Alex Banwell: Huizhou City

On May 4th we traveled to Huizhou by bus. Niki and I lead the day and started with a group discussion about what each of us liked and also what we had each found challenging thus far on our trip. I shared that I enjoyed how friendly and welcoming the Chinese were but that the crowds were quite overwhelming. Reflecting and recapping each segment of our trip made it easier to remember our activity packed days.

Next we jumped on a bus and headed to Huizhou University where we would be staying for the next four days. On the three hour ride I spoke to our group about the new city we would be staying in. I shared that the city has a population of 4.6 million people, close to the size of Toronto. The residents primarily speak Cantonese, Mandarin and Hakka and the city has a history of more than 600 years. It has a mild humid climate with landscapes of mountains, flat plains and a coast-line on the southern end. Local products include: Orange, mango longan, and sweet tea. It is the largest battery and laser-head producer in the world.

Attractions are: Pingai Ancient City of the Ming dynasty, hot springs, and many Mountain lookout point hikes. Both Toronto and Vancouver have based their china towns on the city of Huizhou.

 

 

After arriving and getting settled we met some students that took us on a University tour. Many students hadn't met westerners before and were extremely excited to meet us and take photos with us. Their campus was quite large and had beautiful landscapes, including a hike to a pagoda. We had a chance to look in one of the females dorms and I was blown away at how small it was considering it was housed 6 girls and was at most was 100 square feet.

The next 3 days were spent touring around the city and doing various activities with the University students. Hanging out with students truly put my student life into perspective. Huizhou students although living in a city larger than Vancouver, were sheltered and lacked the same freedoms as we did. They didn’t have the choice to take time off school to work and travel. The girls had curfews and had little time free for social lives. Taking all this into account they were still very happy and eager to learn.

 

Alex is a third year Bachelor of Business Administration student.  This is Alex's first time in China.