left without a husband will come home without a husband).
Here is a group shot of the students, professors and administrators that attended the event at the university.

A couple of students visiting with a Xi'an MBA on a tour of their campus.
3 WVU students and one Xi'an student stand in front of the statue of on the the Universities former presidents. We were laughing because this picture turned out looking like they were on a date dance.
Jason and Joe talk to one of the Chinese MBA students on the campus tour.
For our free time, a few of the students went on top of the wall and found out you can rent bikes for next to nothing and right around the 14 kilometer perimeter. The building behind them is on top of the wall. I'm not sure what they are for, but you could kind them about every 1/4 mile or so. They sure are purdy.
Here is a group of us walking to the Alumni dinner. The dinner was held right close to the Hostel so there was no need to take the bus. Don't we look sharp?

Our first actual day in Xi'an was one a good one. Although it started way to early (a wake up call at 6 am) we were given lots of free time today, which we all really like.

We made it to Xi'an

2007-06-08T23:05:00.000+08:00

You can all breathe a sigh of relief, we made it safely to Xi'an. Of course with all of our travels that also means I have less to talk about, and less exciting pictures to show, but I still thought you might all be relieved.

We left the hotel this morning at 10 am and drove to the airport and said good bye to a few more friends (our bus driver who was with us the whole week and might I say got that big bus into some incredibly tight areas, and to Madam Wong who assisted in organizing the trip for the Chinese side). We actually flew out at 1:30 or so and was in Xi'an by 4. It was a very uneventful flight, although I might add that I'm not exactly sure what they offered for the in-flight snack, but it was not the traditional peanuts so I pretended to be asleep.

Driving from the airport to our Hostel we quickly realized we were not in Shanghai anymore. The outskirts of the city was acres and acres of farmland, and looks much older than anywhere we have been. It's a much smaller city (only 6 million people) and the main part of the city still is guarded by a 30-40 foot stone wall, but at the same time looks very modern and hip. As mentioned above we are staying in a Youth Hostel. I think a few of us were a little leery about what we were getting into, but it didn't take long for us to be convinced we were going to like it. The structure is a traditional Chinese house, but equipped with wireless Internet, a pool table, a little restaurant, and many other amenities. It's not incredibly big but it is crawling with youth from around the world. The only problem we encountered (that I have seen) is the phone situation which I believe many of us will be sharing one cell phone. So if we call less you will know why.

Xi'an is crawling with WVU alumni and they have already graced us with sign and banners greeting us where ever we go and a nice banquet this evening. I think the favorite of this evening was a yogurt drink that helped with the spicy food. We also ate duck, jelly fish, and some other unidentifiable foods, but I think we found enough to get full. Those that didn't hit up McDonald's later tonight. We were given the rest of the night to do what we want, so many of us wandered the city and others just sat around enjoying the Hostel and playing some pool. Regardless, I think we will all enjoy this city.
This was our final moments with Madam Wong (pictured in the middle) at the Pudong airport outside of Shanghai.
On the plane and ready to go.
This is right outside of the restaurant in Xi'an. Like I mentioned it's a very beautiful city and there couldn't have been a more perfect night, weather wise.
This isn't the best picture but I wanted to give you an idea as to how our Hostel looks on the inside. Dr. Chow is instructing us on how the rest of the days events are going to go.

As I mentioned, Xi'an is a more traditional Chinese City. Here is a picture of one of the downtown areas we ran into about a block away from the Hostel.

Once again, I'm sorry for the lack of pictures, but there are only so many interesting pictures you can take at the airport. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Now we can relax...

2007-06-08T08:00:00.000+08:00

Today was a day of straight business...and still, I think we can all admit, it was a good day. For those that don't know, the purpose of this trip is to learn about Chinese retailing in two ways: 1. through observation and 2. Through a one day "Consumer Behavior Seminar." Today was that seminar.

