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.
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