Typically a seminar is a pretty relaxing day, but not today. You see, we were the main event. For 2 months we have been studying in our groups about U.S. retailing so that we could present what we found to our Chinese hosts. We divided up into 5 groups and were given 2 hours in order to present our material to a small group of Chinese MBAs and a few Chinese Executives. We had all worked so hard to prepare that I think that when this part was over a huge burden was lifted off of our shoulders.
I think the way it went for most of us was we presented about a 30 minute presentation and then opened up to the others in order to compare and contrast the two different countries and their methods in retailing, and I think the one conclusion we all came too is that all there are a few main differences, surprisingly our strategies are much the same. Although it was all very informative, I think our favorite part was that we were able to meet some new friends and learn what their lives are like: what they like to do, what they watch on TV and what they hope to do in the future. Once again, we found that our likes are much the same (they all love the show 24, CSI, and "Hollywood Movies.")
We also had the pleasure of hearing from 2 key speakers: Dr. James Brown, KMart Professor of Marketing at WVU and Mr. Jay Cao, President of Greater China Hyperian Solutions. From them we learned the trends of U.S. and Chinese retailing. They were both very good lectures.

Once we got all of the business out of the way we were able to sit back and relax and enjoy a dinner banquet with our hosts. We made sure and intermingled our tables (with bother U.S. and Chinese students) so we could learn more about them. It was also our first chance to sing some "Country Roads." The Chinese Students got a kick out of that. The group at my table kept looking at me saying, "What is that, what are they doing?" It was fun to bring them a little bit of West Virginia.

Anyway, I do have some pictures below. It's hard to get some good action shots in a classroom but we tried to get at least one of each group on there. Just so you all know, tonight is our last night in Shanghai. Tomorrow we will be flying to Xi'an, a more rural part of China. It was at one time the Capital of China and is full of Chinese history. We are very excited about the trip. My only concern is that we are told that it is a less advanced city so I'm sure what the status of the Internet will be or what kind of access I'll have. I'll do my best to make sure you all know we made it safe, but if a post is delayed, don't worry.

The first 5 pictures are each group giving their presentations. They aren't very good pictures so I'm sorry about that.

This is the room where we listened to our speakers. You can see in their faces who much they are liking it.
This is the dinner we had with them. After the dinner we exchanged a lot of email addresses so we can hopefully continue our friendships.
Here's another group at dinner.
I just wanted to show two dinner items on the menu tonight...duck tongue and pig stomach...Yummy!!!

Please Wait.

2007-06-08T01:04:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone,
I know this is the time I normally post the blog, but for whatever reason the internet isn't letting me post any pictures right now so I'm going to get some rest and first thing in the morning (which will be your night time) look for a new post to be posted. Sorry for the delay, but I'm hoping things will work better then.

Just so you know, everyone is doing great and we had a great conference today...I'll tell you about it soon.

American Food...Need I say more???

2007-06-06T23:57:00.000+08:00

We began today by visiting one of my favorite towns thus far. It was a town that is considered by Chinese Standard as a middle-class town, but can guarantee you they in no way resemble what would be an American middle class town. This particular town is somewhat touristy in that it represents what a Shanghai town looked like in the 1920’s. in the 20s, China was welcoming foreign visitors so this street had different building styles (Muslim, Western, Spanish). On the street we visited a Christian church that was still in operation today. This village is also somewhat of an “art district” so with free time to shop we walked around the area to see what the locals had to offer (i.e. look at the picture below of the man painting me a picture on the spot).

Afterwards we went to local grocery market. What a sight to see (and smell). Chinese people like their food fresh, so it’s common for them to attend markets like this in order to get their vegetables and meat for the day. Of course, they don’t eat the same things as us (chicken feet, eels, little white fuzzy birds) so I think we were all in shock. They had tank after tank of live sea creatures (flounders, crabs, lobster). But it doesn’t matter how many pictures I were to put up there is one thing I wouldn’t be able to show you…the smell. It was so pungent. The funny thing was, I think the shoppers and workers there were just as shocked to see us there, than we were shocked at the products they were selling. This particular market is not a place that tourists go (in fact we may have been the first ones) so we had quite a following of locals as we perused their products.

Around 2:30 pm the professors gave into the peer pressure and gave us a few dollars for dinner and kicked us off the bus in the middle of Shanghai (aka…asked if we wanted to be dropped off in a shopping area) and told us we were on our own for the rest of the night. Since we all divided in to our own little groups it’s hard for me to sum up what we all did, but I’ll tell you what it was like for me and guarantee you it was similar to what everyone else did…

There was 2 things I was specifically looking for…American Food and Good Shopping Deals!!! The shopping district they dropped us off in wasn’t exactly known for great deals, so our first task was to get back to Nanjing East Road (a road we went to earlier in the week that is full life and good shopping) where we could try our hand again at some bargaining. The only problem was that we’d needed to take either a taxi or the subway to get there. That may not sound like a big deal until you consider that we don’t speak a lick of Chinese. We decided to go the Subway route which actually went smoother than I would have initially imagined. We actually made it look like we knew what we were doing….

And then the best part! When we got off the subway there was a Dairy Queen. I don’t know if there if there have ever been four happier people. I enjoyed every bite of my Oreo Blizzard. After that little piece of heaven we walked up and down the street bargaining with vendors. It so much fun, because you ask them to drop the price and in their broken English they portray that you are breaking their heart, and then you work to convince them you deserve a discount. It’s a blast. In the end, it doesn’t matter how good of a discount you think you got, you know in the back of your mind that they got the best of you…but hey, if you both walk away happy (you with the product and them with the money) it just shows a fine example of capitalism at it’s best.

Now that it’s evening, we are all back at the hotel and sharing stories about the days events, eating Papa John’s pizza (which doesn’t taste the same as the U.S., but was still delicious) and getting ready for the presentations we’ll be giving tomorrow.
Here we are in the entrance of the old town. Jason, Roger, Joe and Alex pause for a quick moment in order to show their enthusiasm for the day's events.
This is about 10 feet off of the main street (but almost a a whole new world) and what was considered a "middle class" section of town. To get here we had to walk past the man in the front selling his beans and rice. The streets were so skinny. This was a spectacle to see.

Here is a group standing in front of the Christian Church we went into.
Yum...the meat market. It was funny to see everyone's faces as we went through. It's not a bad way to live, just different than ours. Just because it's not all packaged up in a store doesn't mean it's not good, but still, this was a tough place to be for our weak stomachs.
This man own a little shop in the art district. He has a book of Chinese words that he'll then take a calligraphy on the beautiful paper shown here. He had a ton of pre made exampled but I decided I wanted mine to say "family." Communicating this was not the easiest thing to do. We were running around on the streets trying to find someone to help us. Then we went into his store and he whips out a blank piece of paper and painted the beautiful piece right there in front of me. I had no idea...I thought he must have had some pre printed cards that he slapped a Chinese word on top of, and sent me on my way, but nope! He did the bamboo and the calligraphy right there in front of me...
More picture at the market. This time in the vegetables. The woman in the pictures was assisting us in our tour. I don't think she wanted to be in the picture, but it happened anyway.
This is Jeanette, Jessica and Derrick on Nanjing Road. It was a really pretty night, and was a good time.

TV Tower and Wally World

2007-06-05T22:05:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone. Another day has come and gone. It's hard to believe. Today we mixed a little business with pleasure. First and foremost, it was the first clear-blue day we've had so far and I think with it not being so dreary it allowed us to see Shanghai in a whole new light and appreciate it for what a beautiful city it is. That, and we spent a lot of today in the most modern part of the city...Podong.

We started off the day at an actual Chinese Department Store. We met in a conference room there with a "General Manager" of the store and basically spent an hour firing questions at her in an attempt to understand how her store operates. You see, it was a very classy store, but is still owned by the state which means it's structured much different than USA malls. As an example, you can't walk more than 10 feet without running into an employee. It a way of ensuring everyone has a job in China, and everyone advances together. They also said the turnover rate for employees is less than 1%, but why would they leave? Working for the state they are ensured insurance, decent wages, and retirement...anyway, it was interesting.

We then spent some time at the Orient TV Tower which is certainly a spectacle to see. It looks like something that belongs in Las Vegas, but it is a functioning tower. They let guests ride to the top where you can see every building of Shanghai and it helps you to actually see just how huge Shanghai is, and the growth they are experiencing. At the tower they also have a "history of Shanghai exhibit" which is a self guided tour of life sized figurines and building that shows you how Shanghai has become what it has. It was pretty interesting.

And finally, the most special part of the day...a trip to a China Wal-Mart. We couldn't call it a complete trip without seeing how Sam Walton is effecting the people of China. It was neat to see their store layouts, and the products they offer. In many ways it is much the same, but in some ways it is much different as they have tried to adapt to their culture (ex, many more fresh fruits and vegetables, only about 14 sticks of deodorant in the whole store or benches near the reading section with more readers than a Barnes and Nobles).

We finished the day off with dinner in the downtown metro area in a restaurant surrounded by the lit up skyline and a beautiful park. Our host have been so accommodating in making sure we get to experience Chinese food. It's amazing to see how gracious they are, and diligent in their efforts to please.
Here is the TV tower. It is HUGE!!!!

A group of students at a mall we attended (not the state owned department store). It was beautiful, and so big. I think we were all in awe. Here is a group of student in the viewing deck of the TV tower. If you look you can see the city of Shanghai behind them.
This is at the park that was close to Dinner's restaurant. Notice the skyline in the back. It's much more spread out than New York's skyline, but tall buildings like this go on for files and miles and miles.
Teachers and Students in the same park.
I seem to catch Adam in the most interesting situations, but here is playing some sort of Tennis games against this other guy in front of the TV tower. I think it would be safe to say he held his own against him.

Back to Business

2007-06-05T00:27:00.000+08:00

It was somewhat of a shock for many of us today when we found out our trip was completely a site-seeing vacation (just kidding...sort of!) But today we spent a little more time in a business-type setting. Our day began at a Pudong (a newly developed business area of Shanghai...the area began developement in 1993 but today accounts for over 25% of Shaghai's GDP comes from Pudong) Government facility.

The landscape and the facilities there were really pretty, so we got some good pictures, but besides that we spent 2 hours graced by a host that shared with us how Pudong's growth has come about. They are a force to be reckoned with.

We then went to a lunch that most of us would agree was the best one thus far. I know what most of you must thinking..."did they find a Texas Roadhouse?" And the answer is No! It was a traditional restaurant, but I think we all found something there we could eat.

The afternoon was spent at the Commercial Section at the US Consulate. Once again, we met with a woman who taught us about how they help U.S. companies enter China and what kind of process a company will go through. We then had an interesting experience.

They took us too a store that might be compared to a Wal-Mart so we can compare and contrast the differences. Much of it was the same. It was spread out over several floors, and the products were much cheaper as a whole. The dinner left a little to be desired. We have eaten some good food while here, but many of us had a hard time with this one. On the menu tonight were things like Stomache (from some kind of animal?????) and Jellyfish. Overall it just didn't sit well. It was all definately worth trying it all since we're here only once, but I just wasn't full when I left, and it wasn't because there wasn't enough food.

A Chinese Circus topped off our evening which was absolutely amazing. I'm sure many of you seen the contortionist that are on the PBS specials...? Well, this was just that. Besides bending bodies there were also 8 guys riding motorcycles in a cage...running around like a bunch of monkies on a ferris wheel....dangling in the air by nothing but a rope....launching people from the ground and landing on a balancing chair 75 feet in the air. I would love to show you pictures, but we weren't allowed to take them inside of the theatre, so you'll have to wait to here about all the stories later, but I can tell you that very few times in my life have I been that impressed with the talent and skills a group of people can posses.

I'm sorry...there aren't as many pictures today because we were in meeting quite a bit, but still...enjoy!

Here is a group photo in front of the Government building in Pudong. You can see the awesome architecture and landscape that surrounds us.
Here is a picture of us at the first meal of the day...as you can see we are all loving it an having a good time.

Here are a couple of us at the second meal of the day...and as you can see, half the dishes had been brought out and their plates are still empty.

Here we are getting ready for the presentation on "retail in china".

Like I mentioned...they wouldn't let us take any pictures of us in the circus, but here are two of the people were standing in the lobby.

Tony the Tour Guide and Water Town

2007-06-03T23:32:00.000+08:00

We left Shanghai for the day and headed to a small, more rural area called Zhujiajiao, or "Water town." It's a quaint little town that attracts quite a few tourists for it's thin streets (full of vendors trying to sell all kinds of stuff) and the rivers that flow through the town. Besides the amazing things we saw today, I'm sure none of us will be able to forget our tour guide Tony. He is a native of the town and traveled with us throughout the day and kept us laughing all the way through, but as I'm sure you can imagine he had to put up with a lot from us.

Things we saw in Water Town: a bridge built over 400 years ago, we then walked up through the streets that were so thin that Tony joked that, "a boy could leap from his 2nd story window to his girlfriends 2nd story window (across the street) and his mother would never know." They gave us 30 minutes to shop here, which we all took advantage of. The locals were so polite and nice and I think we all enjoy the bargaining that goes on in the market. It was a great place to buy silks and jewlery.

Tony also took us through a couple tiny museums that taught us how Rice played such an important part in Watertown's History. A highlight of today was a chance to ride in a Gandola type boat through the canals that run through the city. Although it is very touristy, much of the city is untouched by it's effects so we got the chance to see how people live...killing and gutting eels on the street...small living spaces...and washing their things in the river, as a few examples. We then toured another Garden. I wouldn't say it was a fancy as the one yesterday, but beautiful all the same.

We then left Watertown and headed for the Oriental Youth Activity Center. This place was more or less a huge park, with acres and acres of lakes, grass, flowers and trees. But then as you go along there are boats to rent, toys to play on, a water park and tons of bike trails. This place was a riot. First of all, we went to these obstacle course type things that are built over a river...so if you fall off the course you fall in the river. It was amazing to see this sort of thing cause in the U.S.A. this sort of thing had lawsuit written all over it. Some of them were easy and some were difficult, but they provided all of us with some good laughs.

Before we left the professors told us to be prepared for the unexpected. Our next event of the day was just that. We saw the boats on the lake and we knew it was something we had to do! We rented four "Dragon Headed Boats" and divided into teams of ten and raced around the lake (often times around in circles because we couldn't figure out how to straighten out the boat) and got very wet. But it was all so so so funny. It just wasn't something we anticipated for the day.

We ended our time in the park walking through a huge Air Craft Carrier that they've set in the middle of a pond. It's filled with all sorts of tanks and jets and is open for the public to kind of paruse through. I wasn't completely sure what the purpose of that whole thing was, but it's not everyday you see an aircraft carrier in a pond...so I say, "Why Not!"

Enjoy the pictures...
His one group on their Gondola. That little rower on the back could get the boat going so fast. It was amazing.

As mentioned above...this is the 400 year old bridge (in the background) and the good looking group in the picture is the MBA and MSIR students...
This is a shot of one of the streets in water town. Notice the woman in blue trying to sell us a nice fan. By the end it was like "senses overload!"
Here is Dr. McInture saying hello to the folks back home.
PROFESSORS GONE WILD!!! Dr. Chow decides to take this bull for a spin. It was part of a museum teaching us about the production of rice.
Roger, Allison and Chris standing on a stair case in the Garden.

This is Adam hanging from one of the obstacle courses I mentioned. As you can see it is pretty difficult to get wet (on most of them) but as Adam can tell you from personal experience "It can Happen!"
This is us at the evening dinner. Notice the lazy Susan in the middle where they bring out plate after plate after plate of different dished, and just as you can't eat another bite they bring out 3 more dished...it's crazy. And Tony...he's the guy standing in the back.
Alex Criss standing next to a statue of Chairman Mao who controlled China until about '72. Alex is sporting a Red Army cap that was established by Mao and has since felt a close kin ship with him.
Here is an example of what the big garden area looks like. There was acres and acres of a similar landscape.
Jessica, Jake, Jeanette and Derrick standing in front of the carrier in the pond...you probably didn't believe me...but there it is.

Tony's Tour through Water Town

2007-06-03T22:18:00.000+08:00

Things we saw in Water Town: a bridge built over 400 years ago, we then walked up through the streets that were so thin that Tony joked that, "a boy could leap from his 2nd story window to his girlfriend's 2nd story window (across the street) and his mother would never know." They gave us 30 minutes to shop here, which we all took advantage of. The locals were so polite and nice and I think we all enjoy the bargaining that goes on in the market. It was a great place to buy silks and jewelry.

Tony also took us through a couple tiny museums that taught us how Rice played such an important part in Water Town's History. A highlight of today was a chance to ride in a Gondola- type boat through the canals that run through the city. Although it is very touristy, much of the city is untouched by it's effects so we got the chance to see how people live...killing and gutting eels on the street...small living spaces...and washing their things in the river, as a few examples. We then toured another Garden. I wouldn't say it was a fancy as the one yesterday, but beautiful all the same.

We then left Water Town and headed for the Oriental Youth Activity Center. This place was more or less a huge park, with acres and acres of lakes, grass, flowers and trees. But then as you go along there are boats to rent, toys to play on, a water park and tons of bike trails. This place was a riot. First of all, we went to these obstacle course type things that are built over a river...so if you fall off the course you fall in the river. It was amazing to see this sort of thing cause in the U.S.A. this sort of thing had lawsuit written all over it. Some of them were easy and some were difficult, but they provided all of us with some good laughs.

Before we left the professors told us to be prepared for the unexpected. Our next event of the day was just that. We saw the boats on the lake and we knew it was something we had to do! We rented four "Dragon Headed Boats" and divided into teams of ten and raced around the lake (often times around in circles because we couldn't figure out how to straighten out the boat) and got very wet. But it was all so so so funny. It just wasn't something we anticipated for the day.

We ended our time in the park walking through a huge Air Craft Carrier that they've set in the middle of a pond. It's filled with all sorts of tanks and jets and is open for the public to kind of peruse through. I wasn't completely sure what the purpose of that whole thing was, but it's not everyday you see an aircraft carrier in a pond...so I say, "Why Not!"

Enjoy the pictures...

My feet are tired...

2007-06-02T23:20:00.000+08:00

What a busy day. While in Shanghai we'll begin our day in the Hotel's restaurant. It's a Western Style buffet, so the professors have encouraged to eat as much as possible because there is no telling what else we'll be eating for the day. They have everything you can imagine there, so it wasn't difficult.

We loaded up on the bus and headed for Yu Gardens. I think many of us were in some of the most crowded places we have ever been in. I kind of feel bad for Dr. Chow and the other tour guides as you can see their attempts to keep us together. But there are so many new sites, sounds (and smells) that we easily forget they are trying to get us somewhere specific.

The Yu Gardens were really fascinating. The gardens were beautiful, and the artifacts they still have (statues 500+years old) are just not things we normally see. The gardens are surrounded by a huge shopping area, where hundred of shops are set up. For 30 minutes we were finally released out on our own the mingle with the Chinese people and try our attempt at bargaining. From out of no where Chinese citizens will run up to us and shout any English word they know (HELLO!, okay, U.S.A., hey lady.) in order to get out attention and try to sell us an array of bags, watches, shoes, and DVDs.

We had our first bout with authentic Chinese food for lunch. We all got to try many new things. Some things we liked, others we didn't. They would bring out plate after plate of new dishes. I would guess that we tried at least 10 - 12 new foods, which I'm sure is just the beginning.

We then headed to the Shanghai City Exhibition Center where we had a guided tour to learn about Shanghai's recent growth and where they hope to be in the future. There is no doubt it is a growing city. After the convention center we broke up into groups and headed down Nanjing East Road, which is a 1 to 2 mile strip of shops and stores. By this time we quit making eye contact with the watch salesmen (I guess eye contact means "I really want to buy a watch from you"). But many of us found some good buys and did some good bargaining, and I promise we have some good stories.
To finish off the night we took a riverboat tour at Huangpu River. We had our own little private area and were provided with some good ol' KFC. I'm not sure it quite tasted like the stuff back home, but it was nice to see Colonel Sanders again. The tour was great though. The river runs right through the middle of Shanghai and is surrounded by some of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen.

This is breakfast for us in the morning...good food...good location
This is the outside of the Yu Garden. Notice the umbrella in the sky. When we got lost in the masses, that is what we looked for.
In the Yu Garden. In the background is where they would put on these bell shows. I'm not very informative on that, but trust me...that's what they did.
Allen looking though one of the house windows in the Yu Garden.
Here are some students in one of the Halls of Yu Gardens. It was amazing to see the intricate work that went into the room.
We're about ready to go into the Yu Garden.
It's hard to refute the strong resemblance between these two....just kidding.

While many of us were shopping, this group of MSIR students decided to do something more productive with their time. The funniest part of this picture is that two of the guys are dressed up like Chinese concubines. As I'm sure you can imagine...they drew quite a crowd.
A small sample of lunch. Not a fan of the big white blob in the front, but everything else here was pretty darn good.
Derrick giving Cord a quick Chopsticks lesson after we noticed there wasn't going to be any silver ware on the table.

Here we are at the Shanghai Exhibition Center. The big gold thing in the back is a display of Shanghai buildings.

This is one of the shopping streets we walked down..."Hello...U.S.A., Watches...Cheap!"
This women asked them if she could have her picture taken with this group..funny, huh?
You can't go on a boat ride without one Titanic impersonation...
Pig's Head anyone?
This is a picture of the lounge on the river boat...enjoying some KFC and Pepsi...delicious.

And 31 hours later...

2007-06-02T00:41:00.000+08:00

I don't have a lot of exciting things to say but I wanted to let everyone know that we all made it safely and we are all doing well. We got on the bus in Morgantown at 5 am and drove to the Pittsburgh Airport where our plane didn't leave until after 11 am (it was delayed by an hour) but it gave us enough time to get excited about the trip. We then had a 12 hour flight from Detroit to Narito, Japan. I think that is where most of us slept in an attempt to put our sleep on the right schedule. If you couldn't sleep the 3 meals and 3 movies kept you entertained.
We only spent 2 hours in Japan, but it gave us enough time to experience their culture (aka...visiting the convenience store). Then we finally flew into Shaghai where we met Dr. Chow and Dr. Riley. It's funny because they have learned from the past that their buses won't hold all of our luggage so they brought an extra van and crammed basically everything they could in there.
Since out arrival, many of us headed off to bed, but others actually are out experiencing the Chinese night life. We quickly found the nearest place to buy Coke-a-Cola and snacks and have found where breakfast is going to be served (what more do you need).
This is in Japan and just after the "24-hour traveling mark." As you can see by this point we were pretty tired, but we found a pretty good place to relax.
Finally...we arrived. This is us outside of the airport in Shanghai. All of our luggage was here and we all made it through customs...not too bad.

On Our Way...

2007-05-30T23:36:00.000+08:00

24 hours and counting. After several months of preparation and many nights of hard, studious labor we are ready to make our trek to China. It would be nice to think that this trip was going to be nothing but a two week vacation, but the pre-trip work we've done before hand would indicate otherwise. We've spent many hours, thus far, working to understand Chinese culture, the history of their aggressive economic status and how we as students can survive in this new world we're about to enter.

The focus of our trip will be the retailing side of business in China. In fact, the pinnacle of our trip will be a one day seminar where WVU MBA's will unite with Chinese MBAs and business leaders to compare and contrast Chinese and American retailing. Our part, as students, has been and will be to present a two-hour discussion and presentation on the different obstacles U.S. retailers face and then learn what retailing is like for our Chinese associates.

Heaven knows that this trip will not be all work. We can't wait to experience the culture and history that China has to offer. We've been told the shopping is amazing and food is something to experience. Many people don't know that some of WVU's most prestigious alumni are in China and play as excellent hosts...and you can be sure that as we meet (and I guess as we depart) we'll all be shouting "Country Roads" as we bring them a taste of West Virginia.